How to win your mini-league in the final weeks
There are just four FPL gameweeks left of the 2022/23 season. This is the stage of the campaign where managers leading their mini-leagues start to believe they can win. It is also the point of the season where those chasing start to put in the hard graft to snatch the crown. Here we take a look at how to win your mini-league in the final weeks of the FPL season.
Gameweeks 35-38 will be key for all FPL managers, regardless of whether they are winning or chasing in their mini-leagues. A whole year of planning and strategising comes down to these final weeks where managers will take the glory or just fall short. Here we take a look at how to win your mini-league if you are chasing as well as how to hold of the competition if you are currently ahead.
Managers currently ahead
For managers currently winning their mini-leagues, staying at the top is going to be key. There are a few things that managers leading the charge can do to ensure that they stay there.
Play your game
The pressure is all on the managers chasing in mini-league to catch the manager at the top. If you are currently winning your league the key for the final four gameweeks of the season is to play your own game. Managers behind will be making moves in the hopes of catching you, don’t try to second guess and cover the moves that they might make.
Don’t take unnecessary risks
Differentials are brilliant for FPL managers – when they pay off. However, sometimes you have to remove a heavily owned or in form player in order to bring them in. For managers chasing that is key to try to give themselves an advantage.
However, for managers winning the league their strategy should be somewhat different. When bringing in differentials don’t bring them in for the heavily owned players. Selling the likes of heavily owned Bukayo Saka to bring in Jadon Sancho or Riyad Mahrez could pay off. However, if Saka returns that is going to hurt your overall rank and possibly your mini-league position more than the potential gains. Think carefully before you sell a heavily owned player, especially if your mini-league rivals still own them.
Don’t panic
When you are leading a mini-league it is hard not to keep looking over your shoulder. The decisions you have made over the course of the 2022/23 season have lead to you being at the head of the pack. Keep calm, carry on as you have been.
Managers currently chasing
For managers who are currently chasing in their mini-leagues we have reached the make or break stage of the season. The strategy for managers chasing in their mini-leagues will be different from those at the top. Managers winning need an element of safety about their game play, whereas managers chasing will need to take some risks.
Differentiate your team
When you are behind in your mini-league looking at the team of the manager ahead is key. If you have 10/11/12 of the same players in your starting Xi the weekly gains you can make over them will be restricted. In order to catch up you need to ensure that you have different players in your team.
Of course this is a risk! When thinking about differentials you want to ensure that you keep the heavily owned assets and play with the other players in your team. Owning the likes of Erling Haaland, Trippier, and Marcus Rashford is going to be key. However the other seven players in your team could be different.
If the person topping the league doesn’t have the likes of Harry Kane, Mo Salah, Kaoru Mitoma and Luke Shaw then bringing them in could give you the edge. Having players in your team that they don’t have in theirs will allow you to chip away at their league.
Take some risks
Managers at the top of mini-leagues are likely to play it safe over the coming weeks. Therefore managers who are chasing could take some risks. Arsenal assets for example have been excellent for us this season, however with no doubles now could be the time for chasing managers to take a risk.
If chasing managers sell the likes of Saka, Gabriel, Gabriel Martinellii and Gabriel Jesus they could put themselves in a position to bring in extra double gameweek assets. Of course this is a risk as if the Arsenal players return it will punish those who sell, so when deciding whether to sell, if you do go for those with extra minutes and in good form.
Target the double gameweek teams
When thinking about how to win your mini-league in the final weeks of the season targeting the teams who play twice could be key. Brighton, Man United, Man City, Newcastle and Chelsea all still have at least one double gameweek left. Brighton have two. Targeting players with double gametweeks left, means that FPL managers could potential add 180 additional minutes per player to their team. Doing this could give a big advantage over those above you.
Don’t have too much money left on the bench
If managers have their bench boost chip left then this does not apply. However, for managers who have played their bench boost chip already then not wasting too much FPL budget on the bench is important. FPL managers who are chasing could differentiate their teams by building a ‘threemium’ team with Haaland, Kane and Salah in, if they reduce their benches to budget enablers.
Having players like Daniel Iversen, Vladimir Coufal, Neco Williams and Andreas Pereira are all regularly starting for their teams. This means that if FPL managers need a bench they have players who can come off the bench and contribute. Coufal and Williams have both returned attacking returns as well as clean sheets in recent weeks. Pereira is on penalties in the absence of Aleksandr Mitrovic and has refound his scoring boots.
This bench costs just £16m. This means that FPL managers would have around £84m, depending on team value, to spend on their starting XI. Having more money to spend than those leading the mini-league could be key to over taking them.
