A Guide to FPL GW17 Team Structure with Drafts

Ahead of GW17, I am taking a look at the popular FPL GW17 Team Structures and discuss my perspective on their potential benefits and detriments. I’ll also touch on why team structure matters and how we can conceptualize it to better understand our personal approach to GW17 and beyond.

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Introduction – What is Team Structure and Why is it Important?

“FPL Team structure” describes the organization of an FPL team relative to positions and prices. Generally, team structure is important because it can be difficult to shift a large amount of funds from one position to another. Being aware of your team structure allows you to be aware of the potential limitations of your squad. As well, being selective with team structure can go hand-in-hand with overall strategy. Certain team structures work better for certain strategies, so if these are not aligned, you may be missing out on certain advantages.

Part One – What are the Popular Team Structures ahead of GW17?

Generally, we can split team structures based on the amount of premiums they have: one-premium, two-premium, three-premium, or four-premium. “Premiums” are assets priced in the double-digits, though it is a loose term. At this point in the season, due to budget and alternative picks, two and three-premium structures are most popular. I’ll also touch on four-premium, but those two are generally the most popular.

Along with number of premiums, we can also categorize team structures by various strategies based on allocation of funds and intended formations. “Big at the back” is a widely known example of this, however that strategy has gone down the drain this season. Some structures that are popular at this point in the season involve: budget defense, big up front, cheap benches, and deep benches. These are four strategies that I have seen more than others on Twitter, however I could certainly be missing some popular approaches as we have not been discussing FPL for too long (post-World Cup).

Let me break down my thoughts on each of these popular structures…

Two-Premium

This is likely the most popular, well-balanced team structure out there right now; so I will not say too much on it. Alongside Haaland, taking your pick of Kane, KDB, and Salah sets you up very nicely. This will be one of many people’s first (and perhaps toughest) decisions when building a GW17 draft. With only two premiums, there are adequate funds to distribute evenly across the rest of the team. This allows for picks such as Cancelo, Darwin, Foden, and Saka without compromising much elsewhere. Two-premium will likely be the standard, and for that reason it does not have a super high upside. However, you can apply other strategies alongside a two-premium structure to search for advantages elsewhere.

FPL GW17 Team Structure- 2 Premiums — **Example of a Two-Premium Draft**

Further Read: FPL Players and Teams to Target from FPL Gameweek 17

Three-Premium

For some lucky people, a three-premium draft may not be too different from other’s two-premium drafts (because of accumulated Team Value). However, generally a three-premium comes with some compromises compared to a two-premium. Typically, these compromises come in the form of either missing out on some of the mid-high priced picks (such as those mentioned in the last paragraph) or having a cheap bench. With the average budget right now, most will only have to compromise one of these two, which comes down to personal judgement. I would say that for most people with a Team Value of 103.5 million and above, a three-premium should be a strong consideration. Anything below that and it becomes a bit more difficult to justify.

I’ll discuss cheap benches a little later, but I’ll dive a bit deeper into the other typical compromise. The four assets I listed before (Cancelo, Darwin, Foden, and Saka) along with some popular picks such as Bruno, Maddison, and Wilson are tricky to fit in with three premiums. You will likely have to choose only two or three of the bunch, which can be difficult when they all have a case to be selected. In a two-premium structure, you can pick a majority of them, so there is not much worry of missing out on potential hauls. In my opinion, there is an argument for both sides. As long as you end up picking the successful assets on either path, you will do well. I do not think that we will look back in a few Gameweeks and think that one approach was much better than the others. With that being said, if I had to pick one option above the rest, I would lean towards a two-premium (again, unless Team Value exceeds 103.5 million). I think what some might call a two-and-a-half-premium (with Bruno) is a really good option and potentially one that gets the best of both worlds without compromising too much.

