Thursday 11 July 2019 17:36, UK
The 2019/20 season is looming but what are the Sky Sports Fantasy Football rules you need to know ahead of the new campaign?
Sky Sports Man of the Match winners will only be rewarded with three points in 2019/20 as opposed to the five points that managers have been used to.
Often, players who score one of the key goals or two and above in a single game end up gaining an extra five points on top of their accolade. By restricting the points haul to three, there will be less of a gap that can be extended by having particular players in their team, who were earning an extra 30-40 Fantasy Football points in a season. It could be the difference between winning and losing.
Bonus points, on the other hand, are often undervalued and overlooked in Sky Sports Fantasy Football, and they themselves derive from passing, tackles, saves and shots. Here we take a closer look at the rules that could make a difference to you this term...
In possession-based teams, defenders and holding midfielders often enjoy a lot of the ball and rack up a hefty amount of passes, earning valuable bonus points throughout a season.
These remain the same coming into 2019/20 and will be scored as follows:
Passing tier one: 60 passes - count for last season: 351
Passing tier two: 70 passes - count for last season: 484
Tackles are becoming increasingly important, with tier two bonus points being reduced from five to four, making the margin only one from tier one to two. An impressive 644 tier one bonus points were clocked up by players across the last campaign, with the possibility of reaching tier two ever increasing with this new rule change.
New Manchester United signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka will certainly be licking his lips, having made 129 tackles for Crystal Palace last year, the most out of any defender.
2019/20
Tackles tier one: Three tackles - count for last season: 644
Tackles tier two: Four tackles - count for last season: 223
2018/19
Tackles tier two: Five tackles - count for last season: 66
When selecting a goalkeeper for your team, there is no doubt that you have to take their respective clean sheet rate into account, as that can bring in the most points.
Conceding goals can end up costing you points so seeing how many saves each player makes is important; it can be the difference in earning those extra couple of points to move you up the league table.
2019/20
Saves tier one: Three saves - count for last season: 238
Saves tier two: Five saves -count for last season: 118
2018/19
Saves tier one: Five saves - count for last season: 118
Saves tier two: Seven saves - count for last season: 43
Bonus points were recorded from shots on only 157 occasions last term but under the new decreased threshold for this year, 667 bonus points from both tiers would have been earned.
Strikers obviously pose the greatest threat of scoring and assisting, as well as earning Sky Sports Man of the Match awards, but lowering the bonus points here adds an extra dimension when you're researching who registers most shots on target and could complete the overall package in a Sky Sports Fantasy Football striker.
2019/20
Shots tier one: Two shots on target - count for last season: 515
Shots tier two: Three shots on target - count for last season: 152
2018/19
Shots tier one: Three shots on target - count for last season: 152
Shots tier two: Five shots on target - count for last season: Five
Don't underestimate the point-pulling power of bonus points and the impact that it can have on your Sky Sports Fantasy Football team.
They may not have changed dramatically, but that having players in your side that pick them up throughout the season may be just what you need to propel you to the top.
Sky Sports Fantasy Football 2019/20 is bigger and better than ever. Get your team in early and read the latest news and features as you make your selection leading up to Friday, August 9.
