Being a successful Fantasy Premier League manager isn't just about knowing which players to buy.

Staying organised, reacting to important information and avoiding simple mistakes can make a huge difference over the course of an FPL season.

With the 2026/27 FPL season underway, here are 10 simple things you can do to make managing your Fantasy Premier League team easier and more effective.

1. Install the FPL Calendar

One of the simplest ways to avoid an FPL disaster is to never forget the Gameweek deadline.

The FPL calendar can help you keep track of important dates, including:

• FPL deadlines

• Gameweek fixtures

• International breaks

• Blank Gameweeks

• Double Gameweeks
  

Having the FPL calendar on your phone means important FPL dates are always close at hand.

Don't rely on remembering the deadline — put it in your calendar.

2. Install FotMob and Enable Alerts

FotMob can be a useful companion app for FPL managers.

You can follow individual players and receive notifications about important events such as:

• Goals

• Assists

• Line-ups

• Substitutions

• Injuries

• Match events

This means you don't necessarily have to sit watching every Premier League match to know what's happening with your FPL players.!

Tip: Follow the players in your FPL squad so you can quickly see important updates.

3. Use the FPL Watchlist

Don't put every player you're considering into your actual squad.

The FPL Watchlist is useful for keeping track of potential future transfers.

You might want to monitor a player because:

• Their fixtures are about to improve

• Their minutes are increasing

• They've recently returned from injury

• Their form is improving

• Their price could become more attractive
  

Instead of trying to remember every player you're interested in, let your FPL Watchlist do the remembering for you.

4. Set Phone Calendar Reminders

Your FPL calendar tells you when the deadline is.

Your phone reminder makes sure you actually remember to do something about it.

A useful approach is to create an alert ahead of a fixture swing:

“SELL PLAYER X FOR PLAYER Y”

Set it early enough to give yourself time to make changes rather than leaving everything until the final few minutes.

This is particularly useful for busy weeks when work, family or other commitments can push FPL to the back of your mind.

5. Enable Alerts for @OfficialFPL on X

Following the official Fantasy Premier League account on X is one thing.

Turning on notifications is another.

Enable alerts so you're more likely to see important official FPL announcements as they happen.

This can be particularly useful for:

• FPL rule announcements

• Fixture changes

• Blank Gameweeks

• Double Gameweeks

• Important Fantasy updates
  

You don't have to constantly check X.

Let the information come to you.

6. Track Predicted Price Changes

Player prices can change during the FPL season, so it's worth keeping an eye on predicted price rises and falls.

Why does this matter?

If you're planning to buy a player who is expected to rise, waiting too long could mean paying more.

Similarly, if you're planning to sell a player who is expected to fall, acting before the price change could protect some of your team value.

Don't make transfers purely because of predicted price changes — but knowing what could happen to player prices can help you plan your moves.

7. Check Predicted Line-Ups Before Every Gameweek

One of the biggest mistakes an FPL manager can make is selecting a player who isn't expected to start.

Before each Gameweek, check the latest predicted line-ups and team news.

Pay particular attention to:

• Rotation risks

• Injuries

• Suspensions

• Recent substitutions

• European fixtures

• Manager comments

• Players returning from injury

Predicted line-ups aren't guaranteed — nobody can know the starting XI until the official team sheets are released — but they can provide another useful piece of information before you finalise your FPL team.

8. Create an FPL Deadline Routine

This could be one of the most useful habits you develop.

Rather than making random checks throughout the week, create a repeatable FPL deadline routine.

For example:

Your FPL Deadline Routine

1. Team news / predicted line-ups - Check who's expected to start.

2. Injuries - Check for new injuries or fitness concerns.

3. Transfers - Review whether you actually need to make a transfer.

4. Captain - Make your captain and vice-captain decisions.

5. Bench - Check your substitutes are in the correct order.

6. Save team - Make absolutely sure your final changes have been saved.

The biggest benefit is consistency.

You don't want your Gameweek decisions to depend on whether you remembered something at 10:55am on deadline day.

9. Understand Effective Ownership vs Actual Ownership

This is one of the more important concepts for FPL managers who want to understand what their Gameweek score could mean in their mini-leagues and overall rank.

Actual ownership tells you what percentage of FPL teams own a player.

Effective ownership takes captaincy into account.

For example, a player might be owned by 40% of managers but have a much higher effective ownership because a significant proportion of those managers have captained him.

This is particularly important when making captaincy decisions.

A player with very high effective ownership can represent a much greater rank risk if they score heavily than their standard ownership percentage might suggest.

You don't need to obsess over effective ownership every Gameweek.

But understanding the difference between ownership and effective ownership can give you a better picture of the potential consequences of your decisions.

10. Enable MFA on Your FPL Account

Finally, don't forget about account security.

Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on your FPL account if available to you.

Your FPL team can represent hundreds of decisions and an entire season's worth of work. Protecting access to your account is therefore worth taking seriously.

MFA adds another layer of security beyond simply having a username and password.

It's one of those things that's easy to ignore until you actually need it.

Set it up before there's a problem.

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None of the above guarantees FPL success. But together, they can help you become a more organised, informed and prepared FPL manager throughout the 2026/27 season.