Always Cheating: A Fantasy Premier League Podcast

On the eve of Manchester City vs Stoke, the Always Cheating hosts reflect on their GW27 transfer decisions and the potential payoff of an Aguero triple captaincy. Josh and Brandon also touch upon Kane's unstoppable form and Ibra's disastrous Bournemouth encounter before they head into a preview of the anemic GW28 fixture list. Doubling up on Liverpool mids or Everton defenders? Burning points for...

From a Kane hat trick to a Liverpool clunker, Always Cheating hosts Josh and Brandon return to recap the highs and lows of GW26. But, let's be honest, we're here this week to talk about only one thing: the presumptive Manchester City double in GW27. Is there a way to field City assets without completely blowing up your GW28 squad? And which City players are the best bets, given Pep's penchant for...

The Always Cheating hosts sort the FA Cup fallout and run team-by-team through the key clubs with no blanks, i.e. fixtures in all three upcoming game weeks. Which FPL assets will be key in both GW26 and GW28? Is a Liverpool midfielder essential? And, if so, who? Looking ahead to GW28, Josh and Brandon debate the degree to which managers should corrupt their FPL sides just to field as close to a fu...

Heading into a weekend of FA Cup fixtures, with the specter of GW28 looming, there's not much to do with our FPL squads but sit back and wait. In the meantime, Always Cheating hosts Josh and Brandon recap the scores from GW25, including the ghost goal from Gareth McAuley. We also discuss what to do with heavy hitters like Alexis and Ibrahimovic who will blank in GW26 (if not GW28, as well) and wha...

Still in the beautiful afterglow of Romelu Lukaku's four-goal bonanza, the Always Cheating hosts recap the results of GW24 and attempt to parse the worrying form of Arsenal and Alexis Sanchez. The question of Gabriel Jesus still lingers, and it's now a mad scramble to work Gylfi Sigurdsson back into our lineups. Josh and Brandon also discuss what is known about the blanks for GW26 and GW28 and whi...

Buckle up for some quick-fire FPL chat as Always Cheating hosts Josh and Brandon put the brutal midweek fixtures behind them and turn the attention to this weekend's GW24. We're talking about Man City's new weapon Gabriel Jesus, Tom Heaton's bonus point supremacy, and the Curious Case of Romelu Lukaku. Plus we begin preparing for the blanks in GW26 and GW28, take your listener questions, and predi...

It feels like things this season are finally starting to heat up, which makes it hard to believe that we have just 16 game weeks left. (Yeah, we suppose 16 weeks is still quite a ways to go.) Josh and Brandon take a moment to evaluate midseason strategies and how to assess your longterm goals for mini leagues and overall rank. We also discuss must-have midfielders, appealing third strikers, and re...

This last weekend provided major point tallies through key Spurs and Chelsea assets (thank you very much, Mr. Alonso), among others. But big weeks like GW21 can often create more questions than answers: Kane on form or Lukaku with fixtures? Is Hazard worth the money? Wait, but where is Costa? Is it already time to bring Coutinho back in? And are we adjusting formations to accommodate the plethora...

Buy? Sell? Hold? After surviving the onslaught of holiday fixtures, Josh and Brandon return to discuss the current crop of FPL standouts: from Giroud, Aguero, and Defore to Ake, Baines, and the entire Spurs lineup. Then it's a look at bulking up your midfield with in-form and low-price midfielders. Do those even exist? Plus we preview the possible clean sheets and captaincy options for GW21, along...

We find ourselves right smack dab in the middle of this season's festive period, and in this episode of Always Cheating, Josh & Brandon are recapping GW18 and looking ahead to the twenty fixtures that'll be hitting us in quick succession. Match by match, we're discussing FPL transfers, captaincy options, and clean sheet potential through GW19 and GW20. Hail Cheaters and Happy New Year! (Always Che...

In this episode, we recap an FPL game week defined largely by the Diego Costa yellow card and Harry Kane 'crap-tain' fail. So with the former's one-match suspension and the latter's terrible form, where does that leave us with our already small pool of top strikers? We discuss how the imminent return of Aguero could change all of that. Plus we look at the current state of the 'third' striker categ...

After a week away from the FPL fold, the Always Cheating hosts return to recap the events of GW15. With the next two game weeks coming in quick succession, we're previewing both GW16 and GW17 in this one episode. Skip to 0:29:55 for GW16 predictions, clean sheets, and captain picks. For our GW17 preview, skip to 0:57:45. Also, listen up in this episode for a special opportunity to be a part of the...

