In Fantasy Premier League, discovering those budget secret gems who continually amass bonus points is the difference between a mediocre season and sitting on top of your mini-leagues. Premium players may get all the glory, but discerning managers recognize that getting the most out of your team’s value involves discovering those budget-friendly players that have an uncanny ability to earn those FPL Bonus Points.
Understanding the FPL Bonus Points System
Before diving into our budget recommendations, let’s quickly recap how the FPL bonus points system works. After each match, the three best-performing players receive additional points (3, 2, and 1) based on the BPS (Bonus Points System) statistics. The BPS evaluates players on various actions including goals, assists, saves, successful passes, tackles, and clearances.
Defenders and goalkeepers earn BPS through clean sheets and defensive plays, whereas midfielders and forwards earn them through goal involvements and successful attacking play. Knowing this system assists in determining which budget players possess qualities that often draw bonus points even if they come at a cheap price.
Defensive Bargains with Bonus Point Potential
Budget Goalkeepers Who Save More Than Your Wallet
Goalkeepers that take a big hit of shots tend to ratchet up their impressive BPS totals, even for teams that are not part of the conventional “big six.” These shot-stoppers tend to rouse up FPL bonus points after stringing together successive saves, even when the match is lost.
Search for goalkeepers on teams in the middle of the league with good defense but who also receive enough shots to accumulate save points. Such players tend to offer great value, pairing up save points with standard bonus points at a cost much lower than top-end candidates.
Defensive Differentials: Set-Piece Specialists
Budget defenders on set pieces who take free kicks or corners are a huge asset. Not only do they carry more assist upside, but productive set-piece deliveries add a ton to their BPS totals. When these individuals add clean sheet contributions along with attacking returns, they are bonus point magnets.
Center-backs who excel in the air or full-backs who play both defensive and creative passing roles also score highly in the BPS. Search for defenders who have high averages of clearances, blocked shots, and successful tackles with good passing accuracy.
Midfield Masters on a Budget
Box-to-Box Bargains
The midfield role provides possibly the richest choice of budget bonus point winners. Box-to-box midfielders who make contributions both defensively and offensively tend to rack up BPS through their all-around display. Even if they fail to score or provide assists, their tackling, passing, and chance creation statistics can get them in the running for bonus points.
Set-Piece Experts in Midfield
As with defenders, set piece-taking midfielders provide increased value. Corners, free kicks, and penalties not only raise assist and goal chance but highly improve BPS returns. A £5.5-6.5m midfielder on every set piece in a mid-table team can easily beat more expensive alternatives when including FPL bonus points.
Search for midfielders who have inherited set-piece responsibilities following team changes or have impressive delivery stats from past seasons. These players are goldmines for bonus points at affordable prices.
Forward Thinking: Value Strikers
Clinical Finishers vs. Chance Creators
Budget forwards are categorized into two types when it comes to FPL bonus points: clinical finishers and chance creators. The latter may touch the ball less but score a high percentage of opportunities, whereas the former are involved in build-up play and create chances for other players.
Both have the ability to bank bonus points, but in different ways. Clinical finishers get BPS for scoring important goals and conversion rates, whereas creative forwards accrue points for successful dribbles, assists, and chances created. Knowing which budget strikers play these roles can inform you of those who tend to overdeliver on their price tag when it comes to bonus points.
The Stats That Matter for FPL Bonus Points
When searching for budget bonus point magnets, some statistics are useful indicators:
- Pass completion percentage: Players with 85%+ pass accuracy generally perform well in BPS
- Key passes per 90 minutes: Shows chance creation even without assists
- Successful tackles and interceptions: Especially useful for defenders and defensive midfielders
- Shots on target ratio: Players who try the keeper instead of blazing shots off-target score better
- Minutes per chance created: Shows players with steady creative output
Players who are strong in these areas tend to rack up FPL bonus points even without assists or headline-scoring goals. Budget picks who are strong in these areas are great value.
Budget Bonus Point Kings of This Season
The present season has already shown some budget options who regularly pick up bonus points. These players never get the spotlight as they do not always feature in the headlines, but their BPS tally speaks volumes of their contribution to the team on the field.
Look past mere goals and assists to uncover these hidden gems. A defender with several bonus point collections in spite of few clean sheets, or a midfielder racking up bonus points with no regular attacking returns, indicates superb underlying numbers that the FPL bonus points system is willing to reward.
Learning the art of selecting budget players with high bonus point upside can make your FPL season. Although premium assets will never go away, stocking your team with strategically picked budget targets who rack up FPL bonus points enables a better balance without compromising weekly points upside.
Don’t forget to see past the glaring statistics and look at the individual actions that lead to the BPS scores. By making smart decisions based on these observations, you’ll have an advantage over managers who only look at goals and assists when choosing their budget selections.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are FPL bonus points calculated?
Bonus points are issued on the Basis of Bonus Points System (BPS), with the players graded more than 30 different stats. At the end of each match, three highest-scoring players on the basis of BPS get awarded 3, 2, and 1 bonus points respectively.
Do clean sheets ensure defenders earn bonus points?
No, clean sheets on their own don’t secure bonus points. Though they add to a defender’s BPS tally, other statistics such as passes made, tackles, clearances, and attacking contribution also have a major role in determining their end BPS position.
Are budget forwards able to match premium players for bonus points?
Yes! Budget forwards tend to have a greater opportunity at bonus points when they score as top-class forwards are anticipated to score consistently. When a budget striker scores in a close 1-0 victory, they often receive maximum bonus points because the goal has a match-winning effect.
How significant are FPL bonus points throughout the season?
Extremely significant! With a 38-game season, bonus points can quite readily contribute an additional 50+ points to your overall score, potentially being the difference between winning and losing your mini-leagues or vastly enhancing your overall ranking.
Do I pursue bonus points at the expense of assured starts?
Always keep the players with confirmed minutes first. A player who features regularly, for example, for 90 minutes, has a better chance to accumulate points of all sorts, including bonus. The most affordable options pair playing time consistently with the underlying numbers that are worth FPL bonus points.