The Independent launches Fantasy Football Premier League weekly newsletter

The Independent’s Mark Critchley will be compiling a weekly fantasy football email sent to your inbox for free, all you have to do is sign up

Fantasy Premier League has returned for the 2021-22 season (Fantasy Premier League)

It may only be moving a few brightly coloured shirts around on a screen every week but the popularity of Fantasy Premier League has rocketed in the last few years, with more than seven million managers taking part worldwide every season.

Mohamed Salah, Bruno Fernandes and Kevin De Bruyne are becoming just as popular for their fantasy points-scoring as they are for their displays on the pitch in some corners of the internet, while the Premier League’s official game has helped to further spread the league’s popularity around the globe.

Does it matter in the grand scheme of things? No, but it does offer us all another way to enjoy the weekend's top-flight action, making every game that little bit more interesting to those who play, and it spreads some light relief around at a time when it is much needed.

Our fantasy articles have proved popular over the years so this season, I'll be writing a newsletter every week with tips and hints on how to do well during the forthcoming gameweek. Hopefully, once all is said and done, it can help you beat your mates and colleagues.

I'll be hand-picking players for each week's round of fixtures, building a weekly best XI, offering advice on captaincy, clean sheets and chip strategy, plus breaking down the fixtures runs to keep us all one step ahead of the rest.

If you're wondering why I'm worth listening to, here’s the humblebrag: I've finished in the top 50k in the world in each of the last four seasons, but managed to claim a top 2.5k finish last year. Or to put it another way, I beat chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, who's not too bad at this game himself.

Click here to sign up. The newsletter will land in your inbox every Wednesday, starting from 25 August. Any questions, you can reach me on Twitter.