Kick-off times

Kick-off times are highly significant for daily fantasy football managers. Knowing exactly when one of your chosen contests starts is of paramount importance for a number of reasons.

Official team news is released approximately 60 minutes before a game kicks-off. If you have selected players who, for whatever reason, are not included in the starting XI for their respective team, you now have the option to transfer them out and replace them with confirmed starters, subject to any other restrictions that are in place. Failure to do so will severely diminish your chances of success in your selected tournament and put you at a major disadvantage against rival managers who have edited their line-ups accordingly.

Always consider what other engagements you may have (family commitments, for example) and try to choose a contest that takes place at a time when you know you will be available to make any last minute adjustments.

Some daily fantasy football operators will close a contest 5 minutes or so before the first fixture kicks-off so make sure that you are aware of the precise rules that are in place.

When contests have fixtures with staggered start times there are a couple of scenarios to watch out for – in-play substitutions and the late swap option.

If one of your players is substituted in the early kick-off games when in-play substitutes are permitted, take advantage by replacing him with one of your bench players from one of the later fixtures – this gives you the chance to keep the scoreboard ticking over for 90 minutes. If you select subs from the earlier games and starters from the later kick-offs you will not be able to utilise this option.

Likewise, if you are playing in a contest where late swap is permitted, choosing utility players from the last game in the contest gives you the option to assess exactly where you stand on the leader-board at the time and make tactical changes if deemed fit. If players are involved in a fixture that is yet to kick-off, late swap allows you to switch players in and out of your line-up.