Seeing the points rack up in real time is one of the beauties of having a Fantasy Premier League team. A hat-trick for one of your striking picks is guaranteed to have you shooting up the table, provided none of your rivals have the same player, of course.
But despite goals being the biggest deliverer of points in FPL, not every goal is equal.
For while striker Harry Kane gains four points every time he hits the back of the net, defenders such as Eric Dier pick up six (and goalkeepers too).
READ MORE: Fantasy Premier League tips 2022/23: Arsenal star is perfect bargain option for Gameweek 1
Should your goalkeeper score, save a penalty (5pts) and keep a clean sheet (4pts) then you’re really laughing. And that’s without adding appearance points and the bonus for being the best player on the pitch.
Here, we break down how points are allocated in Fantasy Premier League to help you pick out your goalscoring, penalty-saving keeper. Error-prone defenders with dodgy temperaments and a knack for scoring own goals should look away now.
For playing up to 60 minutes: 1pt
For playing 60 minutes or more (excluding stoppage time): 2pts
Key takeaway: The change to allow five substitutions to be made in the Premier League this season follows on from a temporary change that came about in the final nine Gameweeks of the 2019/20 season.
Brighton played nine games in that period under Graham Potter and on eight occasions the Seagulls boss used all five of his allocation. That was in contrast to David Moyes at West Ham, who only once used all five of his potential replacements.
With substitutions occurring before the 60th minute costing the players replaced an appearance point it is worth noting when managers prefer to make their changes.
Jurgen Klopp made 42 substitutions across the closing stages of that campaign but of those only three occurred before the 60th minute.
For each goal scored by a goalkeeper or defender: 6pts
For each goal scored by a midfielder: 5pts
For each goal scored by a forward: 4pts
Key takeaway: The leading goalscorers in the Premier League last season were both classified as midfielders for FPL purposes.
Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min supplied 23 goals apiece, earning 115 points for their goalscoring exploits alone.
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, earned just 72 points for his 18 goals. That was less than the 75 points Kevin De Bruyne picked up for his 15 goals.
Chelsea's Reece James and Arsenal's Gabriel were the most prolific defenders, both scoring five goals for 30-point hauls.
For each goal assist: 3pts
Key takeaways: Assists are awarded to the player from the goalscoring team who makes the final pass before a goal is scored. An assist is awarded whether the pass or touch was intentional or unintentional. The controversy arises if an opposing player touches the ball after the final pass but before a goal is scored. If they significantly alter the intended destination of the ball or their touch is followed by a defensive error by a team-mate then no assist is awarded.
West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen topped the assists charts in 2021/22 with 17.
For a clean sheet by a goalkeeper or defender: 4pts
For a clean sheet by a midfielder: 1pt
Key takeaway: While goals and assists are what you are looking for from your midfielders, their clean sheet points are often overlooked.
Son picked up a useful 18 points from this avenue last season, with Salah and Rodri gaining an additional 17 points from clean sheets.
Goalkeepers Alisson and Ederson shared top spot for clean sheets in 2021/22 with 20, while central defender Virgil van Dijk had a league-high 21 shutouts for Liverpool.
For every three shot saves by a goalkeeper: 1pt
Key takeaway: Illan Meslier, despite (or perhaps because of) Leeds’ leaky defence made the most saves in the Premier League last season with 143. Alisson and Ederson, meanwhile, only produced 75 and 60, respectively.
For each penalty save: 5pts
Key takeaway: Penalty save points are only awarded if a penalty is missed and the keeper got a touch on the ball, with Lukasz Fabianski managing to do just that three times for West Ham last season.
For each penalty miss: -2pts
Key takeaway: Selecting a team’s designated penalty taker is a surefire way to easy points but even the normally reliable Jorginho missed from the spot last season. He wasn’t the worst culprit, however, with Bruno Fernandes and Wilfried Zaha twice failing to convert from 12 yards.
Bonus points for the best players in a match: 3pts, 2pts, 1pt
Key takeaway: The Bonus Points System (BPS) utilises a range of statistics to create a BPS score for every player. The three best performing players in each match are awarded bonus points from three down to one.
Conceding fouls, pass completion, errors which lead to goals and big chances created form a small part of this metric in addition to the traditional FPL points-scoring categories.
Kevin De Bruyne picked up 33 bonus points last season, pipping Trent Alexander-Arnold to top spot by a point.
For every two goals conceded by a goalkeeper or defender: -1pt
Key takeaway: Illan Meslier may have made the most saves in the top flight last time out but he was also picking the ball out of the net the most too as Leeds conceded 79 times on his watch. He lost 29 points as a result.
For each yellow card: -1pt
For each red card: -3pts
Key takeaway: Red cards prove costly but also leave you fretting on the remainder of the game, as any goals conceded while your player is off the pitch still count towards their total.
Ezri Konsa and Raul Jiminez both saw red on two occasions last term.
For each own goal: -2pts
Key takeaway: Everton’s Michael Keane and Newcastle’s Jamal Lascelles both put through their own goals twice last season. However, if it’s an own-goal scoring defender you are looking to avoid then that should be Aston Villa’s Lucas Digne. The French left-back has scored own goals in three of his four Premier League campaigns.
Captain and Triple Captain
Additionally, by naming a player captain you can double their points tallies for that Gameweek. One Triple Captain is also awarded in a season, allowing a player’s points to be tripled instead of doubled in the next Gameweek. Picking the right captain can make or break a week.
Season-high points totals for 2021/22
Kevin De Bruyne produced the highest Gameweek total last season, taking advantage of a double Gameweek to record 30 points.
An assist in a 5-0 win over Newcastle earned him six points and he followed that up with four goals against Wolves to pick up a further 24 points.
De Bruyne earned a late yellow card in the Wolves clash and also hit the post in the 89th minute, denying him a further six points and the all-time FPL Gameweek record.
To prove points can come from all areas of the pitch, Aston Villa defender Matty Cash was the second highest Gameweek scorer in 2021/22.
In another double Gameweek, Cash played Leeds and Southampton and registered two clean sheets, a goal and an assist for 29 points.
READ NEXT:
- Fantasy Premier League changes in 2022/23 as World Cup 2022 rule added to FPL
- Clinton Morrison's verdict on Crystal Palace transfer activity and what areas to focus on next
Mikel Arteta's 15 deals may guarantee Arsenal transfers as summer window enters final month
When Arsenal must register Youri Tielemans to make debut at Crystal Palace if transfer is sealed
