The start of the 2024/25 Barclays Women’s Super League season is almost upon us, and that can only mean one thing: it’s time to start thinking about your GW 1 line-up. Selecting your full squad may have proven difficult, but narrowing down your 15-player squad to that final starting 11 can be even trickier.
But if there’s one thing that’ll help make those choices a little easier, it’s the ability to change the formation of your team. While some managers might opt for a 4-4-2 line-up, others may prefer to go for a 5-4-1: you just need to decide which you think will earn you the most points with the players you have.
Before you start thinking about that, though, you’ll need to wrap your head around how to change the formation of your team in the first place. Luckily, it’s incredibly simple and easy to do – you just need to know where to start.
Here’s everything you need to know about changing formation in Fantasy WSL.
What is a formation?
A formation is the pattern in which your players are distributed on the pitch. In an actual game of football, formations allow teams to launch attacks and form defensive positions by choosing where to focus certain players on the pitch.
In Fantasy WSL, formations are a little bit simpler. You don’t need to worry about the difference between attacking and defending midfielders (unless, that is, you’re looking to rack up goal scoring points) – all you need to know is that the formation of your team is split up into four lines: the goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders and forwards.
How to change your formation in Fantasy WSL
You’ll always need to have at least one player in every line of your formation, so you won’t be able to play without a goalkeeper or a forward for example. But outside of these restrictions, you can change the balance of midfielders, forwards and defenders you have on the pitch to suit your team’s strengths and weaknesses.
To change formation, you swap players on and off the pitch the same way you do direct substitutes: simply navigate to the formation tab, click on the player you’d like to move and select the ‘swap’ option. If you’re currently in a 4-4-2 formation but want a 4-5-1 formation, you’d simply select one of the midfielders on your bench, click ‘swap’, and select one of the forwards. The forward will then move on to the bench, and the midfield will shift to make space for the fifth player.
Of course, you’ve only got a certain number of bench and on-field spaces, so you won’t be able to have less than three defenders or midfielders on the pitch at once. But otherwise, it’s up to you where you locate the majority of your players.
It’s just worth remembering that different positions score different points for the same in-game events (a defender gets six points for scoring a goal, while a forward only gets four points), so you need to find a balance that maximises your points.
Images: Getty; Fantasy WSL
