Over the years, the most popular formations in the Fantasy Premier League have predominantly been 3-4-3 or 3-5-2.
This is not surprising, as point-earning in the FPL favours attacking players who score goals and/or provide assists.
However, there will be times in the season when 4-4-2 or even 5-3-2 formations might be optimal due to fixtures or injuries. FPL managers should be flexible with formations and adapt to the ever-changing landscape.
However, it is important to start the season with the optimal lineup. Here we discuss the pros and cons of different lineups and which one might be best to start with.
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The offensive 3-4-3
This season, the 3-4-3 formation seems to be stronger than ever.
We have a much better selection of strikers than last season. Two of them Ollie Watkins (£9.0m), Erling Haaland (£15.0m) And Alexander Isak (£8.5m) will be the favorites for most. Kai Havertz (£8.0m) And Richarlison (£7.0m) The reclassification as a striker also makes things more interesting.
Also with Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m), Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) and Brighton’s Joao Pedro (£5.5m) — to name just a few — all are cheap, which is a strong argument for a 3-4-3. Also, we can’t own them all at once, so having the price points to swap players in and out depending on the game plan is crucial.
You want to choose players in price ranges that give you plenty of options to maximize flexibility.
And because we only have three striker positions available, compared to five each for midfield and defender, you’ll probably switch between them more often than other positions.
Five-man midfield with a 3-5-2
The 3-5-2 will always be strong because not only do midfielders score the most points overall, but there are also a lot more of them. This season, at the time of writing, we have 252 midfielders in the game, compared to 68 strikers and 190 defenders.
That means more choice and chances of good options in that position. This season is no different and we have some real potential bargains like Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku (£6.5m), Crystal Palace Eberechi Eze (£7.0m) and Nottingham Forest Morgan Gibbs-White (£5.5m).
The only problem with having five midfielders playing is that the money is spread across five positions and you’ll probably have a £4.5m striker on the bench, so switching to a 3-4-3 formation may require some transfers.
However, you can use your fourth and fifth midfielders as a sort of carousel based on the best game plans. Ideally, you want three midfielders who are game-safe and who you don’t want to touch.
In my team, for example, my first three midfielders are Mohamed Salah (£12.5m), Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) and Eze, and I plan to play them every week and hope I don’t have to broadcast them.
Go for a “big defense” with a 5-3-2 – or opt for a 4-4-2/4-3-3
Having more than three starting defenders is always risky because you are relying mainly on clean sheets, which have less chance of being used than attacking returns. I also think these formations are more suitable for short periods of time later in the season when the landscape allows.
However, due to the increasing number of offensive full-backs, formations with a “large defensive line” have become much more popular in recent years.
Starting with more defenders in your XI means limited flexibility and fewer opportunities to rotate defenders depending on the game plan. Additionally, minor injuries force you to change more defenders where there is less benefit. Ideally, you want to make the fewest transfers in the goalkeeper and defender positions.
If you start with a big back formation and it doesn’t work, it’s much harder to get out of it and you may be forced into an early wildcard.
Given the number of defenders available for £4.5 million, such as Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa (£4.5), Fulham full-back Antonee Robinson (£4.5m), palace Joachim Andersen (£4.5m), and wolves Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.5)You don’t need to invest too much in defense. There are plenty of good picks that you can rotate in pairs or even threes.
One or two top-class defenders and the rest of the defence a budget defender seems to be the best way to go this season, which in turn pushes us more towards a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 formation.
Finally, the new rule change, which deducts 4 bonus points from defenders and goalkeepers for each goal conceded, makes the more expensive defenders less attractive.
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Things to consider when choosing your formation
A 3-4-3 seems to be the strongest formation for the start of the season, followed by a 3-5-2. However, the key is to remain flexible throughout and not be afraid to adapt to unfamiliar formations.
I think the 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 formations offer the most flexibility as they make it easier to make changes to the attackers and that is where you should make your transfers.
Don’t ignore the substitutes, in 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 you’re likely to get a cheap fifth midfielder or third striker for around £4.5-5.5 million, so it’s wise to keep an eye out for these bargains and make sure they’re solid players who are regulars at their clubs, as you might need them.
It’s a good idea to offer players in price ranges where there are a number of good picks, making your long-term planning easier.
Below you can see a solid structure for a 3-4-3:
For example, there are a number of great picks in the £6.5m midfield category, so I think this is a good position to target if your first pick doesn’t work out. I plan to start with Nkunku, but have replacement ideas in the form of Gibbs-White, Spurs’ Brennan Johnson (£6.5m) And Leon Bailey (£6.5m) who was fantastic for Villa last season.
The £5.5m midfielder has some potential good chances, as the Forest pair Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.5m) And Anthony Elanga (£5.5m). Fulham’s Andreas Pereira (£5.5m) and Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo (£5.5m) look very attractive too, so you could get a £5m defender instead of a second one for £6m and upgrade your £4.5m midfielder to play a hybrid 3-4-3/3-5-2.
It’s worth noting that the new FPL rules allow for up to five transfers to be saved. This should make it easier to transition between different formations, so we may have less to worry about structure from the start – but only time will tell.
Taking full advantage of five bankable transfers assumes that you can save them and no other problems arise, which is very rare.
(Top photo: Scott Heppell/PA Images via Getty Images)
