With the start of the Premier League season just hours away, fans are signing up in droves for the new Express & Star Fantasy Football game.

More than 1,600 people have already registered to play the game, organised in association with Wickes, which is free to enter and boasts a top prize of £2,000.

Wickes is also providing 10 manager of the month prizes of £100, giving readers an even greater chance of winning cash.

If you fancy yourself as a rival to Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho or Rafael Benitez, you now have the chance to prove it.

Signing up is easy. Go to www.expressandstar.com/fantasyfootball and enter the registration password: Wembley

Do not worry if you have not joined up yet. Readers have plenty of time to register as point scoring in our game does not begin until August 18. You can study the form of the top players before you name your team.

So with the likes of Chelsea star and England captain John Terry already out injured and question marks over the fitness of Newcastle’s Michael Owen, you can fine tune your selection before our game begins.

Steven Gerrard is the game’s most popular player, with 700 Express & Star managers picking the Liverpool star. Cristiano Ronaldo is close behind, with 630 managers selecting the Portuguese midfielder, while former Wolves favourite Joleon Lescott, now of Everton, is the third most popular player, with a place in 385 teams.

At the moment, the winner is likely to be a supporter at Molineux as Wolves fans make up the largest group of supporters playing the game.

More than 600 Wolves fans are on board, followed by rivals West Brom on 265, Manchester United on 110 and Aston Villa on 105. Once you have registered your details, you will need to study the player list and decide which players you want in your team. Your team must contain no more than two players from any one Barclays Premier League club and must conform to a 4-4-2 or 5-3-2 formation.

The total cost of your team cannot exceed £55 million. A weekly email sent to your inbox will tell you how your side performed and look ahead to the coming games.

If your team isn’t performing as you would like, it’s easy to switch players, with a maximum of 25 transfers allowed in total.

The only way you will be able to make changes is by using the transfer password printed in the Express & Star every Wednesday, so make sure you don’t miss out by ordering your copy.

For full terms and conditions visit the website www.expressandstar.com/fan tasyfootball