With the international break upon us, it’s time to take stock and review how things have gone so far this season in Fantasy Premier League.
So Kelly Somers and the FPL Pod team look at whether it’s best to avoid the tempting Liverpool fixtures, what to do with players taking part in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and how best to use your remaining chips.
Listen to the FPL Pod
Running order:
- Lessons learned (09m 20s)
- Liverpool fixtures (10m 50s)
- Defensive contributions delight (14m 11s)
- AFCON plans (20m 27s)
- AFCON free transfers (28m 47s)
- Chip strategy (36m 45s)
Podcast presenters
Kelly Somers
Kelly is a presenter and reporter who has become synonymous with FPL, hosting the FPL Pod for the past four seasons, alongside the Fantasy Show.
Alongside this, she also leads coverage on BBC Sport - including Football Focus, live Women's Super League and Final Score, and on radio for 5live Sport. She is also their England reporter - having been in camp at the last three major tournaments.
This summer she was one of the lead presenters for DAZN’s coverage of the FIFA Club World Cup - a job that convinced her that Joao Pedro had to be one of the first names in her FPL team this season - and she’s also previously presented for Optus Sport, Channel 4 and Amazon Prime.
Kelly is, by her own admission, a football and FPL obsessive - and says the only deadline she has ever missed is following the birth of her daughter! Somehow she still made the top 50k that year, but blames the continuous lack of sleep for her drop off last season - as well as Juls and Sam’s constant, successful attempts to influence her picks! Her new season resolution is to follow her gut and not leave her chips until the last minute.
Julien Laurens
Julien is a French football journalist based in London. He reports on the Premier League for RMC Sport, TNT Sports, BBC Radio 5 Live and ESPN.
He is a keen FPL manager who likes to get ahead of the curve by spotting high-performing differentials. Arsenal fan Juls always needs his boy William Saliba and all Paris born and bred players!
Juls watches every minute of football possible to make the most informed Fantasy decisions and help the FPL Pod listeners with their weekly dilemmas. The 2023/24 season saw Juls register his highest-ever FPL finish, inside the top 5k!
Sam Bonfield
Sam is an experienced FPL pundit and one half of the popular YouTube channel the https://www.youtube.com/c/fplfamily, with husband Lee.
In her 15 FPL seasons, Sam has developed a keen eye for spotting differentials. However, she prefers making sensible decisions supported by underlying stats and the eye test wherever possible to help her find those all-important green arrows.
Sam also regularly appears on the Fantasy Show, as well as Sky Sports News, talking all things Fantasy.