Playing the MyEG Stadium Astro BPL Fantasy Football Game?

This blog will now be dedicated to the MyEG Stadium Astro BPL Fantasy Football Game 2015/2016.

Hi and welcome! Obviously we’ve missed the first gameweek, but let's face it, it wasn't exactly a blockbuster weekend for fantasy points, so you won't be at much of a disadvantage by starting one week late.

There are quite a lot of fantasy football  resources out there, but none dedicated to our local game. I'm sure there are plenty of players always looking for additional pointers/advice/info. Especially when there’s prizes involved :) So I thought I would do a series with a focus on the Stadium Astro game for anyone interested. Feel free to discuss or disagree in the comments.

SCORING STRATEGY

For this week, let’s take a look at the scoring strategy in general  (Next article will be on specific player picks). First, here's a reproduction of the point-scoring.

Goalkeepers	Points			Defenders	Points
Goals Scored	7			Goals Scored	6
Goals Conceded	-1			Goals Conceded	-1
Clean Sheet	3			Clean Sheet	2
Assists	6			Assists	5
Penalty Save	3			Penalty Miss	-3
Penalty Miss	-3			Hat Trick	9
Midfielders	Points			Strikers	Points
Goals Scored	5			Goals Scored	4
Clean Sheets	1			Assists	3
Assists	3			Penalty Miss	-3
Penalty Miss	-3			Hat Trick	5
Hat Trick	7
Additional: All Players		Points
Played over 70 mins		2
Played 69 mins and under		1
Yellow Card		-2
Red Card		-5

The Captain scores DOUBLE points for any matches played within the next 7 days (which implies that the same captain could be the default for two matches in a double week).

Alright, easiest thing first, forget about keeping super-sub type players (regardless of potential), or players that always seem to get subbed early.  Make sure you use clear starters to guarantee 2 points from play time alone, and you’re off to a decent start. Always check for injuries of course.

One thing similar in past editions of this game is simply the emphasis on goal-scoring, compared to other popular games like the official Fantasy Premier League game and the now defunct Yahoo. There are NO POINTS for any miscellaneous defending. Even CSs are only 2 points for defenders.  Case in point, last week, I picked Kolarov, he gave me a CS, he scored 4 points. Defoe scored and got 6 points. Get my drift? 

POSITIONS

Manager:  No point skimping on this one. Go for one of the Top 4 or 5 managers.  5 points per week is no joke. Setbacks will happen (like last week ha ha) but it will even out in the long run. (This will differ if you’re targeting to win a monthly prize, match-ups become crucial in this case).

Goalkeepers:  You should have two reasonably good keepers whose Defense is capable of CSs. Let’s face it, you’re not gonna get much points otherwise. Home matches are probably key here. Like managers, this is a long-term investment.

Defenders: Fullbacks that shy away at the half-line are a no-no. Go for those that can go all the way and can cross the ball. Assists for defenders are FIVE points, so take note. As for centrebacks, not all centrebacks are capable of scoring from corners, so make sure your selection does.Defenders that take set-pieces? Even better .

Midfielders: Frankly speaking, goal-scoring midfielders are where you should concentrate your cash on. Midfielders get one more point than strikers for goals, plus an additional CS point as well. 

Let’s take a look at Mahrez who scored 2 goals last weekend, played > 70 min and collected 12 points (Aguero would’ve scored 10). If he had scored one more, he would have amassed an astonishing  24 points (goal + hattrick).Aguero: 19 points.

Of course, realistically, hattricks are not gonna happen often, and the likelier ones to do so are always the strikers. Just bear in mind those hattrick bonus points. Imagine the captaincy on these players. You get my drift.

Set-piece takers could be monsters if they weigh in with both goals and assists. Don’t forget penalty takers, which thrusts players like Hazard into the spotlight. Penalty goals score the same amount of points as normal goals (with the added risk of penalty misses of course).

Strikers:  There should be no problem squeezing at least one premium striker into your squad, with two supporting acts. However, these two supporting acts should STILL be the goalscoring striker of their respective teams, the striker expected to weigh in with the most goals. Again, penalty takers should always be taken into account.

OTHER SCORING INFO

The Captaincy

Your selection should always be biased towards midfielders, unless there’s a particular juicy matchup for a top team striker. Note that the captaincy stays for 7 days, so this applies for any midweek matches down the road. We’ll tackle those when we cross that bridge.

Cards

There’s no real strategy for this one. Sooner or later players pick up cards for silly fouls, strategic fouls, etc.  Just stay away from holding midfielders, those with significant fouling track record and players with generally short tempers and you’ll be fine.

Special bits

The Stadium Astro game has a feature where once a month, a few Euro players will be open for transfers into your squad. These players will score exactly the same as the Premier League players. At this point, as far as I know, nothing has been given yet, we'll find out as we go along.

NEXT WEEK

We’ll take a look at prices and specific picks for the weeks ahead in the next article. Hope you're finding it useful so far.

Stay tuned!