It’s the international break this weekend, meaning there’s no Premier League footy to watch right? Well, that’s not strictly true.
Back for a third year, the ePremier League finals will see the 40 best FIFA players in the UK battle out to win glory for their club of choice.
These players have had to come through open qualifiers, grinding out the victories to make it to this weekend’s finals.
We spoke to some of the players going for glory to get their top tips in FIFA 22.
Players to Pick
During the ePremier League, the gamers are limited to using players in the Premier League, with ICONs and FUT Heroes also able to use.
With brand new cards being released so often in FUT 22, many ePL players won’t make decisions on their squads until the week of the tournament.
Jake “Planet Toast” Simpson, who is representing Newcastle said: “Well, everyone loves Team of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo (OVR 97), and with the inclusion of ICONs, it’ll be Prime Icon Moments Ruud Gullit (OVR 94) in midfield.”
Of course, it’s not all about attack, “At the back you’ve got the Team of the Year items such as Joao Cancelo (OVR 94) and Ruben Dias (OVR 97)” says Planet Toast.
We were keen to hear if any FIFA pros were going to be selecting any players or legends from the clubs they would be representing.
Planet Toast's Newcastle teammate Aaron Garber said: "David Ginola (OVR 89) is the man for me, I love that man. He's my favourite desert island person and must-have."
Tactical Nuance
Riding the meta (most effective strategy in the game) is absolutely key when it comes to FIFA, knowing which players are the most effective, but also which formations are the best to use.
“The formation does depend on in-game scenarios, but in the last qualifier I did really well with a 4-2-3-1 Wide,” says Jack “JSharp” Sharp who’s representing Chelsea.
He adds: “If I feel like I won’t create enough I switch to the narrow version, so I can switch between the two easily.”
Of course with every formation, you can tweak the instructions for your players.
JSharp says: “If you’re playing that narrow formation, you want your full-backs set to overlap to provide that extra option, to create space and opportunities.”
Next up, tactical adjustments can be made in regard to build-up play and defence shape.
Leicester's Tom “Painter” Painter says: “For me, fast build-up is really good this year, helping a lot of through balls. It also pushes the opponent’s defence back so I’d recommend using that.”
Strut your Stuff
Expect players during the ePremier League to select similar squads, with the pros also suggesting that only a handful formations will be used.
So, what can separate the sides when things are close?
Painter says: "For me, the best skill move is the reverse elastico. I'd recommend practising in the arena from different angles and ways to perform the move."
Everton's Jas "Jas" Singh disagrees saying "With your left and right mids, use a lateral heal-to-heal when they are on the edge of the box.
"Then, hit a finesse shot - it's very overpowered, and not many players in the gamebase know about it."
There's a new feature that has arrived for FIFA 22 that most players don't use.
Leicester teammate Cosmin "PCosmin6" Petrescu says: "A lot of people are not using the player lock - it's very effective and most don't practice it. Make sure you practice it a lot to get that extra edge."
The player lock allows you to lock onto one of your players off the ball and make smarter forward runs to stretch the defence.
You can tune into the ePremier League on 26-27 March across all Premier League channels.