Fantasy football has most certainly done a fine job in raising our expectations about the 90-minute action that we witness over the weekend. Apart from unconditionally supporting our football club, we also check out other fixtures and raise our knowledge in a bid to earn points in the fantasy football league. This craze that revolves around football deserves to be spoken about, including all the current rankings, picks and a few tips to help you limit the risks.

So if you are looking to gain some knowledge on fantasy football and explore the process on a wider scale, the following write up will help you do the trick.

What is Fantasy Football?

Fantasy football can be considered a game where you play the role of a football manager. Rather than being a particular manager of a specific football club, you will play the role of a fantasy manager who gets to pick players from all squads in the league. However, there are specific limitations to this process as the activity begins by handing you a budget.

Hence, you will have to make all your decisions with this particular budget and then look upon the point sheet to know how you have been performing against your opponents. Since players bring in points based on how they perform on the pitch, you will have to know who is in good form and who isn't before picking a player and adding them to your squad.

With all these basic and simple rules, fantasy sports has always had a certain grip over the fans, thereby bringing in comparisons with some of the other activities that they follow like football betting.

Which League Do I Choose for Fantasy Football?

Once you begin to understand fantasy football, the next step would be to choose a particular league. While there are major European leagues that are well equipped to meet all your fantasy requirements, you should always choose a league that you are aware of.

For example, everyone would know about famous leagues like the Premier League. However, you should also be aware of its players, clubs, style of football and much more if you wish to form a team consisting of Premier League footballers.

If European football is not what you are after, you can also look towards its counterpart in American football and decide to play fantasy football based on Major League Soccer (MLS).

Picking a Team/Squad

As mentioned before, fantasy football begins by providing you with a budget. So you will have to compare this budget with the asking price of the players and then look to form a balanced squad. If top players like Cristiano Ronaldo or Mohamed Salah have to be in your team, you will have to spend more, which again will limit the budget for other players.

As a result, you will have to make an informed decision based on the form of a player and based on the fact that you have to pick 11 players. Like sports betting relies on a strategy, you will also have to use a strategy for fantasy football and make things work since you are the football manager.

Scoring Points in Fantasy Football

There are different ways through which a player can earn you points and they are all loosely related to their current form in the real game. The following list contains some of the ways through which players can bring in points for your fantasy team.

• Scoring goals

The most obvious way a player can earn points for your team is if they score in the real game.

• Playing matches

If a player is going to play for their real-life team, then you can also earn a small share of the points.

• Providing assists

After scoring goals, the next obvious step to earn points is for the player to provide real-life assists and be involved in goal-scoring opportunities.

• Good performance

If players end up winning the best player award or other related awards by the end of the game, they will bring in additional points to the ones they might have already brought by either scoring a goal, providing an assist or playing the game.

• Clean sheets

Defenders and goal-keepers are entrusted with the activity of preventing the opposition from scoring. So if your players end up doing so, meaning that they end up keeping a clean sheet, your team will once again earn points.

Losing Points in Fantasy Football

Players can also lose points for your team and the following ways are how it happens.

• Conceding goals

ike we all know, defenders and goalkeepers are required to keep clean sheets. However, that might not always be possible as they might end up conceding goals. On such occasions, you will lose points.

• Getting booked

Players who receive yellow cards or a red card for their action will also reduce points for your team.

Now that we are aware of the basics, let's dig deeper into the current standings and picks by looking closely into all the Premier League action that has been going on in the world of fantasy football.

Standings & Picks

Every Premier League season brings in different standings and picks as player performances keep on changing. However, there are a few consistent players who perform week in and week out to a huge extent that it is hard not to regard them as one of football's greatest.

So let's take a look at the current standings of the 2021/22 season of the Premier League.

• Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Forward)

There's no stopping the Egyptian King as he comes prepared for every game with the intention of scoring goals, providing assists and terrorizing the opponent's defence.

• Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool, Defender)

Another Liverpool player to earn maximum fantasy points this season is 23-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold who is just turning out to be in contention for the post of best right-back in the world.

With his phenomenal form, you will have to consider choosing him and develop a strategy that suits your plan just like how players develop a betting strategy before placing bets.

• Joe Cancelo (Manchester City, Defender)

Manchester City has its defenders running all over the place scoring goals and providing assists. And one among them is Joe Cancelo who is also leading the line in terms of fantasy points.

• Diogo Jota (Liverpool, Forward)

With Liverpool's dominant title-running season continuing in full swing, there's no doubt about the fact that you are going to be seeing more of their players bringing in points for fantasy football.

• Bernardo Silva (Manchester City, Midfielder)

Bernardo Silva's form in the current season has seen comparisons to great players and he has often been at the centre of the squad when they kept on scoring goals one after the other. From assists to goals, Silva can do it all.

Fantasy Tips

• Select players before the price rise

Time is an important factor for both fantasy football as well as online betting and one of the main reasons that suggest the same is beating the price rise. If you want a certain player who is popular in the Fantasy Premier League and you are certain that they will play, you need to select them before the transfer activity to avoid a price rise.

• The need for a strong bench

Football brings in unexpected situations where players may be injured or dropped. Due to that, it is quite important to name a strong bench where you have at least one or two players who could provide a strong backing.

• Why do you need to use bargain players

The first few weeks of any Premier League season will keep you informed about the players who are in good form and players who aren't. So using this short window, you also need to analyse players that cost less but play well.

They can be added to help you cut down on your budget and earn points.

• Adding the right set-piece takers

A football team is incomplete without the right set-piece takers which makes it important to add them. In order to understand who will be the perfect fit, you need to analyse all set-piece takers from the clubs and pick one that suits your team and budget.