38-0 Tips: The Best XI to Pick and How the Scoring Really Works

Straight from the engine — updated June 2026

Everyone is chasing the same impossible record in the viral 38-0 game: win all 38 Premier League matches without dropping a point. Most tips floating around social media are guesswork. These aren't — we built the simulation, so here is exactly how it judges your XI and what it takes to go perfect. In short: lock a world-class goalkeeper early, carry no passenger below ~80, pick the formation that matches your best players, spend rerolls on thin squads — and even a flawless XI only converts a perfect season about two times in three.

How the simulation actually scores your XI

Every player's rating is weighted by position before the season is simulated. The spine matters most: the goalkeeper carries the heaviest weight (1.3×), then forwards (1.2×), midfielders (1.1×) and defenders (1.0×). Your weighted squad score is pushed through a cubic curve — 38 × score³ — to project wins, which is why an average XI projects mid-table while a 90+ squad suddenly projects a title race. Small rating gains near the top are worth far more than they look.

Tip 1 — Lock the goalkeeper first

The keeper is the single most heavily weighted slot, and he comes with a hard gate: if your goalkeeper rates below the mid-70s, the engine caps your season at 27 wins no matter how good the outfield is. A dodgy keeper doesn't just leak goals in the match simulation — he mathematically ends the 38-0 run before it starts. Schmeichel (93), Seaman, Cech, Alisson and De Gea (all 89) are the elite picks.

Tip 2 — No passengers, anywhere

The engine tracks your weakest player. One pick below the mid-60s caps you at 31 wins; anyone below ~80 shows up as the squad's "weak link" and quietly drags the whole projection. A balanced XI of 86-rated players beats a team of superstars carrying one 72-rated passenger. Draft like a manager building for May, not a fan collecting names.

Tip 3 — Pick the formation where your stars are

All seven formations are normalised, so there is no secretly "best" shape — but the formation decides how many slots each line gets. Three-forward shapes (4-3-3, 3-4-3) put more of your score on heavily weighted attackers; a 5-4-1 leans on defenders, the lightest-weighted line. If the spins keep handing you elite forwards, switch to 4-3-3 and let them carry the curve.

Tip 4 — Spend rerolls on thin squads, not bad luck

Easy mode gives three rerolls, Normal one, Hard none (with ratings hidden). A reroll replaces the entire club-and-era draw, so save it for genuinely thin squads at your open positions — not for a club that merely lacks your favourite legend. If only one position is still open and the drawn squad has no 80+ option there, that is the moment.

Tip 5 — Read the pre-season odds before you simulate

Once your XI is complete, the bookies' panel shows your projected finish, expected points and the honest probability of a perfect 38-0. That projection is what your squad should produce — then the season plays out match by match, and anything can happen on the day. Beating your projected finish is its own badge.

What a perfect 38-0 actually requires

The exact thresholds, straight from the engine: a weighted squad rating of roughly 93 or better, a goalkeeper rated 91 or better, and a weakest player rated 79 or better. Clear all three gates and the perfect season still only converts about 65% of the time — perfection is meant to feel mythical. Fall just short and the realistic target becomes the unbeaten Invincibles tier: zero losses, with draws stealing the perfect record the same way twelve draws left Arsenal's 2003-04 side at 26-12-0.

A verified XI that clears every gate

This 4-3-3 rates 94.6 with the engine's weights — keeper gate cleared, no passenger below 89. It is the strongest XI the player pool allows, and it still goes 38-0 only about two runs in three:

Of course, the slot machine has to offer them first — every run draws different clubs and eras, which is the whole point. Use the profile as a target: a 90+ spine, forwards in the high 90s, and nothing below the mid-80s anywhere.

Quick answers

Has anyone gone 38-0 in real life? No — the Invincibles went unbeaten (26-12-0) but never perfect. Is 38-0 possible in the game? Yes, but only with an elite, gap-free XI and some luck on top. Best first pick? Whichever elite goalkeeper the wheel offers — the hardest slot to fill well is the one that caps everything else.

Ready to test it? Build your XI and chase 38-0 →