ISL 2015: Complete Guide to the Fantasy League

Image Courtesy: ISL Official WebsiteIndian Super League is set to kick-off on October 3, 2015, and this season it’s about to get more exciting with the introduction of the official Fantasy League. You can create and manage your own Fantasy team by simply logging in to the official Indian Super League website. Not only that, you can also create a league and invite your friends to join it.While you might not agree with the team selections of the manager of the team you support, it’s your chance to prove you know it all. But, you might need some help to select your initial team so that you can have an edge over your friends? Don’t worry, you don’t have to scratch your head, we have got it covered. We’ll help you select the right players.Let’s start with few basic rules you must know for the group stages. Every participant will get a budget of ₹100 crore to pick all players. You can select a maximum of four players from any team, and make unlimited transfers before the first round of games, and two free transfers from Round 2 to Round 14. Any extra transfer will cost you four points, but in case you need to shuffle your entire squad you can use your wildcard any time between Round 2 and Round 14, which will enable you to make unlimited transfer without any deduction of points. Players price might increase or decrease depending on their performances. You can also select a captain before each round and his points will be doubled. The deadline for each match day is 5.30 pm IST. You can check the point allocation system and other rules on the official Indian Super League website.

#1 Goalkeepers

Subrata Pal will key to Mumbai City’s success

Let us begin with the point allocation for goalkeepers. For every three saves, your goalkeeper makes you get one point, and one point is deducted for every two goals he concedes. The goalkeeper is also rewarded with five points for keeping a clean sheet, and another five points for a penalty save. Each team must consist of two goalkeepers.

Juan Calatayud – 5.5, Arminder Singh – 4.5

Atletico de Kolkata had the meanest defense in the league last season, as they allowed just 0.76 goals each game. One thing you should keep in mind is, if a team concedes a goal then none of the defenders or goalkeeper will get any points for a clean sheet so you must probably keep in mind which team has also good defenders.

With the addition of Rino Anto, and the strong partnership of Arnab Mondal and Josemi at the back you can expect Atletico de Kolkata to keep it tight at the back. Both Atletico de Kolkata goalkeepers combined to keep 8 clean sheets last season, which was the highest in the league.

With a budget of only 100 crore it won’t be wise to spend an extra 5.5 on a goalkeeper. Also, if your first choice goalkeeper is left out of the starting XI the second goalkeeper of your team automatically gets substituted. Let’s play it safe, and go for Atletico de Kolkata’s reserve goalkeeper Arminder Singh, who is valued at 4.5, and is likely to play if Juan Calatayud is left out of the team.

Other options – Subrata Paul – 5.5

We suggest you go for the reserve goalkeeper of the same team you have selected your first goalkeeper from, as it will be a cheaper and safer option.

#2 Defenders

Delhi Dynamos fans will be hoping for some Riise thunderbolts

For starters, we need to select five defenders for your squad. For each clean sheet kept by a defender he gets five points and one point gets deducted for every two goals conceded. A defender is also rewarded with eight points for every goal he scores. It’s very important to decide a formation for your team, we suggest you to go for 3-4-3. So you should probably get three first choice defenders, and two cheaper options who can fill up when required.

Players to pick:

John Arne Riise

John Arne Riise is an absolute dream player for any fantasy team. The former Liverpool star is valued at 7.5 and is worth the money. Riise is famous for his free-kicks, and goal scoring abilities. The 35-year-old is almost certain to take free-kicks and penalties for Delhi Dynamos. Remember you’ll get eight points for every goal a defender scores? You might be surprised by the number of screamers he might score this season.

Lucio

FC Goa conceded just 12 goals in 16 games last season and were pretty solid at the back. You can expect them to only get better with the addition of Brazilian legend Lucio. One thing we want you to keep in mind is, it wouldn’t be wise to select all the defenders mentioned as you have a budget of only 100 crore.

