It’s the 2020 Sky Sports Fantasy Football Overhaul. A chance to totally revamp your team, make unlimited transfers and create a team for the season run-in. But who are the players to have? What formation should we use? How many transfers do we need? And what should we do about these blank weekends with FA Cup fixtures and the Carabao Cup Final.

Former Sky Sports Fantasy Football Champion Dan Cox tries to make sense of it all.

First things first, let be clear about exactly what the Overhaul is. Here is the definition of the overhaul from the Sky terms and conditions:

What is the Sky Sports Fantasy Football Overhaul?

You will be able to take advantage of Overhaul twice this season; once in September and the other taking place in February.

During these periods, you will be able to make an unlimited amount of transfers but must remain within the budget of £100 million. These transfers will not come out of your 40-player transfer limit.

The first Overhaul period has already passed. The second Overhaul period will open after the final matchday deadline of Gameweek 26 (February 2nd). The Overhaul will remain open until the first kick-off of Gameweek 27 on 8th February.

You will be able to make unlimited transfers during those periods until the first game day deadline. Once the first game day deadline of the week has passed the overhaul will expire and any additional transfers will come out of your remaining 40-player transfer limit.

So essentially, you can pick a new XI and it won’t take any transfers off your seasonal tally.

Average transfers remaining for Overhaul teams

This is the remaining average transfers for the following brackets – these amounts were from before the West Ham Liverpool game on 29th January so I would expect them to be even lower now.

Top 10 – 8.3

Top 100 – 8.6

Top 1000 – 9.7

Top 5000 – 10.4

If you have more than the average for each bracket then I would think that you should be able to climb the leaderboard during the final stage of the season.

How many transfers left is a good amount?

With a bit of luck, you’ll have 10-15 transfers to navigate the run in and take advantage of the fixture rearrangements.

You can manage it with less but I think if you have double figures then it will make things a bit easier. If you have more than ten then great, but I think you have to have the balance of not hoarding too many as maybe these transfers could have been used already to better maximise points potential.

2020 Sky Sports Overhaul - transfers remaining tips

Overhaul Fixtures

There are 15 Gameweeks left after the overhaul and all teams have 13 fixtures.

Checking the fixtures is key. Making sure you have a captain each day and a transfer plan. Not forgetting that the FA Cup will cause a few blanks in a couple of Gameweeks and then subsequent double Gameweeks appear as games postponed due to FA Cup involvement are rescheduled.

Gameweek 30 is the first issue. Carabao Cup Final weekend. Aston Villa v Sheffield United has gone, as well as Manchester City’s game with Arsenal on the 1st.

Gameweek 33 is the second issue as that’s FA Cup quarter final weekend

On the 21st/22nd March (Gameweek 33) there could potentially be a lot of teams without games. So I’d be looking to make sure that I had a player from a team not in the FA cup that week who’s fixture is definitely on. Or at least have a plan to bring in someone to provide a captain. One game 100% on is Burnley v Watford just as an example but more will be confirmed as the FA Cup progresses. Just keep an eye on it and the replays that are taking place during overhaul week.

Our Hub planner is kept up to date during this period, so I’d check that out if you get the chance.

Tricky Sky overhaul fixtures

The two main issues I see with single-game days after the overhaul is the Chelsea v Manchester game on February 17th and further ahead is Tottenham v West Ham on March 20th. I don’t really want any players from any of these four teams. You could bring a player in for the specific day but will it be worth the transfer in and out? I may well skip the Chelsea game. Although I think it’s risky to skip both. So I may be forced into a move to cover Spurs v West Ham. Potentially if Spurs win their FA Cup replay v Southampton and then the next round match against Norwich that game will be postponed anyway. But if they don’t you can move off a Leicester or Manchester City player on Sunday 15th March for a 2-0 for a Spurs player. Well it’s really a 3-0 as the West Ham game they’ll be your captain. So it’s in effect three games for the move.

It’s also worth keeping an eye on Gameweek 37 as its the semi-finals. So the current Premier League teams still in the FA Cup will see those games postponed. But it’s also worth checking who they face as its a blank for them also.

Rescheduled games

Games called off due to FA Cup matches could well be rescheduled to April 22nd/23rd and May 12/13th as these are free midweeks. But that’s only guesswork. But it’s something to bear in mind when selecting a side. And these are fixtures you can target to get extra games when they arise.

How does Winter Break effect Overhaul?

The winter break sees its debut in the premier league and I’ve been asked many times how to treat it. To be honest there are two options. One you treat the two separate game weeks as one. Or two – you attack it and try and get some extra points by switching between players. Loading up with say five players from the first week and then subbing out the following week.

My main issue is the first day. Saturday 8th February

They don’t really inspire me to fill a team with players. Even choosing a captain isn’t the easiest thing to do. I’m guessing Richarlison will be the captain of choice. I’m half tempted to start with Dominic Calvert-Lewin as a one game punt.

Even Sunday 9th isn’t much better –

Overhaul Sky Sports 2020

If only Manchester City were involved in the early kick off you could bring in Aguero, Sterling or Jesus safe in the knowledge they were starting. So again unless you fancy taking a gamble it’s a risk. Personally I don’t think I’ll be attacking this split start for a points fest.