FPL GW17 Team Structure- Three Premiums — **Example of Three-Premium Draft(Team value- 104.0 million)**

FPL GW17 Team Structure- Two and Half Premium — **Example of a Two and a Half Premium Draft(Team value- 103.5)**

Further Read: Best 8 Million FPL Midfielders Comparison ahead of FPL GW17

Four-Premium

This structure is mostly for those with an exceptionally high Team Value. The most popular picks in a four-premium would be: Haaland + 2 of Kane/KDB/Salah + 1-2 of Bruno/Darwin. So, I guess you could call some variations three-and-a-half-premiums. For those with a high Team Value, I do think this is a good idea. All of these picks seem great and there are so many budget picks to fill the team with after. If you have enough funds, you can still opt for a mid-priced attacking asset like Foden or Saka.

However, for those with an average Team Value (102.0-103.5 million), I do not see this as being a viable strategy. You have to cut a lot of the high-upside picks out and pick a cheap bench. For me, that is too much to compromise because the team is sort of a ticking time bomb, when injuries and Double Gameweeks come along.

Further Read: Best FPL GW17 Defenders to Target from Each Price Range

Budget Defense

Now, let us move to the funds and formation-based strategies. The first is budget defense, because many managers (like myself) are looking to select a defense where Trippier (5.9 m) is the most expensive defender and the other defenders are all priced at 5.0 million and below. Botman, Dalot, Schar, and White are four popular picks who are all outstanding assets. The main exclusions with this strategy are Cancelo and Reece James. I wrote about the argument against Cancelo in my recent Man City article and I think there is merit to it. At the moment, I do not intend to have Cancelo in my GW17 Wildcard. With Reece James, the argument against is that Chelsea defense is average and he will likely be managed coming back from injury. I also think there is merit to going against James, but his upside given the fixtures is very tempting. All-in-all, many of us will be spending less on the defense than we are recently accustomed to. The big decisions are Cancelo and James, so it depends on how you view their upside compared to the cheaper defenders.

Big Up Front

On the flipside, many are considering going with a pricey forwards line. Big up front and budget defense are often connected, but they are not directly connected as you can go cheap in midfield. Big up front would look like a forward line of: Haaland + Kane + Darwin/Wilson. These are the most popular mid-premium forwards and they are all exceptional assets. I think this strategy is perfectly fine, it just comes with the downside of having to go cheaper in midfield and defense. If you are someone that prefers Kane to the midfield premiums and likes a lot of the budget defender and midfielder picks, then big up front is a perfectly viable strategy.

Further Read: FPL GW17 Restart- Confirmed Double GWs, Injuries & Suspensions

Cheap Bench

The final two structures are polar opposites, however I am seeing many people in the community believe either as the “common sense” way to go. With a cheap bench, you will have two to three assets like Andreas, Billing, Bueno, Garnacho, Neco Williams, Summerville (currently injured?), Tavernier or Patterson. The argument for these assets is that most of them are nailed and they are even startable in some Gameweeks. The argument against them is that they are just not assets you want to be playing most Gameweeks, so if an injury or suspension comes up in your team, you could be in a bind. Andreas would be the one exception of the bunch, he is a great asset, but for the others you have to really question their role in your team. As well, going with a cheap bench almost presumes that you will use your Wildcard before using your Bench Boost. With the amount of Double Gameweeks upcoming (specifically in GW29), you probably don’t want to lock in that decision just yet. In my opinion, it is better to not go for a super cheap bench right now.

Deep Bench

On the flipside, we have the strategy of opting for a deep bench, likely with Andreas as the only budget outfield asset. This gives a team a nice safety net in the case of injuries or suspensions, and it sets up to be flexible and reactive moving into Double Gameweeks. The downside is that you are spending some extra funds on assets that will not be starting most weeks. Personally, I am in favor of doing so at this point in the season. As well, I believe that rotating assets for home fixtures is an advantageous strategy for the upcoming period (read more about that here). To do so, you need multiple a deep bench who can rotate with each other. Doing so also allows us to opt for some more rotation-prone assets in our Starting XI (as long as they as not someone who subs into the game often).

Conclusion

Thanks for reading! All in all, I think it is important to be cognizant of the structural decisions we make with our GW17 Wildcard selection. These decisions should reflect on our intent and have important ramifications down the line. I hope my analysis of the above structures helped your thinking on the matter. My apologies if you think I missed an important strategy.

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Alex Michel

AllAboutFPL's Manchester City Correspondent Twitter: @4lex_mcfc

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