Fantasy Premier League

FPL champion’s tips: Limit hits to Blanks and Double Gameweeks

By The Scout 4 Jun 2023

2022/23 winner Ali Jahangirov on his prudent approach to taking points hits

The Scout analyses the strategies of 2022/23 Fantasy Premier League champion Ali Jahangirov, so that other managers can learn from the best.

Avoid taking hits

Jahangirov was cautious when it came to taking points hits, recording just nine all season.

That meant he spent only 36 points on his way to the title, limiting himself to a -4 on each of those occasions.

“When my player is playing, I've rarely taken him out,” he says.

“Replacing a starting player with another, knowing that this guy can outscore him, it's just going into negative points.

“That’s why it's a no-go for me.

“But when you know that your players are not playing or not starting, that's when you can consider taking a hit.”

That patient approach served the champion well, with Jahangirov making three transfers in a single Gameweek only once all season.

This occurred in GW3 where he had to sell Darwin Nunez due to suspension, bringing in Harry Kane, Luis Diaz and Phil Foden for the Liverpool striker, Mohamed Salah and Pedro Neto.

Mixing things up

Notably, Jahangirov just took two points hits in the opening 19 GWs before altering his strategy for the second half of the season.

“Sometimes when people are jumping on some of the bandwagons, I’m asking myself if it's a transfer I want to make. If not, I just ignore it,” he adds.

“I actively avoid trying to take hits. But when it comes to Double Gameweeks and Blank Gameweeks, they usually tend to pay off more frequently.

Making the most of Blank and Double Gameweeks

Indeed, six of Jahangirov’s final seven points hits were taken in either Double or Blank Gameweeks.

Those six hits all came in a 12-Gameweek period between GW20 and GW31 as he looked to take advantage of the schedule.

Jahangirov sat in 1,867th position at the start of that period.

Despite those points deductions, he had climbed to fourth spot by GW25 and never left the top five for the remainder of the season.

Jahangirov limited his need for hits by keeping faith in his players and waiting until the changes in schedule.

By focussing mainly on the BGW and DGWs later in the season, he was able to negate any points deductions while simultaneously strengthening his squad for the run-in.