Fantasy Premier League: Everything You Need to Know for the 2020/21 Campaign

The reward for enduring three months without fantasy football following the sport's unprecedented suspension in March?

A mere six-week break following the end of the 2019/20 Premier League season. How good!

That's right, we're swiftly looking ahead to the 2020/21 campaign, with the FPL open for business following the relaunch on Saturday afternoon.

The final details have emerged regarding the upcoming Premier League season from a fantastical perspective, and here's everything you need to know before you inevitably give up on your side by October.

When Is the First Gameweek?

Saturday, 12 September. Get that date in your diaries, folks. That's when the 2020/21 FPL campaign gets underway.

£100m. Unlimited changes. Do your worst, you have four weeks.

Go. Go. Go!

Deadlines Switch

There are no obvious rule changes from last season, with the chips and wildcards remaining as they are.

However, a major development is the moving of the gameweek deadlines from 60 to 90 minutes before kick-off - supposedly to combat the team leaks from previous seasons.

Make sure you set those alarms half an hour earlier, people! It's almost like we're moving into a different time zone in the FPL world.

Perhaps you should make use of the 'sync gameweek deadlines to your phone' addition, which was introduced following the Premier League's resumption in June.

Easing the Festive Strain...Barely

The festive period is a stressful one for us all; presents to panic-buy on Christmas Eve, family members you're desperate to avoid and Sahara Desert-like roast turkeys to prepare. But none of those compare to the modern-day baggages brought about by Fantasy Football.

It's hell!

Last year we had four FPL gameweek deadlines in the space of 12 days (21 December to 1 January) over the festive period; this year it looks like being four in 15 (19 December to 2 January).

The scheduling gods have been just that little bit kinder to us this time around, with a less demanding fixture list easing the strain Premier League clubs and reducing the risk of Pep Guardiola averaging 17 changes a contest during this period.

However, a 48-hour turnaround between gameweeks 15 and 16 will surely wreak a bit of havoc.

Matchweek 18: What's Going on Buddy?

Okay, you've somewhat treated us nicely over the festive period, but what on earth is matchweek 18 all about?

The Premier League fixture-makers have decided to split it into two, and bisect it by matchweek 19. It remains to be seen how this will translate to the FPL world.

Fantasy Football Scout theorised the conundrum: 'Presuming that matchweek 18 is split down the middle, it may be that the only workaround is a five-match blank gameweek 18 and a 15-match double gameweek 19 – but then there is the prospect of other outstanding fixtures being squeezed in around this time, just to complicate matters,' they said.

This could get complicated.

Top Player Prices

Simple this, let's just have a quick run down at the priciest players in each position.

Goalkeepers: Alisson (£6.0m), Ederson (£6.0m), Nick Pope (£5.5m), Kasper Schmeichel (£5.5m), David de Gea (£5.5m), Hugo Lloris (£5.5m), Rui Patricio (£5.5m).

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m), Andy Robertson (£7.0m), Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m), Marcos Alonso (£6.0m!), Cesar Azpilicueta (£6.0m), Lucas Digne (£6.0m), Ricardo Pereira (£6.0m), Kyle Walker (£6.0m), Aymeric Laporte (£6.0m), Benjamin Mendy (£6.0m), Matt Doherty (£6.0m).

Midfielders: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£12.0m), Mohamed Salah (£12.0m), Sadio Mane (£12.0m), Kevin De Bruyne (£11.5m), Raheem Sterling (£11.5m), Bruno Fernandes (£10.5m), Marcus Rashford (£9.5m), Son Heung-min (£9.0m).

Forwards: Sergio Aguero (£10.5m), Harry Kane (£10.5m), Jamie Vardy (£10.0m), Timo Werner (£9.5m), Roberto Firmino (£9.5m), Gabriel Jesus (£9.5m), Anthony Martial (£9.0m).

Notable Positional Changes

A new season brings a bunch of position changes; the most notable being Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's conversion to a midfielder following Mikel Arteta's usage of the Gabonese hitman as an inside forward from the left following his December arrival.

It's a generous switch, with Aubameyang joining Liverpool duo Sadio Mane and Mo Salah as the priciest midfielders on the block (£12.0m). Surely the hefty value is worth the gamble, right?

Gabriel Martinelli (£5.0m) - injured until the New Year, of course - also joins his teammate as a midfielder, while Marcus Rashford (£9.5m) and Marcus Greenwood (£7.5m) and Diogo Jota (£6.5m) are other significant names to enjoy a similar conversion.

Michail Antonio (£6.5m) and Richarlison (£8.0m) are both now forwards, with 19/20 god John Lundstram (£5.5m) losing a fair bit of his prestige following his switch to a midfielder. The big one, though? Anthony Martial (£9.0m) replacing Rashford and Greenwood as United's nominal striker.

Nevertheless, you can see all 18 positional switches for the upcoming season here.