Always Cheating: A Fantasy Premier League Podcast

Ending its tenth full season of Fantasy Premier League content, the Always Cheating hosts sign on for one last episode. We discuss an eventful GW38 full of goals, red cards, blanks, triumphs, disasters, and . . . friends. The 2024/25 season was frequently challenging, giving us a lot the chew on as we reflect on our ranks and the goals we hit or missed throughout the year. And before we say goodby...

The 2024/25 Premier League's season's final fantasy deadline is upon us! While we watch and wait for the remaining GW37 fixtures to play out, join Josh and Brandon as we strategize for GW38. How can we be different? How can we be optimal? How can we go wild? We discuss fixture-by-fixture what the stakes are and what we expect to see on Championship Sunday. It's been another rollercoaster of an FPL...

Big news this week: After 10 remarkable years of producing weekly Fantasy Premier League content, the Cheaters are hanging up their boots. In this episode, we take a few minutes to explain our decision and to reflect on what our amazing community has achieved. But, even as we turn the page, there are two gameweeks still remaining to close the 2024/25 season. Join us as we catch up on the big momen...

Hail Cheaters! GW35 offered a raft of differential transfers and captains, showing FPL managers the way forward for closing gaps in a mini league or on overall rank. Brentford look like they're the pick of the bunch, as the form team with the most lopsided matchup in GW36, but who else stood out this weekend? Plus, we ponder just how completely cooked (on a scale of "well done" to "burnt") Liverpo...

Hail Cheaters! In what felt like a massive weekend for Free Hit squads, GW34 saw returns for virtually every favored pick in the game. While there's still one match to go, the table is set for the FPL home stretch. Join us as we set up our teams for GW35 and look ahead to strategies for what remains with chips, fixtures, and opportunities for catching up or holding strong. We also discuss Liverpoo...

Hail Cheaters! The FPL doubles of GW33 are still in full swing, but thus far it's been a story of single game-weekers—the likes of Mbeumo, Bowen, and Cunha. Ollie Watkins was, admittedly, a surprise hero against Newcastle, and fantasy investors will be hoping for another start midweek at the Etihad. Then it's all eyes on GW34 and the tricky blank fixtures for Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace,...

Hail Cheaters! It's peak chip season with Triple Captains and Bench Boosts a plenty in GW32. But GW33 offers still more double game-week action with twice the action for Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, and Man City. So, what's the plan? Will Arsenal and Villa be distracted by the Champions League? Is there anyone on Man City we can trust to make two starting elevens? And what chips are left...

Hail Cheaters! It was a tricky GW31 for many Fantasy Premier League managers, but the schedule is now set for a raft of double-gameweeks, beginning with Newcastle and Crystal Palace in GW32. Opportunities ahoy! Josh and Brandon discuss their plans to capitalize on chips and transfers while still navigating the looming blanks in GW34. Is it time for us to push all our FPL chips in with Isak? Or is...

After a long break between deadlines, GW30 is finally here. Josh and Brandon run through the International Break news, but more importantly review how this weekend's FA Cup quarterfinal results impact the fantasy schedule for the home stretch. We're getting closer to understanding precisely where the key blanks and doubles will land, so now it's the business of optimizing out FPL squads and how ou...

Hail Cheaters! In the middle of the final international break of the FPL season, and with more than a week still to go before GW30 kicks off, Josh and Brandon have decided to relieve the boredom with something new . . . the Late-Season "Pick a Player" Game Show. The rules are simple: We flip a coin to see who picks first and then the co-hosts run through all twenty Premier League clubs, alternatin...

Join Josh and Brandon as we recap the highs and lows of GW29, including Josh's Free Hit chip results. Plus, we touch on the League Cup win for Newcastle, what this means for Liverpool's fantasy prospects for the run-in, and how we're approaching the upcoming break for international fixtures and the FA Cup quarterfinals. Then it's time to revisit our beloved feature: Kings of the Gameweek! Looking...

Join Josh and Brandon as we recap the Premier League's ups and downs, highs and lows from this weekend. Major disappointment for Cole Palmer punters who can only watch in terror as Salah break's the single-season points record (that he already owned) . . . in March. But it's guaranteed that Salah will not factor in GW29 as Liverpool blank in favor of their League Cup final against Newcastle. Thusl...

Join Josh and Brandon as we look ahead to GW28 and key FPL transfers and captain picks. The main talking point might be manufactured concern over Mo Salah's minutes against Southampton. Is that enough to scare us off the armband or even a Triple Captain chip? Plus, we recap the weekend's FA Cup results and consider what impact the quarterfinal draw will have on the fantasy calendar. A red card sus...