From the Coutinho captaincy fail to Sergio Aguero's unrelenting relevance, we recap the key FPL takeaways of GW13. Brandon is coming off of a generally successful 8-point transfer hit, and it looks like burning points is contagious as Josh is already on a 4-point hit heading into next weekend. The Always Cheating hosts talk about those transfer strategies, plus they weigh the most compelling optio...

From West Ham's contest-winning impact sub to Yaya Toure's miracle brace, Josh and Brandon discuss the FPL's strange return from another international break. Pickford and Nyom are among the GW12 highlights, along with big goals from Costa and Kane. And, speaking of top goal scorers, the hosts compare five major prospects: Aguero, Costa, Lukaku, Kane, and Zlatan. Who will be a must-own player befor...

While we all wait for the international break to end and for Hazard's injury flag to disappear, let's consider something more productive. The Always Cheating hosts ask a big question: If you could change one thing about the FPL game or site, what would it be? From new chip ideas to rolling lineup deadlines, scoring improvements and faster league updates, we discuss a ton of your listener feedback....

It's FPL midfield madness heading into the international break. With Liverpool's entire attacking arsenal wreaking havoc, and now Eden Hazard is back to his absolute best, how do we focus our energies so soon after GW11? Josh and Brandon weigh the options and also take listener questions on lower-priced mids, defensive injuries, and the fate of Troy Deeney. We'll be back next week with a full prev...

It was a glorious Premier League weekend filled with many goals, assists, and clean sheets. So why are the Always Cheating hosts totally bummed out? Really, what is the exact level of success that can ultimately satisfy an FPL manager? Speaking of success, Josh and Brandon examine all of the in-form assets at Chelsea and Liverpool. Then it's a preview of GW11 while weighing possible Champions Leag...

The Always Cheating hosts recap an oddball GW9 and discuss the growing anxiety over FPL mainstay Sergio Aguero. Josh and Brandon then run through a special section of the podcast examining this season's bonus points system (from successful clearances and crosses to pass completion) and which players are benefiting the most thus far. We also talk about doubling, even tripling up in your midfield, a...

Unlike all of those missed penalties in GW8, you simply can't afford to miss this episode of Always Cheating. Josh rejoins the podcast after his brief paternity leave and he and Brandon discuss whether to buy, sell, or hold onto such divisive fantasy assets as Capoue, Allen, Ibrahimovic, Costa, Antonio, and Alli. We also pull up the stats on cheap "third striker" options, including the in-form Cha...

In this episode of Always Cheating, Brandon and special guest co-host Ben Mattison help catch you up on what's happened (so far) during the international break. Who scored? Who played the full ninety? Who has a minor calf complaint? And how does this all impact us heading into #GW8? We also mine the stats behind each Spurs and Arsenal defender, pull the data for top-tier striker options, and even...

The Battle of the Captains promised by #GW7 ended up a complete bust with both Aguero and Ibrahimovic blanking. Instead, it's a high-flying Spurs team that gets this week's ticker tape. Brandon and special guest co-host Stephen Schaller break down the essentials of Tottenham's must-have players, from defense to attack. And, speaking of defense, this episode continues what feels like an unending ex...

Injuries, disappointments, and disappearing clean sheets. #GW6 presented some challenges for our #FPL squads, but Always Cheating hosts Josh and Brandon are determined to find the fun within this season's fiascos. First off, we look at the underlying Opta stats for the Liverpool and Arsenal midfielders (both teams with a run of enticing fixtures) and pick the best of the bunch. Then it's a discuss...

Josh's wildcard is active as we hurtle toward #GW6 and the imminent return of Sergio Aguero. Brandon, distinctly not on his wildcard, is left to parse the approximately one billion different ways he might be able to bring Brocktoon back into his squad. And, in light of everything we've learned from #GW5 performances, the Always Cheating hosts analyze Zlatan's questionable form, Lukaku's momentum,...

In recapping the Fantasy Premier League's #GW4, an epic Manchester Derby hardly bears mentioning after the exploits of Diego Costa, Romelu Lukaku, and, yup, you guessed it: Etienne Capoue. Hosts Brandon and Josh do touch upon the two Manchester sides, but the episode largely revolves around our biases toward low-to-mid-priced midfielders, including the likes of Leroy Fer and Robert Snodgrass, and...

The transfer window has closed, the season's first international break is drawing to an end, and countless wildcards are suddenly active: now is the perfect time to assess late-addition key signings and loans that could help your #FPL team heading into #GW4. From Wilshere to Chadli, Bony to Perez, Mustafi to Luiz, Zaza to Slimani, and even the Great Mbokani himself! Always Cheating hosts Josh and...