DFS Strategy: How to beat Pursuit 5 – Single Match Contests with many goals

In this Daily Fantasy Football strategy article, we will cover one of the most effective strategies you can use in FanTeam’s Daily Fantasy Football to beat Pursuit 5 – Single Match Contests with many goals expected.

Needless to say, there is a lot to consider when you start the process of piecing together your final lineup, but how do you know when it’s ready, or where to even start? In contradiction to seasonal games like the 1 Million Cash Game, daily fantasy is usually played on 1 match day. Single Match tournaments even cover only 1 match.

In our previous articles, we covered other popular DFS Strategies like

• Daily Fantasy Football Strategy – How to pick a good team
• DFF Strategy: How to beat Pursuit 5 – Single Match Contests
• How to use odds to predict matches like a pro.

In this one, we will teach you how our best players draft their teams for the matches they predict to be considerably one-sided.

High score wins – only one team to score

This strategy is applicable for matches with many goals that you predict to end up 3-0, 4-0, 5-0, or more.

In this case, you should only pick players from the winning team, as all of them will score positive points, and especially the ones that will score the most.

Your main goal is to predict the goal scorers and the players that will get assists. If you predict that the goals will be scored mostly by different players and the assists will be divided among multiple players, then the strategy you should follow is to have the best offensive players of the team that you predict to win.

This means that you should mainly overlook the Clean Sheet and Pursuit bonuses in favor of the goal and assist points. 

Which formation to use in Pursuit 5 – Single Match Contest?

First Scenario: If you predict that a team will win with a medium score like 3-0

The best formation in Pursuit 5 – Single Match Contests with many goals, would be: 

• Goalkeeper
• 1 Defender
• 2 Midfielders
• 1 Forward 

Or

• Goalkeeper
• 1 Defender
• 1 Midfielder
• 2 Forwards 

As we expect only 3 goals, we should still choose goalkeeper and defender. We want to get the points from the clean sheet bonus and the more pursuit bonus, and there aren’t enough goals and assists to make 4 or 5 attackers a better choice.

Notice that we prefer having GK + 1 DEF  rather than 2 DEF? That is because of the Saves points that your Goalkeepers will accumulate, making them more valuable than Defenders. Fantasy Football Scoring Rules

Second Scenario: If you predict that a team will win with a very high score like 5-0

The best formation, in this case, would be: 

• 1 Defender
• 2 Midfielders
• 2 Forwards

Or

• 3 Midfielders
• 2 Forwards 

As we expect many goals, goalkeepers and defenders are worth much less than the players who have high chances of scoring many points. You should generally go with the players that have the highest offensive contribution.

Picking a defender who will score might win you the contest almost single-handedly. This is because Defenders’ goals count for 6 points (50% more than Forwards!) and on top of that they will get the 4 points CS bonus. Count here the usually lower price which leads to a higher Pursuit bonus, and you have your MVP. 

However, if the match is one-sided, the defenders often stay back and might not contribute to the team’s goals…

Now that we have our preferred formations for both scenarios, our next question is: 

Which players to choose in order to maximize my points?

Goalkeeper

For your goalkeeper, the choice is easy

Defender

For your defender, you would normally choose the cheapest option from in order to maximize your pursuit bonus. 

But with many goals being scored, there is a high chance one of the winning defenders will score or assist. 

Given the high-potential of a defender that would score points, I prefer picking the expensive one.

Midfielders

For midfielders, you have to choose the players that you believe will score the goals and get the assists. They may be the most expensive ones, but they have high potential to score the points. 

Another factor you need to consider is if the player will play the whole match or he will be substituted. Remember the extra point for completing the match can be crucial – and more playing minutes mean more chances to score points! 

Forwards

Usually, the forwards tend to score the goal or give the assist. So you will have to pick one or two forwards that will have a high impact on the game. 

Now you are left with one last, but crucial decision:

Who to Captain and Vice-Captain?

Captains & Vice-captains score double points, but also cost double! In a low-scoring contest you should aim to maximize your Pursuit bonus, but for a high-score win, you can overlook it and captain the players who will score/assist most.

If you predict a defender to score or assist, you should definitely Captain them – the CS bonus plus the goal or assist points will single-handedly carry your team! But it’s a double-edged sword… if they don’t, you probably won’t have any chance of winning the contest.

If not, you should captain the player you expect to score the goal/goals or give the assist/assists. 

As for the vice-captain, you should go with the next player that you predict will have high scoring, the player that will score a goal or give an assist. 

In a 4-0 win, you should expect the highest-scoring player to be involved in 3 goals (2 goals + assist or 1 goal + 2 assists), and the second-highest to be involved in 2 of them.

First Scenario: If you predict that a team will win with a medium score like 3-0

How to build my team for a match that promises many goals?

Second Scenario: If you predict that a team will win with a very high score like 5-0

Summing up: High score wins – only one team to score

The key takes for your Daily Fantasy Strategy on How to beat Pursuit 5 – Single Match Contests.

Conclusive Tips Pursuit 5 – Single Match Contests with many goals

1. Pick 5 from the same team
2. Medium win: GK + DEF + 2 MID + FWD or GK + DEF + MID + 2 FWD
   High win: DEF + 2 MID + 2 FWD or 3 MID + 2 FWD
3. Captain the player with the most goals contribution 
4. Vice-captain another goal scorer or the player that gives the assists

Leave your feedback for DFS Strategy: How to build my team for Pursuit 5 – Single Match Contests with many goals in the comment section below.

Want to explore more Strategies?

• How to use odds to predict matches like a pro
• Daily Fantasy Football Strategy – How to pick a good team
• Rule Comparison FPL & Fanteam – Part 3: Midfielders

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