Five Fantasy Premier League tips & how the game can help you make shrewd betting decisions

The Premier League returns on August 14th, so it’s about time you started to think about selecting your 15-man squad for this season’s edition of Fantasy Football. 

With £100m at your disposal, will you be flooding your team with the most expensive players in the game, or spreading the wealth to ensure your squad has plenty of depth? 

Whatever it is you decide to do, we’re on hand to help you make some informed selections. Everyone knows the value of picking players like Mo Salah, Harry Kane and Bruno Fernandes - their stats speak for themselves and they are no-brainers when it comes to choosing your squad. 

We’re focusing on value for money; the players who won’t cost you an arm and a leg but have the potential to score you plenty of points throughout the season. Find our top five value Fantasy Premier League tips listed below.

Emiliano Martinez - Aston Villa

Emiliano Martinez has flourished since departing Arsenal for Aston Villa and was one of the best-performing goalkeepers in the Premier League last term. The South American kept 15 clean sheets in 2020/21, third only behind Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy (16) and Manchester City’s Ederson (19) in the Golden Glove standings. 

The 28-year-old followed his fine domestic campaign up with a string of stunning displays at the Copa America this summer, playing a pivotal role in Argentina’s triumph in Brazil which resulted in him winning the tournament's Golden Glove award. At just £5.5m, he looks to be a snip for your FPL team this season. 

Position: Goalkeeper | Price: £5.5m

Luke Ayling - Leeds United

Leeds impressed most of us last season with their dynamic performances in the Premier League. While the plaudits often went to the likes of Patrick Bamford and Jack Harrison, right-back Luke Ayling was somewhat of an unsung hero for the West Yorkshire club. 

The 29-year-old amassed 100 points in FPL last season, so it is a tad surprising that his price of just £4.5m has not been increased for the forthcoming campaign. Take advantage of this bargain buy while you can, because a string of impressive performances will surely see his price rise.   

Position: Defender | Price: £4.5m

Emile Smith Rowe - Arsenal 

Arsenal youngster Emile Smith Rowe enjoyed a solid breakthrough season last time out, making 18 starts for the Gunners in England’s top-flight. The 20-year-old attracted interest from Aston Villa earlier this summer but Arsenal rejected the Villans’ approaches, instead offering the playmaker a new long-term contract and the prestigious No 10 shirt for this season. 

It is abundantly clear that Mikel Arteta sees Smith Rowe as a vital player in his system, and one who he is willing to build a team around. Should the Englishman play consistently this season, it’s likely that we’ll see him surpass his figures from 2020/21, where he contributed two goals and four assists. Therefore, getting him in your side for just £5.5m seems like it could be a great deal.

Position: Midfielder | Price: £5.5m

Ollie Watkins - Aston Villa

The second Aston Villa player to feature in this list, Ollie Watkins, endured a terrific debut campaign in the Premier League last season. The 25-year-old hit the net 14 times in the top-flight which earned him an England call-up in March, just a season after joining from then-Championship outfit Brentford. 

While Harry Kane is the obvious choice to take up your first striker's berth this term, the England skipper will cost a pretty penny in doing so - an eye-watering £12.5m - so it’s essential that your second striker costs significantly less. Watkins is the most expensive name in this list, but his price could reflect some superb value should he replicate the form we saw from him in 2020/21, where he collected a cool 168 points.

Position: Forward | Price: £7.5m

Ivan Toney - Brentford

While Ivan Toney is relatively inexperienced in the Premier League - having not kicked a ball in the top-flight since his Newcastle United days five years ago - there are high hopes that the Brentford forward will make an impact in England’s top division. 

Last season Toney broke the Championship goalscoring record in a 46-game season, netting 31 times for the Bees - alongside two more in the play-offs - in their memorable promotion-winning campaign. At just £6.5m, the 25-year-old could be a great budget option for your front-three. 

Position: Forward | Price: 6.5m

Total spend: £29.5m

How can FPL assist with your betting?

Fantasy Premier League can actually help you to gather some solid information to use for betting, too. Assessing a certain player's form in your FPL team, and how many points he scores on a weekly basis through assists, goals or clean sheets, provides you with a more detailed analysis of his ability in certain betting markets. I.E. if you're noticing a player scoring you regular points through obtaining clean sheets, then backing the team they play for to win a game 'to-nil' could be a profitable selection for your weekend accumulator. 

If a player in your FPL team is regularly scoring points through assists, backing them to register an assist in their upcoming fixture could also be a desirable betting play. The same can be said for unlikelier goalscorers, who you may not think to back under normal circumstances. However, if you have noticed that they are cropping up with regular goals because you are tracking their progress in FPL, then that could lead to making shrewd betting decisions and potentially backing a player to score at a higher price offered up by the bookies.

It's also a good way to get ahead of the curve in term of injuries. FPL is widely known to be on the ball when it comes to injury updates, which can help you avoid picking certain players in your Bet Builders should they be ruled out for a particular fixture. After all, there a few worse things in football betting than when the player you've backed to score or be carded doesn't feature because they've picked up a knock that you are blissfully unaware of.