Rest and Rotation

It looks at this stage that the title race will be done and dusted pretty soon. Liverpool may well be resting players with the title already won and trying for a third consecutive Champions League appearance. Then again they may keep going if they are unbeaten or going for a points records. It’s hard to tell what will happen.

There is always the concern that a team will rest players for the Champions League or Europa League. But we’ll have to assess this as we go on. Alternatively teams may be going all out to try and secure a top four finish.

Overhaul Fixture difficulty

Fixture difficulty for Sky Sports Overhaul

Looking at the fixtures I think Liverpool have the best run in, I also like Sheffield United’s games. Especially the games for both immediately after the overhaul. But again this is a personal preference. So get up the hubs fixture ticker and see what teams you think have the best run in. Newcastle also have a nice run of games in my opinion but others may not be looking at them at all. It’s all subjective.

Manchester City obviously appeal. However the Pep roulette is very frustrating as most who have owned Raheem Sterling will testify. Also Manchester City with the title lost may be putting more emphasis on the Champions League. It might be better looking at teams fighting to stay in the league.

Overhaul Formations

Formations, I think it’s pretty hard to nail down a particular formation as the best one to use. I think I’d favour a 532. I don’t personally like the 4-5-1 as your pretty boxed in with moves. And then again I’m not opposed to a 4-3-3. The great thing is a 532 can become a 433 with one move. It’s noisy having the flexibility.

Overhaul Team Reveal

Here is my team reveal for hub members

Players for each position

If you fancy some punts it’s worth giving this piece a read. Here I’ll take hub members through my top picks for each position.

Strikers

Plenty of Strikers have been doing well this season. Just go through the top point scoring list. Vardy, Mane, Abraham, Ings, Salah, Aubameyang. Add to that Sterling, Aguero, Jesus. Plenty of options there to shift through. And again check the fixtures. If you like the look of a team go for their striker. I personally think you need one of Salah or Mane. And it looks like Aubameyang may be needed for captaincy on more than one occasion. Not to mention Jamie Vardy. You’ll be needing him when Leicester visit Norwich on the 28th.

Midfielders

Again going through the highest point scorers. De Bruyne, Richarlison, Mahrez, Grealish, Maddison and Traore all obviously appeal. Mahrez as I mentioned a few weeks ago is one of the highest scorers despite not being a regular starter. Maybe a cheaper option like Cantwell could do a job if you need the budget for a premium defence.

Defenders

The obvious Liverpool options and Leicester players have been doing well all season. Even the Sheffield United defenders have been racking up the points. So these I’d imagine will be the most sought after and quite rightly so. Liverpool defenders will be the most selected so again if you don’t own any/many you are risking your position every time Liverpool keep a clean sheet.

Goalkeepers

Looking at the points scored so far this season again it’s easy to spot that the cheaper options have been holding their own compared to pricier picks. Henderson, Pope, Foster, Schmiechel, Dubravka and Guiata have all done well this season in comparison to Ederson and Alisson.

However with Laporte back for City and Liverpool having recently been on a clean sheet run maybe it’s best paying the extra for a premium keeper. I still want to pick Ederson in case Pep sticks him on pens. Although we all know that won’t happen.

What way to play it?

So if you’re top of your mini-league you can select an obvious team in a move to keep your rivals at arms length. If your chasing however it may pay to take a different approach in an all or nothing move. I myself in 498th find myself in this situation. I’d personally rather try and win it by going for it than pick a template team and come 500th. It’s all or nothing for me. If I come 500th or 400th it’s the same to me so I’ll go for it in an attempt to be right up there. It could backfire and I’ll end up in 1000th.

Tactics vary on where you are, how many transfers you have and what you want to achieve. If your top 100 and want to finish top 100 pick the obvious team. If your top 100 and want to win it again you could pick an obvious side and hope your transfer count, moves and captains can be the difference. I don’t think I’d necessarily pick a differential team to make up ground as if you have a good amount of transfers and are top 100 you can make the transfers count over teams that are running on empty.

If your low on transfers your going to have to either pick a team with most of February and March’s single game days covered or go without captains on certain days. If you have plenty of transfers you need to utilise them to maximise points. Gaining games in 2-0’s and 3-1’s etc.

January Signings

Have there been any moves that have caught your eye? A new player that will light up Sky FF. maybe the sale of someone means an opportunity for someone else? Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United could be a good signing and would provide a captain for the single game day. In his first game for United he racked up bonus points for shots and passes. Ighalo could also be an option, especially for just 8.7m.

Further planning ahead

April’s fixtures are due to be released on February 21st so be sure to check then so you can keep track of upcoming games and plan for single game days. The first thing I do when the fixtures come out is scout out the single game days to see what teams I need to cover for captaincy.

Sky Fantasy Football Overhaul Podcast

In case you missed it, we at Fantasy Football Hub have created a weekly Sky Sports Fantasy Football Podcast. Each week I discuss the key issues of the week with our tips and advice on the best transfers and captains for the following Gameweek with experienced Sky players Paul McAnulty and Andrew Ferguson. You can subscribe on multiple platforms here.

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Sky Sports Fantasy Football Overhaul | 2020

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