The Short Answer: You draft 10 clubs, but only 5 earn you points in any given week. Before each week begins, you choose which 5 start and which 5 sit on the bench.
How It Works
When you draft, you select 10 clubs for your roster.
Each week, you divide them:
| Role | Clubs | Earns points? |
|---|---|---|
| Starting 5 | 5 clubs | ✅ Yes |
| Bench | 5 clubs | ❌ No |
Your Starting 5 earn you points from every match they play that week: league games, cup ties, European nights, all of it.
Your Bench clubs still play their real matches, but those results don't count toward your score.
A week runs Tuesday through the following Monday.
Why This System Exists
This is where the strategy lives.
No two weeks are the same for any club:
- Match count: one club might play twice in a week, another once, another not at all
- European weeks: Champions League, Europa League and Conference League matchdays land on some weeks and not others
- Cup ties: a midweek cup match is an extra chance to score that league-only clubs don't get
- Opponents: the same club can have a gentle week followed by a brutal one
The Starting 5 forces you to look ahead. Which of your clubs are set up for a big week?
The Weekly Lock
Your Starting 5 locks every Monday at 11:59 PM Pacific, just before the new week begins.
Once the week is under way, your lineup is fixed. You cannot swap a starter for a bench club mid-week.
Important: You'll receive a reminder before each Monday night lock.
→ Full details: The Weekly Lock
Making Your Weekly Decision
Before each lock, ask these questions about every club on your roster.
1. How many matches do they have?
More matches means more chances to score points, and more chances to lose them. A club with a league game and a midweek cup tie has double the opportunity of a club playing once. A club with no match that week earns nothing at all.
2. What competitions are they in?
Cup and European wins are worth more:
| Competition | Win points |
|---|---|
| Domestic League | +3 |
| Domestic Cup | +4 |
| European | +5 |
A club with one Champions League match can outscore a club with one league game before a goal is counted.
3. Who are they playing?
Opponent strength matters enormously. A club hosting a newly promoted side has a very different outlook from one travelling to a title contender.
4. What's their current form?
Is the club on a run or struggling? Did they just change manager? Are they rotating heavily for Europe? Real-world context should shape your decision.
5. How do they compare to your bench?
This is relative. You're not asking "is Real Madrid good?" You're asking "is Real Madrid's week better than Athletic Bilbao's week?" Compare your options before you commit.
What Happens to Bench Clubs?
Your bench clubs play their matches, but you don't earn or lose points from them.
In the app, you can still see:
- Their match results
- Their goal differential
- Their match result points
Those points appear faded and don't add to your total.
Why show them at all? So you can see what you missed. If a bench club has a monster week, that's useful information for the next decision.
Can I Change My Lineup Mid-Week?
No. Once the week locks, your Starting 5 is fixed until the next one.
You can change next week's lineup at any time before Monday night.
Strategic Concepts
The One-Week Bench
Sometimes your best club should sit for a single week. If your star club has no midweek match while a bench club has a league game and a cup tie, the bench club is the better start. Swap them for one week, then swap back.
European Weeks
Weeks with European matchdays are worth more to clubs in those competitions. A league win and a Champions League win in the same week is +8 points from results alone, before goal differential.
The Cup Wildcard
Cups are knockout, so a deep run is valuable but hard to predict. Keep track of which of your clubs are still alive in which cups, and which weeks those ties fall in.
The Congestion Trap
More matches isn't always better. A club playing its third match in seven days may rotate heavily and underperform a rested club playing once. Quality against quantity is a real trade-off.
Benchable Stars
Don't fall in love with names. Follow the fixtures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep the same Starting 5 every week?
Yes. But the managers who adjust to the fixtures each week will have an edge.
What if I forget to set my lineup before the lock?
Last week's Starting 5 carries forward automatically. You will never be left without a lineup.
Can I see other managers' Starting 5?
Yes. The League Home page shows which clubs each manager is starting in the current week. Next week's lineups stay private until the lock.
What if one of my clubs has no match this week?
They earn nothing that week, whether they start or not. That's usually a good reason to bench them.
See Also
- How Points Are Scored: goal differential and match result points
- Changing Your Starting 5: how to make lineup changes
- The Weekly Lock: deadline details
- Competition Types: leagues, cups and European tournaments explained