FPL GW1 Tips- Best Formations & Structure, Haaland + Mo?, More

Welcome to StatsmanFPL’s Weekly Tips & Preview for Gameweek 1 of the FPL 2024/25 season. This blog will provide tips and advice to address key dilemmas and maximize your FPL points.

This blog is written by @StatsmanFPL. Be sure to follow his Instagram and Twitter for daily content and news. 

Link to all our 2024/25 Pre-Season articles including all team pre-season friendly updates, team previews, fixture analysis, position-wise analysis, differentials, players to target, budget enablers and more. Completely free to access as well!

FPL GW1 Tips – Key Tips & Questions Answered

1. What is the best formation to start with?

The best formation to start the season with is the 3-5-2 formation. The next best alternative is the 3-4-3 formation.

After the Premier League changed their injury time rules to allow for more injury time at the end of each half, we saw a 14.9% increase in goals scored. This could also be attributed to more managers sending their full-backs forward to join the attack and leaving their defence more exposed.

There has also been a change to the bonus points calculation system for this season. Goalkeepers and defenders will now be more heavily penalised for conceding goals and thus reducing their bonus points potential. 

These two key factors make starting only three defenders each week essential. 

The 3-5-2 formation is preferred as there is a wealth of strong choices across all price ranges in the Midfield category while there is a more limited amount of viable Forward options. Midfielders earning an extra point for a goal and having clean sheet point-earning capabilities are also a bonus.

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What should be the ideal Team Structure for FPL GW1?

Once you decide on a formation, the structure of your team is the next most important topic. Gameweek 1 is always a bit of a guessing game in terms of choosing fantasy assets as we have not seen a premier league match for three months. Teams change and player form changes. 

Inevitably you will make some wrong decisions and your team will need to have the flexibility to adapt and bring in the high-performing players early in the season. 

You should select assets that can be transferred out for other assets at the same price or a lower price easily to allow for weekly changes without needing to take a points hit. 

For example, starting the season with Salah (£12.5m) allows you to downgrade him to Saka/Son/Palmer without needing to perform surgery on your team. I will touch on this more in the next section.

Further Read: 204/25 Season FPL Team Structure Guide with Drafts & Ratings

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3. Haaland or Salah? Or Both?

Starting with Haaland and Salah should be seen as the safe option when crafting your Gameweek 1 lineup. As I touched on earlier, you will have the freedom to downgrade these premium assets to any other asset priced below them with one transfer.

Alternatively, if you were to start without Salah or Haaland and want to bring them in, it will cost you at least 2-3 transfers and potentially some points hits.

Starting with both Haaland and Salah also allows you to make the optimal captaincy decision each week. A good captaincy return is usually the difference between a good and a bad week. 

There has been nothing in the pre-season to suggest these two won’t perform to a very high level as we would expect. 

Further Read: Best FPL Drafts with Salah + Haaland with Pros/Cons and Key Notes

4. How many differentials are too many differentials?

The key to Gameweek 1 is to play it safe and fill your lineup with mostly reliable options. This means avoiding new players in the league or promoted teams for 90% of your lineup. 

You want assets that have performed in the  Premier League in the past and have a strong set of opening fixtures. The differential options become more viable once we have 4-6 weeks of data and can understand each team’s game plan for the new season. 

You should limit your number of differentials to one or two and fill the rest of your team with known quantities. 

That’s it for GW1, see you in the FPL GW2 blog. Be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter for daily content and news!

