The Different Approaches to Take When Picking Your 2019/20 Fantasy Premier League Squad

So, the 2019/20 Premier League season may have only finished basically a day ago, but the fixture list for the next term has been pumped out and FPL teams are being drafted ahead of the new campaign.

Whether you came dead last or won your league at a canter, we all have a clean slate for the 2020/21 season. Now is the time for bashful, unashamed and unwarranted optimism.

Unsure how to go about setting up your ragtag outfit? Here are a few methods - some of which work a tad better than others.

1. The Hit it and Quit it

Fantasy football isn't for everyone, and each league has that one player who sets their lineup once at the start of the season and leaves it to gather dust for the rest of the year.

You check it again in February to see the team is exactly the same, though now seven players have red marks against their names and won't be playing for months.

If you're looking for an approach which shows you have a vague interest in football but in reality are more focused on your spoken word career, this is the way to go.

Favoured players: Harry Kane, Alisson, Arsenal's Big Summer Signing

2. The Tactician

Been chugging coffee to get you through Friday nights filled with transfer tinkering? An xG fiend? Watch every press conference before the weekend's slate of fixtures?

Yeah, you're ITK and you know it. You probably win your league most years, and are always on the lookout for that differential pick who can add to the hefty returns your mainstays pick up each week.

If this is the route you decide to take, you'll be picking up a lot of extra assignments. Your personal life will have to take the backseat. There'll be no time for a socially distanced pint. You'll make a lot of sacrifices, but it'll certainly boost your overall position at the end of the year.

Favoured players: Kevin De Bruyne, Danny Ings, Matt Doherty

3. The Punter

There's no real rhyme or reason to this approach. It's very much week by week, with little forward planning. Instead, you're looking for those players who give you excellent bursts based purely on hunches.

You think Neal Maupay might haunt Arsenal again? In he goes. Fancy John Lundstram to come off the bench and thump one in against Leeds? Bang bang, he's your man.

Very much a heart over head approach, this. Just try not to fill your team with players from the club you support, as that usually ends in heartbreak and anger.

Favoured players: Jamie Vardy, Son Heung-min, Harry Maguire

4. The 'Defence Wins You Titles'

There aren't many creeps out there who sacrifice their midfield and attack selections for a solid defence, but they exist. They're sneaky, unloved and not to be trusted.

But if it's the way you want to go about your business, fine. Bring in the attacking full backs and the league's top scoring goalkeeper last season, and fill those striker spots with discount specials.

Fair warning, though. No one in your league will talk to you, you defence-loving creepy creep.

Favoured players: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Nick Pope, Chris Wood

5. The Top Heavy Fiend

This is for those managers who have no intention of playing more than three defenders each week. Instead, the squad will be packed full of those £4 and £4.50 heroes.

That usually means newly promoted players fill the defence, with someone like Mathew Ryan or Alex McCarthy thrown in between the sticks. But it's not about those peckers at the back. It's all about the stars up front.

Here, we're banking on the seven players in advanced positions racking up the points each week, because there's no chance your reserve West Brom full back is going to help you out.

Favoured players: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah