In this article we take a look at the current Top 1,000 template and analyse some of the key FPL players who have contributed to the success of the world’s highest ranked managers.

Are you looking for your best ever FPL rank? Join the thousands of managers we’ve helped achieve their personal best. You can learn from the greatest managers for just £1 by clicking here and viewing their live team reveals.

With a deep dive into the FPL Statistics tool, we can get an impression of how the template has formed over time and how it currently looks going into Gameweek 13.

Chips & Formations

Early on in the season, many of the managers who populate the Top 1k will be those who have played their chips and hence have a points advantage over those who still have theirs. With almost a third of the season gone, this advantage has begun to lessen as ‘naturally’ accumulated points begin to differentiate squads.

In Gameweek 12, very few chips were played with 95.5% of managers in the Top 1,000 electing not to activate any. 46 squads in the Top 1,000 played a chip, half of whom played their Free Hit, while the other 23 hit the Bench Boost button.

Looking over the season as a whole, the most-deployed chip – as you might expect – is the Wildcard, with over 72.7% of the Top 1,000 having played it already. Next up is the Free Hit chip. You may be surprised to learn that over 40% of the Top 1k managers have played this chip already, even though we have had no significant blank or double Gameweeks.

Not far behind in 3rd place is the Triple Captain chip, utilised by 38.6% of Top 1k managers – many of whom played it in Gameweek 11 on Erling Haaland (£14.0m) for his ‘easy’ fixture against Bournemouth, one in which he was brought off at half-time with an injury.

And finally, there is the Bench Boost, which has only been played by 22% of managers in the top rank tier.

In our last Top 1k analysis article from Gameweek 8 we commented on how the more popular 3-5-2 formation had been surpassed in use by a 4-3-3. This has now reverted, with Top 1,000 managers favouring the 3-5-2 formation almost 40%* of the time.

*NOTE: some formational changes will have been enforced by injury

Players

Goalkeepers

The most highly owned goalkeeper remains Alphonse Areola (£4.3m) who has continually disappointed owners, having kept just one clean sheet all season and racked up just two measly bonus points.

Bernd Leno (£4.7m) is no longer the most popular back-up choice amongst Top 1k managers, with Nottingham Forest’s Matt Turner (£4.1m) taking over. Unfortunately for his owners, Turner is no longer first choice and those without a Wildcard will be forced between wasting a precious free transfer, taking a hit, or progressing into the campaign with no back-up keeper.

Defenders

One of the distinguishing features of recent Wildcards has been the desire of managers to cram in many premium assets. With so many to choose from, it has been very difficult to slot them all in; in most cases at least one option has had to make way to accommodate the others. It would seem the primary casualty was Kieran Trippier (£7.0m) who no longer makes the cut.

Matty Cash (£5.2m) is now the most-owned defender with over 70% of Top 1k managers selecting him, many targeting Aston Villa’s exceptional fixture run (which is coming to an end). This has not aged well, with the Polish international blanking in four out of his last five appearances.

An interesting addition to the Top 1k defensive structure is Konstantinos Tsimikas (£4.7m) who is owned by 52.8%. The apparent long-term shoulder injury to Andrew Robertson (£6.4m) was too much of a temptation for many managers, who flocked in their droves to bring in the Greek international. It has been a rollercoaster ride for his owners – things started smoothly with two clean sheets, but a random benching against Luton in Gameweek 11 forced many sales/benchings. The Liverpool full-back finally frustrated his doubters with a 14-point haul in Gameweek 12.

Midfielders

In our last article, Mohamed Salah (£13.0m) was notable by his absence amongst the top FPL managers. He now returns with a vengeance, occupying a staggering 92.1% of teams in the Top 1k.

The Spurs double up of Son Heung-min (£9.7m) and James Maddison (£7.9m) is still popular amongst the top managers, although the ownership of the latter is rapidly decreasing since his ankle injury was announced.

Moussa Diaby (£6.8m) has been a solid pick for his owners, returning at a decent rate despite his relatively low price tag.

Forwards

The most selected forward is still Erling Haaland (£14.0m) although the number of managers who do not own him has increased by 5% since our last article. He is averaging over 10 points per games (over the last four Gameweeks) despite missing half of the easiest fixture in that run due to injury.

Ollie Watkins (£8.4m) and Julián Álvarez (£7.1m) make up the other two forward slots. Both forwards have been ticking along nicely, although the former has been uncharacteristically explosive, racking up an impressive 58 points since Gameweek 6.

By Matt Whelan

Get full access to our range of FPL tools for just £1 by clicking HERE.