Join Josh and Brandon as we recap the highs and lows of GW26—including a postmortem on our Assistant Manager chip experiences—then quickly look ahead to Tuesday's midweek GW27 deadline. A key question is on Cole Palmer and whether he can reemerge as an FPL darling with the two best home fixtures of any fantasy pick in the next two gameweeks. Do we dare we give Cole the armband? Plus, we discuss ho...

Join Josh and Brandon as we recap the highs and lows of double GW25, including the continuing saga of the Assistant Manager chip. How are we feeling about Slot, Emery, and the other FPL gaffer options as we head into our first single gameweek in some time? Plus, we take the temperature on our Aston Villa, Brentford, Chelsea, Newcastle, and other debatably under-performing fantasy assets. Have we m...

Hail Cheaters! In the first ever (to our recollection) Always Cheating Main Feed solo pod, Josh discusses the newly announced DGW25 and who will be in it based on this week's League Cup results, how the new Assistant Manager Chip has played out early on and what we can take away from it, the success of Triple Captain Salah, January transfer news, and more.  Watch this episode unfold in video forma...

Hail Cheaters! In the first ever (to our recollection) Always Cheating Main Feed solo pod, Josh discusses the newly announced DGW25 and who will be in it based on this week's League Cup results, how the new Assistant Manager Chip has played out early on and what we can take away from it, the success of Triple Captain Salah, January transfer news, and more.  Watch this episode unfold in video forma...

It's all kicking off this week in FPL! Special guest Dave Weigner-Lodahl joins the pod to discuss the first double-gameweek of the 2024-2025 FPL season, strategies for deploying the (now available) Assistant Manager Chip, whether or not triple-captaining Salah this week is advisable, how being an FPL manager is like being a racecar driver, and lots more. Watch this episode unfold in video format o...

Join Josh and Brandon as we recap the GW22 highs and lows, including a rampant Manchester City, another Salah blank, and mounting frustrations with the Arsenal defense. Then it's onto GW23 with our thoughts on key transfer and captaincy decisions. Top of mind, with the imminent launch of the new Assistant Manager chip, and the announcement of GW24 double for Liverpool and Everton, has our strategy...

Join Josh and Brandon as we review the weekend's FA Cup action and unpack relevant FPL takeaways for Tuesday's GW21 deadline. Of course we hit upon the Arsenal vs Man United thriller, Graham Potter's debut as West Ham manager, and the continued march of an in-form Newcastle. Exactly what are we to make of Ruben Amorim's side ahead of a plum Southampton fixture? And are the wheels about to fall off...

Join Josh and Brandon as we recap the FPL festive fixtures and discuss where every Premier League club stands heading into the second half of the season. Does Liverpool have the title locked up? Is a Manchester City resurgence on the cards? How much gas does the Arsenal attack have? What's next for Chelsea? And who at the bottom of the table is primed for a run? Lots of storylines, so let's get to...

Join Josh and Brandon as we discuss the GW17 highs and lows, including a sublime Isak hat trick, an ill-timed Saka injury, and a typical Salah masterclass. So what are we doing with Saka? Who are the obvious or not-so-obvious replacements while he sidelined? With the festive period officially here, time is of the essence as Premier League matches and FPL deadlines stack up fast. Plus we focus on G...

Join Josh and Brandon as we discuss the GW16 highs and lows, including a suboptimal Palmer captaincy, a Lewis Hall haul, and more points from mainstays like Isak and Mbeumo. Plus it was Spurs who put the final nail in Russell Martin's Southampton coffin. Perhaps the weekend was most notable for bringing the Premier League title closer to Chelsea's reach, with the Blues sweeping past Brentford whil...

A Merseyside postponement generated some sizable GW15 chaos and it's Cole Palmer who emerges with the headlines. How did the Cheaters' FPL teams fair and what's our strategy heading into the festive onslaught? Plus, Champions League returns this week to raise rotation concerns amongst our Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, and Villa assets. But first things first, Josh and Brandon take a deep dive into...

It's a lightning fast turnaround for Tuesday's GW14 deadline. As is customary, set your Bus Team and then join hosts Josh and Brandon as we break down the GW13 highs and lows and apply our learnings to the FPL season's first midweek slate of fixtures. Saka is on fire, Palmer is heating up again, Salah continues to boil, and Bruno is about to have his say. But who gets the armband—and who makes way...