Further reads from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL GW1 of the 2024/25 FPL Season

FPL Gameweek 1 Articles:
Top FPL GW1 Differential Picks(<10% TSB) To Target Ahead Of GW1 Deadline
FPL GW1 Scout Selection- Top Picks for GW1 with Stats and Analysis
Best FPL Drafts with Salah + Haaland with Pros/Cons and Key Notes
AllAboutFPL FPL GW1 Team Reveal with Key Notes
Top FPL Gameweek 1 Captain Picks Based on Analysis & Metrics
FPL Team Structure Analysis with Drafts and Ratings
FPL GW1 Tips- Best Formations & Structure, Haaland + Mo?, More

Must Read articles:
Premier League Penalty & Set Piece Takers | 2024/25 PL Season
2024/25 Pre-Season Summary of All 20 Premier League Teams
Best FPL Rotational Pairs and Combinations for 2024/25 FPL Season
Best FPL Budget Enablers For The 2024-25 FPL Season
List of Free to Join Prize FPL Mini Leagues Ahead of 24/25 Season
List of Creative FPL Team Names for the 2024/25 FPL Season
Best £6.5m FPL Midfielders Comparison For 2024/25 FPL Season
Team wise Best FPL Differentials(<10% TSB) for the 2024/25 Season
Best Liverpool FPL Assets to Target for FPL GW1
2024/25 FPL Season – Teams & Players to Target | Fixture Analysis
Best FPL Picks Outside Top 6 Teams | 2024/25 FPL Season
2024/25 FPL Season- New Rules & Changes | What’s New in FPL?
Players to Avoid in FPL GW1 Drafts
Underpriced FPL Assets from Traditional Big 6 Teams
Ultimate 2024/25 FPL Pre-Season Guide: Tips, Preview & More

GW1 Drafts and Analysis:
AllAboutFPL FPL GW1 Team Reveal with Key Notes
204/25 Season FPL Team Structure Guide with Drafts & Ratings
Best FPL Drafts with Salah + Haaland with Pros/Cons and Key Notes
Initial FPL GW1 Drafts for the 24/25 FPL Season with Pros & Cons

Position-Wise Analysis:
Defenders and Goal Keepers series:
Best FPL Goalkeepers to Target For The 2024/25 FPL Season
Best £4.0 Million FPL Defenders For The 2024/25 FPL Season
Best £4.5 Million FPL Defenders for the 2024/25 FPL Season
Best £5-5.5 Million FPL Defenders for the 2024/25 FPL Season
Best Premium FPL Defenders for the 2024/25 FPL Season(>=6.0 million)

Midfielders Series:
Best Premium FPL Midfielders (£8.0 – £12.5 Million) | 24/25 Season
Best Mid-Priced FPL Midfielders (£6.5 -£7.5 Million) | 24/25 Season
£4.5 Million FPL Midfielders Watchlist for the 2024/25 FPL Season
Best Budget FPL Midfielders (£5.0 -£6.0 Million) | 24/25 Season

Forwards Series:
Best Premium FPL Forwards Analysis Ahead Of 2024/25 Season
Best FPL Budget Forwards (£4.5 – £5.5 Million) | 24/25 FPL Season
Best FPL Mid Priced Forwards (£6 – £7 Million) | 24-25 Season
Best FPL Mid Priced Forwards (£7.5 – £8 Million) | 24-25 Season

If you’re new to FPL, here is a link to all our FPL Beginners Guide including FPL Beginner’s Guide- How to play?, Bench boost, Team value, Triple captain, Effective ownership, Price Changes, Free Hit, Bonus Points, and more.

Link to all our 2024/25 Pre-Season articles including all position-wise analysis, team previews, fixture analysis, position-wise analysis, and more. Completely free to access as well!

Thanks for reading the “FPL GW1 Tips & Preview” blog. Keep checking allaboutfpl.com for regular blogs. Also, follow our 180,000+ community on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to stay updated on regular Posts and FPL updates.

What’s next from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL Gameweek 1 of the 2024/25 FPL Season?

We’ll be covering team previews for all 20 teams, FPL team structures, must-own players, player comparisons, differential picks, fixture analysis, captaincy metrics, multiple FPL drafts with pros and cons, chip strategy, rules guide, beginners guide, FPL tips, and more. Keep checking allaboutfpl.com for all our blogs and subscribe to our free newsletter through the link below. We’ll also be posting regularly about the same on our social media accounts so follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook keep our notification ON.

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