FPL interview – Prakhar Patel winner of the FFGeek league and 17th overall in FPL

Contributors, Fantasy Premier League

Here’s our FPL interview article where we speak to Prakhar Patel who won last seasons FFGeek league and finished with an incredible overall rank of 17 in FPL.  

FPL interview – Prakhar Patel winner of the FFGeek league and 17th overall in FPL

Prakhar, congratulations on your overall finish of 17 last season and winning the FFGeek league over thousands of other managers. An amazing achievement. But before we get into the FPL chat tell us a bit about yourself.  

Hi everyone,

Firstly,  I’m delighted to be on FFGeek as a contributor and thankful for this opportunity. I have been a big fan of the content on this site for the past few years.



I am from Gujarat, India.  I am currently studying engineering in college.  Coming on to football, I am a huge Liverpool fan and a die hard FPL aspirant.

Thanks for the nice words.  Looking back at last season, were there times when you thought you might finish 1st overall?

Actually, I started the season wanting to become the FPL champion as everyone does HAHA!  As the season progressed, I really thought that I had a genuine chance of winning it.  I never stopped believing but in the end I just missed it.

Last season did you have an overall strategy in the way you played?

Firstly, I am a firm believer in not taking any points hit unless it’s badly needed.   It is a risk you are taking without any assured return so my aim was to take less hits or none at all.

When I select my team, I start with the players that are absolutely essential otherwise you might suffer a huge fall in rank not owning them.  So, go for the big guns first.  After that, I pick players that you think are going to score big and are huge differentials.  I generally plan on using my wildcard early as it can limit the damage if you have started poorly.

Coming to the captaincy, I think sensible gambling works for me.  For example, captaining Kane away to West Ham was a no brainer for me but people were more inclined towards Salah due to his explosive form and in the end Kane outscored Salah. So playing it safe is the way to go with captaincy but occasional gambling can definitely benefit you.

I generally don’t stick to a single formation as I think it is better to change it according to the fixtures your players have.

Moving on to this season. Was the first player in your first draft Salah?

Of course, it just has to be him. He is the most dangerous player I have ever seen from an FPL perspective after Luis Suarez. He can punish you if you don’t own him and I don’t think it’s wise to take that risk.

How have you approached World Cup returners and new players to the premier league?

I think World Cup returners are going to influence the start of the season hugely so currently I am trying to stay away from players who went deep in the world cup. I think they will make their way into my team in the 1st wildcard.  Examples being Kane, Sterling, Pickford, Lloris etc. My advice would be to avoid them for now.

Do you have a fixed wildcard date and formation already?

No, I don’t have a fixed wildcard date but I want to use it as early as possible to take an advantage of it as early as possible.

What would be the one bit of advice you would give to any FPL manager going into the new season?

The best advice I can give to any FPL manager is to do what they feel.  Go with your gut and take risks at times because that is going to differentiate  you from the rest.  The most important thing is to start well and remain consistent. Don’t think short term, instead look at the bigger picture and keep at least 3-4 GWs in mind while planning your transfers.

Do you have a first draft team you can share

I am still working on it and it’s going to change a lot but this is the starting 11 as it stands. (Ignore those in Grey)




fpl interview

Thanks Prkahar. Great to have you as part of the FFGeek team. Look forward to seeing you in the “FPL contributors show us their teams” series

You can also see other FPL contributors first draft teams:

Joseph Crilley

Alex Ball

and the Geeks first draft

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