Yahoo Daily Fantasy is a new way to cash in on your fantasy football expertise by picking teams for daily and weekly contests to win cash prizes. Not sure how to play? Read on as Yahoo's very own expert and insider explains the basics of the game whilst giving his picks for this week.
FREE entry into our ODDSbible Yahoo Daily Fantasy League this weekend with £150 up for grabs
Yahoo Daily Fantasy awards a range of points for nearly all player actions on the pitch, which Opta kindly tracks for us. In the normal season-long format you select a team at the start of the year, make a few changes during August and September and then realise in May that you forgot about your fantasy team and you now owe some bloke £10 for the privilege of playing. In daily fantasy, you can play any week that you remember to set up a team and walk away with cash the same day. Each gameweek you can select a whole new team, so you don't have to worry about a limited number of transfers or having any deadweight.
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As you might be used to with other fantasy games, you have a budget- this time it's £200m- with which you select 11 players for your starting lineup. You have to select a goalkeeper, three defenders, four midfielders and two forwards. Those on the ball today will have noticed that only adds up to 10 players. The final player is called a 'utility' player and his job is to fill in wherever he is needed, much like me for my 5-a-side team. He can be any outfield player and will slot in as a fourth defender, fifth midfielder or a third striker.
There are no substitutes in this format but you can swap out your players all the way until kick-off, which means you can make none of your team is warming the bench! For example, the ODDSbible contest includes the Manchester City v Liverpool game at 12.30 on Saturday, so you can see the lineup at 11.30 and make sure that Pep hasn't decided to rest Aguero again after teh Argentinian jetted off to South America over the international break. Surprise starters can also benefit you as they will usually be cheaper than the regular starters which means you can afford more big-hitters in your team.
Points scoring is slightly different in the Yahoo format too, with goalkeepers picking up points for wins and draws as well as the usual save and clean sheet points. Defenders can score points for successful crosses and shots but they only get three for a clean sheet and not the six that keepers get. So rty and pick defenders who shoot and don't really defend to win cash. Midfielders score points for nearly every action such as tackles and successful crosses but they don't get anything extra for a clean sheet, so try and pick midfielders who score, sorry Kante. Pick strikers who score goals- simple.
Player prices fluctuate weekly based on their previous performances so check in often with @YahooFantasy_UK for the best value picks.
FREE entry into our ODDSbible Yahoo Daily Fantasy League this weekend with £150 up for grabs
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Yahoo Fantasy top picks
Goalkeeper - Ben Foster (£14)
In the Yahoo Daily Fantasy format, goalkeepers are awarded four points for a win and two for a draw, in addition to 1.5 points per save and six for a clean sheet. This unique scoring system changes the dynamic of selecting goalkeepers for your fantasy team. Managers must select goalkeepers based off fixtures and the form of their team.
West Brom could have had three clean sheets in as many games if not for new boy Ahmed Hegazy's blunder against Stoke. This week, they make the trip to Brighton on the south-coast who are yet to score in the Premier League and Foster at £14 looks a bargain.
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Defender- Sead Kolasinac (£16)
Defenders were traditionally there to keep their opponents away from their own net; nowadays it's harder to find a defender who can actually defend, with the rise of wing-backs and more attacking formations. Yahoo fantasy rewards these failed wingers converted into wing-backs with a generous offering of points for shots (0.5), shots on target (2) and successful crosses (0.5). If they manage to track back to their half before their opponent scores, they can even nab some points with some defensive contributions with blocks (1), interceptions (0.5) and tackles (0.5) all capable of topping up their totals. Be wary of hot-heads though! Players lose points for yellow cards (2), red cards (-5) and even for fouls (0.5). Oh and they also get 3 points for a clean sheet.
This week, Yahoo fancies Arsenal's Sean Kolasinac to take the bottle of bubbly back to London after tearing apart Bournemouth. The Bosnian kept up his attacking form over the international break for Bosnia & Herzegovina with an assist, four key passes and seven hopeful crosses towards the head of former Premier Leaguer Edin Dzeko. The Cherries always try and beat the big clubs at their own game and have conceded 10 in their last four to the Gunners. Don't expect a clean sheet but Arsenal should come out all gunners blazing after failing to turn up at Anfield.
Midfielder- Paul Pogba (£25)
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You'll probably have Pogba in your team anyway cos you know his name and he's one of the first names you see but I'm here to validate your pick and tell you that you did a cracking job putting him in your starting XI. While the Frenchman didn't score for France over the break, he still fired off five shots on target and bossed the midfield as per usual. Yahoo Daily Fantasy rewards 0.05 per pass that hits a teammates' feet, chest or any other bodypart. This may not sound like much but big Paul made 93 against Leicester which gave him a cheeky 4.65 points. Stoke are missing their captain and orc look-a-like Ryan Shawcross for the game through injury, a huge blow for both Stoke and the local Lord of the Rings roleplaying society.
Forward- Alvaro Morata (£23)
Forwards score goals and sometimes help others score goals too. They try to get as involved in the game as little as possible and as a result, we haven't got a clue how to give them additional points for stuff no-one notices during a game. So just pick a striker that shoots and scores, like what they're supposed to do.
Morata has scored five goals and assisted another three in just five games for club and country so far. He scores goals- get him in your team.
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FREE entry into our ODDSbible Yahoo Daily Fantasy League this weekend with £150 up for grabs