If you have been struggling to fill the Fantasy Premier League-shaped void in your life this summer fear not as the game has officially relaunched ahead of the 2023-24 Premier League season.
A five-week break has given FPL enthusiasts a welcome period to recharge, refresh and reflect ahead of another 10 months packed full of joy, despair, and everything else in between. Love it or loathe it, there is nothing quite like FPL as demonstrated by its rising popularity year in and year out, with over 11 million teams registered last season.
The pandemic and winter World Cup have presented significant challenges to FPL bosses in recent years, but this season should (hopefully) be more straightforward to navigate.
Despite speculation that FPL could overhaul the chips, they have remained the same: managers will be able to use Triple Captain, Bench Boost and Free Hit once and a Wildcard twice, before and after Christmas. As you were, then.
It is getting more and more difficult to shoot for the much-coveted world no 1 spot, but hopefully i‘s weekly transfer tips, captain picks and up-to-date team news can give you a steer in the right direction. If you would like such content to be delivered into your email inbox, you can sign up for our free newsletter here.
Here is all you need to know ahead of the Gameweek 1 deadline:
When is the FPL Gameweek 1 deadline?
FPL managers have until 6.30pm on Friday 11 August to settle on their 15-player squad for the opening weekend.
As has been the case since 2021-22, the transfer deadline will fall 90 minutes before the first match of a gameweek.
The 2023-24 season begins with Burnley vs Manchester City at Turf Moor at 8pm.
Gameweek 1 fixtures
Friday 11 August
- Burnley vs Man City
Saturday 12 August
- Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest
- Bournemouth vs West Ham
- Brighton vs Luton
- Everton vs Fulham
- Sheffield United vs Crystal Palace
- Newcastle vs Aston Villa
Sunday 13 August
- Brentford vs Spurs
- Chelsea vs Liverpool
Monday 14 August
- Man Utd vs Wolves
Which players have new positions
Here are this season’s confirmed position changes:
- Sergi Canos (Brentford) – Defender to Midfielder
- Julio Enciso (Brighton) – Forward to Midfielder
- Cody Gakpo (Liverpool) – Midfielder to Forward
- Lewis Hall (Chelsea) – Midfielder to Defender
- Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest) – Forward to Midfielder
- Diogo Jota (Liverpool) – Forward to Midfielder
- Kai Havertz (Arsenal) – Forward to Midfielder
- Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) – Forward to Midfielder
- Richarlison (Spurs) – Forward to Midfielder
- Matt Ritchie (Newcastle) – Defender to Midfielder
- Yoane Wissa (Brentford) – Midfielder to Forward
The best players to buy for Gameweek 1
It is a case of Erling Haaland plus 14 others? Or has the Norwegian’s steep price rise provoked a rethink?
With a starting fee of £14m, Haaland is the most expensive FPL player in over a decade, dating back to Robin van Persie’s first season at Manchester United in 2012-13. Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo are the only other players in FPL history to have commanded that significant a fee at the start of a season.
It’s a lot of cash to spend on one player, but based on last season’s performance, Haaland is worth every penny. He ended 2022-23 with 36 goals, nine assists and 272 FPL points in 33 appearances; monstrous numbers for a monstrous FPL asset. Fitness permitting, he remains the first name on our teamsheet.
So that leaves £86m to play with. A popular strategy is to invest in expensive players first and then see how much you’ve got left in the kitty to play with. Next on our must-have list is Trent Alexander-Arnold, who comes in at a punchy £8m off the back of a scintillating run of form at the end of last season: he provided seven assists and one goal in his final 10 appearances after moving into a hybrid central midfield role.
There is a strong case for picking one of Mo Salah or Harry Kane (both £12.5m) but squeezing both in alongside Haaland and Alexander-Arnold will leave you too short elsewhere. Both are great options and have reasonable fixtures to start the season so opting for one over the other is a matter of personal preference.
The mid-range midfield bracket is where the fun is this year, though, with an abundance of promising options to pick from. There are 13 midfielders priced between £7.5m and £9m and you could make the case for all of them being in your starting line-up for Gameweek 1.
Our favourite picks in that price bracket are: James Maddison (£7.5m), Phil Foden (£7.5m), Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) and Bukayo Saka (£8.5m). Son Heung-min (£9m) is also tempting at that price after dropping £3m in value since the start of last season.
Bryan Mbeumo (£6.5m) is attracting plenty of early interest and with good reason considering he is likely to be on penalty-taking duty with Ivan Toney suspended and has been reclassified as a midfielder meaning he will earn an extra point per goal scored compared to last season.
Kieran Trippier (£6.5m) was the top-scoring defender in the game by a distance in 2022-23 but his price tag is prohibitive this time around. His Newcastle teammate Sven Botman (£4.5m) is clearly an inferior FPL option but that £2m saving can go a long way, particularly when there are so many good midfielders to cram in.
Reece James (£5.5m) and Ben Chilwell (£5.5m) could both prove to be bargains given Mauricio Pochettino’s knack for getting wing-backs firing. Both have been held back by injuries in recent years but may benefit from a reduced schedule with Chelsea out of European competition this season.
Sign up to i‘s FPL newsletter
If you’ve not yet signed up for i‘s free weekly Fantasy Premier League newsletter, then what are you waiting for?
Before every transfer deadline, i‘s newsletter will drop neatly into your inbox featuring: suggested transfer targets, key FPL-related stats, gameweek captain suggestions, up-to-date team news, and (hopefully) useful advice to help you fly up the rankings.
If you are yet to be convinced, our FPL expert has finished in the top 10,000 players worldwide in two of the previous four seasons. That’s it for the gloating, promise.
If you ever need a break from the Ashes, Wimbledon, the Women’s World Cup, or general transfer window mania this summer, then keep your eyes peeled for more FPL content on i’s Fantasy Football page and the @iPaperSport Twitter account.
We will also be running a league on the official game – with a code to come soon – and have a dedicated Facebook Group for managers to trade tips and tricks.
And while you’re signing up to the FPL newsletter, have a look at what else we have on offer, including The Score, Daniel Storey’s comprehensive review of all 20 Premier League clubs’ performance each weekend, and Boxing Tonight here.
