Rivalry games have their own gravity — and in FPG they have their own scoring. When a fixture is flagged as a derby, the points on offer change, and the team that looks like the obvious pick can quietly become the riskiest one on the board.

FPG is simple: pick one Premier League team each round. If they win, you score points.

What a derby does to your score

Some fixtures are pre-flagged as derbies — local rivalries with raised stakes. Pick a team in a derby and the scoring shifts: you get +1 on top of a win, but -1 for a draw or a loss. (Normally a draw is worth nothing and a loss costs one point.)

Read that again, because it's the part people miss: in a derby, a draw is a penalty. Back a derby team that draws and you're on -1 — where a draw in any other game would have left you on zero.

Why that changes everything

Derbies are famous for being tight, tense and unpredictable — exactly the conditions that produce draws. FPG's derby rule leans straight into that. It rewards you handsomely for calling a winner (+2 in total — basic +1 plus the derby +1), but it punishes the hedge. There's no safe "they probably won't lose" pick in a derby. You're either right, or you're docked.

So a derby is only a good pick when you genuinely believe one side will win. If your honest read is "this'll be a scrappy draw," the derby is a trap, not an opportunity.

How to play a derby

  • Only pick a derby team if you back them to win. Not to "not lose" — to win. The draw penalty kills the hedge.
  • Avoid derbies you can't read. If the match looks like a coin flip, your points are better spent on a clear favourite elsewhere that week.
  • Lean in when you have conviction — especially on a double round. A derby win is +2 before any doubling; on a Double Points round that's +4. If you're sure, it's one of the best plays in the game.
  • Remember the season budget. Derby teams are still subject to the twice-a-season limit, so don't spend a pick on a rivalry punt unless the upside is worth it.

Worked example (hypothetical): A big derby is flagged this round. You're confident the in-form home side wins, and they do: basic +1, derby +1 = +2. A rival who backed the same fixture hoping for a tight game watches it end 1-1 — their derby team drew, so they're on -1. Same match, a three-point swing, all from the derby rule.

FAQ

How does derby scoring work in FPG? In a flagged derby, your pick earns +1 on a win but -1 on a draw or a loss, on top of the normal result.

Why is a draw bad in a derby? Because the derby modifier adds -1 for a draw, turning what's normally a zero into a one-point loss. It's designed to reward backing a clear winner.

Should I always pick a derby team? No — only when you're confident they'll win. If you expect a draw, pick elsewhere.

Derby on the card this week? Fire up FPG and back your winner — if you're sure.