Say for instance, if you go for John Arne Riise of Delhi Dynamos who is an expensive pick from the defenders, we suggest you to pick a cheaper option from FC Goa so that you don’t overflow your budget. This applies for the rest of your defensive picks as well. In this case, you could probably go for Narayan Das or Gregory Arnolin.

Sandesh Jhingan

The Indian international impressed us all in the inaugural season of the Indian Super League and had two assists to his name, which is more than any other defender in the league. Gurwinder Singh at 5.5 is also a cheap alternative from Kerala Blasters who might interest you.

Josemi

Ideally, we won’t suggest you to pick two defenders or one defender and a goalkeeper from the same team as both will lose points if their team concedes a goal so if you have already picked Juan Calatayud we’d suggest not to go for a defender from Atletico de Kolkata. Josemi was rock solid for Atletico de Kolkata last season and played all 17 games for them. Rino Anto might be a good alternative to choose and he might get few assists as well.

Tip :

Teams to focus – Delhi Dynamos, FC Goa, Kerala Blasters, and Atletico de Kolkata

Try picking defenders from the above-mentioned teams, as John Arne Riise of Delhi Dynamos will get the same points for keeping a clean sheet as any other defender of Delhi Dynamos. Try and pick a couple of players we mentioned above and a cheaper alternative to complete the three defenders in your starting XI. We suggest you go for the cheapest option available to complete the 5 defenders you need in your squad.

#3 Midfielders

Elano will be hoping to continue his ISL I form

For each goal scored by a midfielder you’ll get rewarded with 6 points, and one point for every clean sheet kept by his team. We suggest you go for four solid picks, and one cheaper option for your bench. Unlike defenders, midfielders are picked on the basis on individual talent as points are not shared if any one of them scores.

1) Elano Blumer

Elano scored 8 goals last season and won the Golden Boot award, but he comes with a huge price tag of 13 crore so you might want to leave him out if you want to keep your overall starting XI strong. We’d suggest you to pick attackers from Chennaiyin FC as they scored more goals than any other team in the league last season.

2) Florent Malouda

Considering Delhi Dynamos are the strong favourites to win the league, you might want to pick up the vastly experienced Florent Malouda who is valued at 10.5 crore. Gustavo Dos Santos at 10 crore is also a very reliable option to go for, instead of Malouda.

3) Andre Moritz

Mumbai City FC are another team that have assembled a very good squad this season. Andre Moritz scored 3 goals and also assisted one in the 9 games he played last season and is valued at 8.5 crore.

4) Simao Sabrosa

Another big name in the list, the former Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid star will surely light up the league this season, and is expected to be a regular name on the scoresheet. He is valued at 11 crore.

5) Romeo Fernandes

After his recent loan spell at Atletico Paranaense, Romeo must be itching to get back on the pitch for FC Goa. The 23-year-old scored three goals and had two assists to his name last season

Other options: Eugeneson Lyngdoh (FC Pune City), Javier Lara (Atletico de Kolkata)

#4 Forwards

Sunil Chhetri, India’s top goalscorer, will a valuable addition to the Mumbai City FC squad

A striker is rewarded with 5 points for every goal he scores. We’d recommend you to pick 3 strikers in the starting XI.

1) Helder Postiga

A must buy for any fantasy team, Postiga comes with a price tag of 11 crore and is worth it. The Portuguese international should not find it too difficult to find the back of net regularly in the league. Iain Hume of Atletico de Kolkata is also another solid option, but he is valued at 12 crore.

2) Sunil Chhetri

The Indian legend was the most expensive buy in the Indian Super League auction, and we expect him to justify his price tag of 10 crore in the Fantasy League. A lot is expected from Mumbai City striker force of Nicolas Anelka and Sunil Chhetri.

3) Chris Dagnall

Chris Dagnall, who is valued at 9 crore, might surprise a few with his ability to find the back of the net. The 29-year-old comes with a lot of experience and has played for various clubs in the lower divisions of England.

Other options: Jackichand Singh (FC Pune City), Thoi Singh (Chennaiyin FC), Seityasen Singh (NorthEast United FC), Fikru Teferra (Chennaiyin FC)