Hidden Eleven
Premier League draft guide
Choosing a single league for a room changes the whole feel of a draft. With fewer clubs in the pool, everyone fights over the same players, club chemistry is easier to build, and every hidden pick is harder to hide. This guide uses the Premier League as the example, but the same ideas apply to any single-league room.
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Why single-league drafts play differently
When a room uses every league, the pool is enormous and two managers rarely want the same player. Restrict it to one league and the pool shrinks to around twenty clubs. The best players at each position become obvious to everyone, so the draft becomes a genuine contest: if you hesitate on the standout right winger, your opponent takes them.
A smaller pool also means more shared clubs among the players you draft. That's good news for chemistry, because each card's challenges often reward having enough teammates from the same club or nation in your lineup.
Plan your club clusters early
In a Premier League room, the big clubs such as Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham have strong players in almost every position. That makes them natural targets for a chemistry cluster: three or four players from one club spread across your lineup.
- Pick a cluster after your first few picks, not before. Let the draft show you which club your early picks point towards, then lean into it.
- Spread the cluster across lines. A defender, a midfielder and a forward from the same club all count, and you avoid fighting for three players in the same position.
- Watch your opponent's cluster. If they are clearly building around one club, taking one of that club's key players can break their chemistry and strengthen yours at the same time.
Don't chase a cluster at any price. A lower-rated player who completes two chemistry challenges is often worth more than a star who completes none, but a weak player who only fits the cluster can still cost you more than the chemistry adds.
Contest the scarce positions
In any single-league room, some positions run out faster than others. Goalkeepers and centre-backs usually have depth across twenty clubs. Genuinely elite wingers and strikers don't. If your formation has two wide attacking slots or a lone striker, those are the picks to make early.
The exception is the goalkeeper. There is depth, but a forced pick from whoever is left in the final rounds can be a big swing. Aim to have your keeper drafted by the middle of the draft.
Hidden picks in a small pool
Hidden picks are sealed dossiers: you choose without seeing the player inside, and your opponent can't see your pick until the reveal. In a small pool, both managers have a good idea of which strong players are still available, so reading the draft matters more:
- Keep track of which top players at each position are still in the pool. If several are left at one position when a hidden round arrives, a dossier there is more likely to land a strong card.
- Think about what your opponent will be blind to. A hidden pick hurts most when they have to fill the matching position on their side without knowing what they're up against.
- Remember a hidden card still has to fit your formation and your chemistry plan once it's revealed.
Use the rating range
In the lobby, the host can narrow the card rating range. In a single-league room this is a useful lever: a high minimum rating makes every pick strong and the draft very tight, while the full range adds more variety and more room for clever value picks. The lobby shows whether there are still enough players for every position, so you can adjust before starting.
A simple draft checklist
- Count your formation's slots by line before the first pick.
- Take an elite player at a scarce position early.
- After two or three picks, choose a club or nation cluster to build towards.
- Have your goalkeeper by the middle of the draft.
- Use hidden rounds where the remaining pool is strongest.
- Before kickoff, check which chemistry challenges each card is completing and use your substitutes to complete more.
The full list of supported leagues and special categories is on the Leagues page. Choose them under Leagues when you set up a room.
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