A season-long strategy guide for 2025/26 EPL Fantasy

Sponsored by FanTeam

Now that our first FanTeam draft for EPL Fantasy is creating an online buzz, it’s time to discuss a good strategy that can bring success.

After all, with a guaranteed minimum prize pool of £175k up for grabs, managers will be extremely competitive when fighting to finish inside the top 10%. The season-long game costs £10 to enter.

We at Scout are delighted to partner up with FanTeam, providing insightful articles between now and the opening weekend.

DON’T MISS OUT, CLICK HERE TO JOIN FANTEAM AHEAD OF AN EXCITING SEASON

WHAT IS FANTEAM EPL FANTASY?

Managers will be familiar with this simple, straightforward format that embraces the roots of Fantasy Football.

Just like Fantasy Premier League (FPL), managers have a £100m budget to select 15 players (no more than three per club), making weekly decisions about captaincy and how to use the latest free transfer.

FanTeam is back for 2025/26 EPL Fantasy 1

The only chip is a Wildcard – one for each half of the season. There aren’t any defensive contribution (DC) points either.

To ensure fairness, no late entries will be allowed this time. Everyone starts on a level playing field from Gameweek 1.

WHAT IS THE IDEAL FANTEAM STRATEGY?

On a basic level, FanTeam managers usually think the same thoughts:

Buy the attack-minded full-backs
Squad depth isn’t essential when there’s no Bench Boost chip
Choose your time to Wildcard based on good and bad fixture swings

However, while point-scoring is the same as FPL when it comes to clean sheets, assists and outfielder goals, some tiny differences may improve the FanTeam prospects of particular players.

FanTeam is back for 2025/26 EPL Fantasy 2

Pick a goalkeeper who makes lots of saves

Whereas FPL gives a singular point for every three saves, FanTeam rewards 0.5 after each one.

So if a goalkeeper stops five shots, he’ll gain 2.5 points rather than one – good news for busy ones!

Last season’s most frequent saver – Mark Flekken – has moved to Germany and second-best Aaron Ramsdale (£5.0m) is now Newcastle United’s backup. Following them were Jordan Pickford (122, £5.5m) and Matz Sels (120, £5.5m), but after that came potential £4.5m bargain Bernd Leno (113).

Another £4.5m guy, Bart Verbruggen, denied 91 attempts.

Shots on target receive points

Here, attackers get 0.4 points for each shot on target.

As well as the big names you’d expect – Erling Haaland (£13.0m), Mohamed Salah (£13.5m), Cole Palmer (£11.0m) and Alexander Isak (£10.5m) – this brings good news for Matheus Cunha (£8.0m), Antoine Semenyo (£7.0m), Ollie Watkins (£9.5m), Jarrod Bowen (£8.0m) and Chris Wood (£7.5m).

At the back, defenders receive 0.6 every time. Last season, we saw Daniel Munoz (£5.5m), Josko Gvardiol (£6.5m), Marc Cucurella (£5.5m), Fabian Schar (£5.5m) and Rayan Ait-Nouri (£6.0m) benefit from this.

Choose 90-minute attackers

It’s harder for midfielders and forwards to avoid being substituted. So those who successfully complete a full match are given an extra point.

Identifying such important players could prove fruitful in FanTeam. Bryan Mbeumo (£9.0m) did so on 35 occasions at Brentford but has just changed clubs. And new teammate Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) completed 28 of the 33 starts where he wasn’t sent off.

Others to complete at least 25 were Salah, Haaland, Palmer, Semenyo, Bowen and Enzo Fernandez (£7..0m).

Make the most of some bargain £4.5m defenders

Meanwhile, this very exciting price point features James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite, Jake O’Brien, Patrick Dorgu, Maxim De Cuyper, Maxence Lacroix and El Hadji Malick Diouf, amongst others.

It’s feasible to begin with two or three of these and shift the remaining budget elsewhere.

Cover a range of price points

A smart tactic is to touch various popular values. Although the best players tend to be reliable for big scores, squeezing in too many will likely require lots of cheap colleagues.

Ignoring plenty of good, mid-priced options, such a sacrifice lacks flexibility. Should one or two of these hit spectacular form, jumping onto them would need a squad overhaul that uses lots of transfers – maybe even points hits.

Alternatively, spreading out the £100m budget more evenly means that picking the wrong individual can be quickly fixed by one transfer.

For example, if Phil Foden (£9.0m) returns to his stunning 2023/24 form, it’s a simple switch for Florian Wirtz (£9.0m) owners.

BEST-EVER WELCOME OFFER

New to FanTeam?

Registrations can take place in more countries than ever before, as some previously restricted territories are now eligible. Head to the registration page and check.

This time, there is a generous welcome offer that should attract new customers.