The 2025-26 season of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is upon us, boasting several updated features.
Beyond player price adjustments and a host of new league entrants, enhancements include novel point-scoring methods and additional chips for strategic team management throughout the campaign.
Here’s a comprehensive overview of what to expect in the latest iteration of the game.
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Mohamed Salah distinguished himself as the highest-scoring player in the 2024-25 Fantasy Premier League season.
A significant modification for the upcoming season is the allowance of two uses for each of the four chips.
These include: Bench Boost, Free Hit, Triple Captain, and Wildcard. Participants will be permitted to utilize each chip once during the first half of the season and again in the second half.
Bench Boost enables the points accrued by all four substitutes on a team to contribute to the total score for that particular gameweek.
Free Hit allows managers to make unlimited temporary transfers for a single gameweek, with their squad reverting to its original composition the following week.
Triple Captain triples the score of a team’s designated captain instead of doubling it for a single gameweek.
Wildcard permits a player to make unlimited permanent transfers to their team within a given gameweek.
Unlike the previous season, the Assistant Manager chip will no longer be available.
All four chips can be deployed twice throughout the 2025-26 FPL season.
Outfield players will now accumulate bonus points based on their defensive contributions within a match.
For defenders, defensive actions encompass clearances, blocks, interceptions, and tackles.
For midfielders and forwards, defensive actions include clearances, blocks, interceptions, tackles, and ball recoveries.
For every 10 defensive actions executed by a defensive player in a single match, they will be awarded two bonus points. Midfielders and forwards receive two points for every 12 actions completed.
If this system had been in effect during the 2024-25 season, Everton’s James Tarkowski would have topped the charts for defensive involvements, amassing 44 bonus points – four more than any other player.
Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo would have been the highest-performing midfielder in this category, with 42 bonus points, surpassing all other players by six points.
Changes have also been implemented in how bonus points are allocated.
Bonus points are awarded to the three top-performing players in each match, based on a Bonus Points System (BPS) that incorporates statistics provided by Opta.
Previously, goalkeepers earned two BPS points for each save made. Now, saves of shots from inside the box will be worth three points, while shots from outside the box remain at two points.
A saved penalty, which previously earned a goalkeeper nine BPS points, has been reduced to eight. However, this reduction is offset by the increase in points awarded for saves made from shots inside the penalty area.
All scored penalties are now valued at 12 BPS points, irrespective of a player’s position. This was formerly 18 and 24 points for midfielders and forwards, respectively.
Making a goalline clearance has tripled in value, increasing from three BPS points to nine.
The final alteration to BPS points concerns tackles. Each successful tackle is now worth two BPS points. Previously, two points were awarded for the net number of tackles completed (tackles won minus tackles lost).
Adjustments have also been made to the criteria for awarding assists, with the aim of increasing their frequency.
For assists that involve a deflection off a defender, assists will now be granted regardless of whether the pass reached its intended target, provided the ball only touched a defender once and was received by the goal scorer inside the penalty area.
Unforced defensive errors will also result in an assist being awarded to the player whose pass led to the error, provided the error is not a misplaced pass.
Again, the rule stipulating a maximum of one touch by a defender remains in effect.
Additionally, players will now receive an assist if they win a penalty or free-kick that is subsequently scored via a handball, irrespective of whether the handball was forced or unforced.
Bryan Mbuemo offered the best value for money in FPL during the 2024-25 season.
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will occur during the Premier League season.
To assist players in managing the potential loss of personnel due to the tournament, all managers will receive five free transfers for Gameweek 16, regardless of the number of free transfers they had remaining in the preceding week.
Afcon will span from Gameweek 16 to Gameweek 22.
As in previous years, player prices are subject to change.
Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will be priced at £14.5m (up from £12.5m last season) and £14m (down from £15m), respectively.
England and Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford will start the new season at £5.5m (up from £5m last season).
Manchester City left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, who signed from Wolves last month, will be priced at £6m (up from £4.5m last season).
Liverpool’s club-record signing and Germany international Florian Wirtz will cost £8.5m at the beginning of the season.
Newcastle’s Swedish striker Alexander Isak will start at £10.5m (up from £8.5m last season).
FPL has also announced position changes for 11 players.
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo, Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush, Manchester United’s Matehus Cunha, and Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye have been reclassified from forwards to midfielders.
West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen has transitioned from a midfielder to a forward, while Arsenal teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly has moved from a midfielder to a defender.
A comprehensive list of position changes is available here, external.
As in previous years, BBC Sport will host its own dedicated FPL league for our readers to join and compete against one another.
You can join now using the code bbcfpl or by following this link, external.
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