Always Cheating: A Fantasy Premier League Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Post-International Break FPL Catch-Up: Wildcard Time & GW5 Preview Sep 11, 2023

Show notes

The season's first international break concludes on Tuesday and thus far it's been fairly uneventful. But will things stay that way? And how will GW5 be impacted? With a rocky start in FPL, Josh is already planning his first wildcard and in this episode the Cheaters debate which Premier League players have stood out, have great fixtures on the horizon, and have hopefully not traveled too far with their respective national team. Plus, we praise an in-form Spurs side, zero in on question-mark teams like Chelsea and Manchester United, and check back in on the mess of goalkeeper picks. Hail Cheaters!

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Early Season FPL Clues, International Break Blues & Norway News Sep 05, 2023

Show notes

The results of GW4 have sent fantasy managers into the international break with a lot to think about. While some of us will feel smug and full-up on points from the likes of Alvarez, Mbeumo, and Maddison, others will be panicking and weighing the benefits of an early wildcard. With Josh away, special guest co-host Sam Danby Bailey joins Brandon to search for clues in the season's first four weeks as to which players and clubs are heading in the right direction: Was Sterling always a trap? Can Son capitalize on his hat trick? Is there any hope at all for clean sheets? Plus, Sam catches us up on life and football culture in Norway and shares some stories about his encounters with the great Erling Haaland. Hail Cheaters!

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FPL Assets to Buy, Sell, or Hold for GW4 Aug 28, 2023

Show notes

This weekend's matches proved to be the first big stress test on our fantasy squads and the FPL template of highly-owned, highly-agreed-upon assets. So what's next? Is Raheem Sterling really going to take the game by storm? Can we trust the West Ham attack to remain this potent? What happened to Brentford and Brighton on Saturday? And which of the stock Manchester United and Arsenal midfielders would we be will to part with in favor of an in-form guy like James Maddison? To sort this all out, we play another round of buy/sell/hold debating other alluring midfield options, budget defenders, and the still-fuzzy goalkeeper picture. Hail Cheaters!

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GW3 Preview & FPL Options We Overlooked In the Pre-Season Aug 21, 2023

Show notes

This weekend's GW2 action saw banter-level fantasy blanks for key players like Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, and Nicolas Jackson while other pre-season darlings like Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo continued to score points—not to mention the "we knew they had it in them" guys like Luis Diaz and Solly March who have started this new season in incredible form. How do we manage to overlook the potential of some options while convincing ourselves to stay the course with others? This week, we discuss the plan for GW3 and if (or for how long) we can continue to ignore the high-flying player we don't yet have in our FPL squads. Hail Cheaters!

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Ten Things We Think We Think After FPL GW1 Aug 14, 2023

Show notes

This season's opening weekend presented a wide range of fantasy outcomes, but some teams and players proved easier to predict than others. On this week's episode, the Cheaters discuss what stood out in GW1 and how it changes the calculus as we look ahead to GW2 and beyond. We also rate the plethora of midfielder options still vying for our attention and consider updating our goalkeeper strategies. Plus, we talk about impressive showings for Ben Chilwell and James Maddison, upcoming fixtures for Liverpool, a strong start for Newcastle, and Erling Haaland's eternal grip on the FPL captaincy. Hail Cheaters!

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GW1 Preview: Team Reveals & Last-Minute FPL Dilemmas Aug 07, 2023

Show notes

The 2023/24 Premier League season kicks off this Friday and we got our first taste of what's to come with Sunday's Community Shield clash between Manchester City and Arsenal, which saw the Gunners emerge victorious. The Cheaters react to the result and give their impressions of performances from notable players like Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Bukayo Sake, and even Kai Havertz. Did anything from the match change our thinking for GW1 and our early FPL drafts? Plus, we reveal our latest GW1 drafts and field a number of last-minute questions about Harry Kane, Mo Salah, João Pedro, and what punts/differentials we might be missing out on. Hail Cheaters!

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A guide to using data, xMins, and models this FPL season with guest "Elevenify" Aug 03, 2023

Show notes

In this special bonus pod, special guest Elevenify (https://elevenify.substack.com) joins to discuss data-driven strategies for the new Fantasy Premier League season. All of this week's podcast questions came exclusively from Always Cheating's Patreon supporters—visit patreon.com/alwayscheating to support the pod!

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Top 10 Defenders & Goalkeepers: 2023/24 FPL Season Preview (Part 3) Jul 31, 2023

Show notes

In our third and final FPL player preview ahead of the 2023/24 Premier League season, we take a closer look at the top defender and goalkeeper options and discuss where they each rank in terms of fantasy point floors and ceilings, injury and rotation risk, surrounding squad quality, and that all-important fun quotient. Always Cheating is trying something new this pre-season by working with our very own "data" model for fantasy picks, weighing factors that are uniquely important to our listeners. Listen back to our ranking of top 10 forwards and top 10 midfielders and tune in next week for our blockbuster GW1 deadline preview. Hail Cheaters!

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Top 10 Midfielders: 2023/24 FPL Season Preview (Part 2) Jul 27, 2023

Show notes

In our second of three FPL player previews, we take a closer look at the top midfielder options and discuss where they each rank in terms of fantasy point floors and ceilings, injury and rotation risk, surrounding squad quality, and that all-important fun quotient. Always Cheating is trying something new this pre-season by working with our very own "data" model for FPL player picks, weighing factors that are uniquely important to our listeners. Listen back to our ranking of top 10 forwards and tune in next week for our defender and goalkeeper previews. Hail Cheaters!

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Top 10 Forwards: 2023/24 FPL Season Preview (Part 1) Jul 24, 2023

Show notes

This pre-season, we're trying something new at Always Cheating headquarters: We built a "data" model for FPL player picks. But what sets our model apart from the competition is we're weighing factors that have historically been uniquely important to our listeners—like, say, is a player fun to own in fantasy? In our first of three player preview episodes, we take a closer look at the top forward options and discuss where they each rank in terms of fantasy point floors and ceilings, injury and rotation risk, surrounding squad quality, and that all-important fun quotient. Stay tuned for our midfielder, defender, and goalkeeper previews coming in the next week. Hail Cheaters!

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