10 Ways to Gain FPL Rank in its Final Weeks

If you’re having a poor FPL season or are still low in the mini-leagues, here are some guidelines on good ways to quickly gain rank.

When it’s a game of both skill and luck, all a manager can do is maximise the areas they can control, hoping it puts the team in the perfect place for good fortune.

1 – Differential picks

There needs to be a fine balance of highly-owned players who’d be dangerous not to own, plus some low-owned gems. Either with good form, good fixtures or both, these differentials could be high-profile, reliable picks from the past – like Son Heung-min (£9.7m) – or complete punts that your gut feels good about.

Maybe put a couple of these in attack, plus a forward-thinking defender. As for captaincy, some weeks encourage a brief, risky stray away from Mohamed Salah (£13.7m) – be ready for those.

2 – Be aggressive

Loyalty may have existed previously but, at this stage, it’s all about the final stretch. If Cole Palmer (£10.8m) continues his decline, he has to go. And if goals dry up for Chris Wood (£7.3m) or Bryan Mbeumo (£8.1m), don’t be scared to sell.

Only receiving half of a player’s price gain holds some managers back earlier on, in case they want to re-buy him in future. Well, take that profit and use it elsewhere. Remember, rankings and mini-leagues are calculated on points, not squad value.

3 – But don’t take any points hits

The aggression should encourage proactive decisions but not if that extra transfer costs you four points. On a basic level, that contradicts trying to gain rank in such a short time.

4 – Roll transfers when possible

There’s even a benefit to carrying over your free transfer into the next week, considering a big double is followed by a big blank. Then, from Gameweek 35 onwards, quite a few teams have a fixture swing for the closing four rounds.

5 – Maximise Double Gameweek 33 + Blank Gameweek 34

Entering Gameweek 33 with a couple of free transfers and some chips would be ideal, as it’d allow you to give each subsequent week a good go.

We expect Double Gameweek 33 to be the opposite of Blank Gameweek 34, so navigating this successfully probably needs one to use Free Hit or the latter to be a Wildcard.

6 – Plan ahead with chip strategy

There’ll also be some Assistant Manager, Bench Boost and Triple Captain chips lying about.

We know Newcastle and Crystal Palace will play twice in Gameweek 32, while the FA Cup final could form a Double Gameweek 36 – no guarantees for the latter, mind. By looking at your current squad and available chips, carefully assess when you feel each one should be activated.

7 – Target the best fixtures

The Magpies and Eagles both get to face a side inside the bottom three before their double. Their immediate fixtures look great, with potentially eight teams playing twice in Gameweek 33.

What’s also ideal for chip strategies is that the big blank will still feature the popular picks from Liverpool, Newcastle and Chelsea.

8 – Avoid teams with nothing to play for

On paper, Brentford end with a nice run. They face Man United, Ipswich, Fulham and Wolves, while over at Everton they’re at home to Ipswich and Southampton in Gameweeks 35 and 37.

However, the phrase ‘on the beach’ is based on real-life examples, where mid-table teams lack motivation to win near the end. Although not purposely losing, they’re maybe missing that usual percentage.

Therefore picking players from those sides feels a bit risky.

9 – Stay up to date with content

Using social media, plus hotbeds like Fantasy Football Community and Fantasy Football Scout, it’s not difficult for managers to keep an eye on FPL’s latest announcements and injuries.

Both websites have a good mix of factual, statistical and opinion-based articles, alongside some useful tools.

10 – Use Scout Members Area stats

By signing up to be a Scout Member, you immediately get access to a huge number of underlying player and team stats, as well as the ability to compare individuals side-by-side.

There’s also a fixture ticker, visual match events and some projections for the future.

It’s no wonder that so many former champions were registered Members.