Guide · 6 min read

Auto-subs, bench order and the vice-captain

Most managers set a bench once and forget it. But four of your fifteen players only score when somebody else doesn't play, and the order you put them in decides which of them it is.

When a substitution happens

A starter is replaced only if he plays no minutes at all. One minute off the bench counts as playing, even if he scores nothing, and so does a red card in the first minute. A starter whose team has no fixture that gameweek is treated the same as one who sat out: he didn't play, so he can be replaced.

The game makes its substitutions once the gameweek's matches are finished. While matches are still to come, a starter who hasn't played yet stays in your team, because he still might.

The order of your bench

Your bench has a goalkeeper and three outfield players, and the three outfield players are ranked. When a starter needs replacing, the game works along the bench from the first outfield slot and brings on the first player who both played and keeps your formation legal.

That makes the first bench slot the one that matters. In a typical season each outfield starter misses some games to injury, rotation or a blank, and the first sub is the one who covers most of them. Put your most likely scorer there, not your cheapest player. The third slot rarely comes into play, which is why it's the natural home for the player you bought only to fill the squad.

The goalkeeper rule

The bench goalkeeper can only replace your starting goalkeeper, and an outfield player can never go in goal. If your keeper doesn't play and your second keeper does, the swap is automatic. If neither plays, you get nothing from the position that week.

Formations and why a sub can be skipped

Every team the game scores has to be a legal formation: one goalkeeper, at least three defenders, at least two midfielders and at least one forward. Those minimums come straight from the game's settings, and they apply to substitutions too.

So suppose you start three defenders and one of them doesn't play. Your first bench player is a midfielder who scored 8. He can't come on, because that would leave you with two defenders. The game skips him and brings on the first defender on your bench instead, even if he scored 1. With three at the back, a defender on your bench is insurance you'll need at least once.

The same logic runs the other way. Start four or five defenders and a defensive absence can be covered by anyone, because you're above the minimum.

The vice-captain

Your captain's points are doubled. If your captain plays no minutes, the doubling moves to your vice-captain instead. If he plays even a minute and scores 1, he keeps the armband and the vice-captain gets nothing extra.

If neither your captain nor your vice-captain plays, nobody's points are doubled that week. The vice-captain is worth a moment's thought for that reason: pick a player who is very likely to start, and ideally one whose match kicks off after your captain's, so you know whether you need him.

The same rule carries a Triple Captain. If your triple captain doesn't play, it's the vice-captain's points that are tripled, so on a Triple Captain week the vice-captain is worth choosing with more care than usual.

Bench Boost

With a Bench Boost active, all fifteen players score, so the bench stops being insurance and starts being points. The game still swaps players in its records if a starter doesn't play, but the swap can't change your total, because both players were counting already. The questions for a Bench Boost are all about the bench itself; When to play Bench Boost and Free Hit covers them.

What to check before every deadline

Three things, in this order. Is my first bench player the one most likely to score? If I'm playing three at the back, is there a defender on my bench? Is my vice-captain someone who will actually start? Getting those right costs nothing, and over a season it's worth more than most transfers.

During a live gameweek, the My Team page on FPL Rivals works out the substitutions the game is set to make and shows what they'll do to your score and rank. For what the captaincy doubling is worth across a season, read Captaincy: the maths behind the armband.