Tips for Picking the Hottest Players to Draft for your Fantasy Soccer Team

Fantasy Soccer is taking the world by storm, with over 41 million participants. In this game, a participant picks players that play real-life professional soccer and creates an imaginary team. The score points of these teams are based on the player’s actual real-life statistical performance and their perceived contribution on the field when they play.

Players are usually selected from a specific division in a particular country. However, there are many variations. Over the years, Fantasy football has evolved dramatically and has transformed from a recreational hobby to a business. This growth is all thanks to the internet and the exposure it has given the game.

From the single Fantasy Soccer game, there emerges another variant, which is club-based. Thus, participants can only choose players from their own club.

In general, succeeding at Fantasy Premier League is hard, but when there are fewer players on the draft version of the game, it becomes even more challenging to pick the hottest players. Therefore, it is imperative that you know all you can about how to draft the best of the best players for your Fantasy soccer team.

Winning at Fantasy soccer requires skill and, most importantly, a good team. The only way that you can get a good team is by knowing all the tactics and sheer good luck.

The Drafting

A draft is an option that allows the participant to jumpstart a league. This feature makes the game a lot more interesting for leagues that are set up during the seasons. The participants can have a team for a game in one match and trade players with other members in the next.

Planning for the draft is essential because if you are participating in a timed draft online and you’re selecting to pick last in the first round, you won’t have much time to think or make decisions. Therefore, it is possible that you may run out of time and be stuck with an auto-drafted player.

There are various draft types, such as auto pick, snake, and auction. Each team has to fill its roster within a specific budget in an auction draft. In such kinds of drafts, the participant must be innovative and not choose one or two costly players to be stuck with many subpar ones.

Whichever the draft format is, the key to winning is to get the most bang for your buck. It is essential that the players chosen provide value for their projected total points.

Tips for Choosing the Best Players

If you want to choose the best players available for your team, you need to be smart about your decisions. Here are some tips that will help you pick the hottest players for your soccer team.

Check the Player’s Average Draft Position

When you are drafting players, it is imperative that you check their ADP or their average draft position. Doing so will enable you to gauge whether or not they will be available in the following rounds. If they are, you can spend your valuable pick on a player that may not be available in further rounds.

Some players that are available in round two or three often cost less money. Therefore, you will get more for your money if you hold off on certain players. However, you will have to carry out some preliminary research before the drafting occurs to know your desired player’s ADP.

Don’t Pick Players Based on Emotions

When picking players, it is of utmost importance that you don’t get emotional or sentimental about players. It may be tempting to pick a player despite their low score or ranking just because they are your favorite or from your favorite club in real life.

However, you must keep their scores in mind and choose players based on that. Furthermore, if you have had bad luck with a particular player in the past, you should not completely ignore them in the drafts. If they have a good score and are generally reliable, then there is no reason for you not to choose them.

Choose Your Quarterbacks Later On

Each year, participants are fooled into making their draft picks for quarterbacks early because they have the mindset that they score the most points. However, when comparing the top quarterbacks to other lower-ranking ones, they don’t outscore them by a lot, especially when comparing them to running backs and wide receivers.

To win a championship, you have to score the most points from each player at each of your draft picks. Even in later draft rounds, quarterbacks will be available for you to choose from. These quarterbacks will have had great seasons, so you won’t be stuck with an awful player.

While drafting, your goal should be to choose the player who is of the best value later in the draft and choose a quarterback in the later rounds and have them be your weekly starter.

React According to Your League Mates

When drafting, alongside paying attention to your own picks, make sure you know what the others are picking and trading as well. It may seem unnecessary to track each and every draft of your league mates, but in the long run and in later drafts, it will become beneficial.

Knowing your league mates’ picks will determine when to strike for certain players and positions and when to wait and bid your time. That way, you will also be able to choose a player that costs less but has a good score.

Furthermore, tracking your opponents will give you the confidence to wait for another round or two before drafting. If you know your league mates have drafted a quarterback, you can easily wait for a few more rounds because you would know that no one else would be picking them.

Know The Rules Beforehand

Not knowing the rules is creating a disadvantage for yourself. You should study the rules of each league beforehand; they don’t all have the same rules. When you are well aware of the rules, you can also utilize the rules for your benefit and create a playing field that suits you best.

There are many ways that you can use the rules of fantasy soccer to your advantage, but that requires you to know whether there are loopholes that you can use.

Pay Attention to Tiered Ranking

The tiered ranking is one of the most popular parts of specific drafts, and it can be instrumental and advantageous. The tiered ranking shows you where there is a vast difference between players.

It is a beginner player move to choose players from a top 200 list because their rank does not mean that they will work best on your team. There is always a chance that these leading players may not be the best choice.

When you have a tier list, you will be able to identify players that are very similar to other players. Therefore, you will be able to choose a player with the same skillset as a more expensive player or a player that others may have already drafted. Such tiers can also prevent you from chasing a positional run.

Players on Better Teams are More Reliable

Certain players on awful teams may seem enticing because of how good of a player they are, but these stats can be misleading. A lousy team has terrible players. Therefore, you must choose players who may be low-volume but are from excellent teams.

When choosing from an exceptional team, you will have ease of mind that they are reliable because of their background. There is no reason not to select low-volume players because players from awful teams are generally a gamble in comparison.

Don’t Fear Trading

Trading is one of the most exciting parts of playing fantasy football, and it is also the quickest way that you can improve your team. Therefore, you should not be afraid to trade away a player for a better player or even trade away more players than you get.

2 for 1 and 3 for 2 trades can actually be highly beneficial because when you have an open roster, you can pick a player without having to trade or drop anyone. When you have a good team, dropping even one player can make it very nerve-wracking, but with such trades, you need not worry.

Pay Attention to Who Your Opponents Drop

It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for who your opponents are dropping. It is often a really good indicator of how their team is constructed. Furthermore, the player they are dropping may become soccer success stories.

There is also a chance that the player your opponent is dropping would be a great addition to your own team. Therefore, it is always wise to watch the players being dropped by your league mates.

Pick According to Your Needs

When drafting players, it is vital to pick for your own team and not for someone else. It may be tempting to choose players that you think may be suitable for another team, but you pick them regardless in hopes of a good trade.

However, this strategy can majorly backfire because no one will trade certain players for others. Furthermore, you will be at a disadvantage by choosing more than one kind of player you need. You don’t need three quarterbacks, and Trading for other players will become extremely difficult.

Therefore, it is better that you choose the players you need and not think about Trading when drafting.

Some Players You Should Look Out For

Along with knowing how to pick the hottest players, you should also know which players are the best so you can keep an eye out for them when you are drafting for your fantasy football league.

For your first-round picks, you should focus on players from the big leagues like Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United. Some valuable players include Timo Werner, Mohamed Saleh, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sadio Mane, Raheem Sterling, Bruno Fernandes, Sergio Agero, and Kevin De Bruyne.

For your second-round picks, if there are good players available from the top leagues, you should definitely draft them, but you can also pick from Leicester, Spurs, and Wolves. Some good players from these teams include Christian Pulistic, Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Anthony Martial, Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy, and Marcus Rashford.

Conclusion 

Fantasy soccer is an extremely popular game that people from all around the world tune in to on webs and Fantasy sports apps. It is not a complex game, but winning can become quite tricky if you don’t pick the right players for your team. Therefore, it all rests on your decision-making skills during drafts.

Thus, it is crucial that you have some tips and tricks up your sleeve so you can pick the best players for your team, who will eventually lead you to a victory.