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Fantasy Premier League: Analysing FPL’s major rule changes for 2025-26


It’s Fantasy Premier League, but perhaps not as you know it.

The makers of everyone’s favourite Premier League companion game have announced some pretty major changes to the rules for the 2025-26 season, which will almost certainly affect strategies across the board.

The first is that outfield players can now be rewarded with two FPL points for “defensive contributions”.

Defenders who reach a combined total of 10 clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles (known as CBIT) in a match will score two points, as will midfielders and forwards who reach 12 CBIT points — but in addition, they can also rack these up via “ball recoveries”.

The second major change is that FPL users will now have access to two super-powered sets of chips: the Wildcard, Free Hit, Triple Captain and Bench Boost. The initial four chips must be used before the Gameweek 19 deadline on December 30, and cannot be carried over into the second half of the season.

And to complete a trio of rule changes, FPL announced on Saturday that all of its managers will be topped up to the maximum of five free transfers in Gameweek 16, to help them more easily navigate the impact of players leaving their club to compete in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which runs from December 21 to January 18.

Here, our FPL experts Holly Shand and Abdul Rehman explore how these rule changes may impact the game and how you can take advantage of the new status quo.


What is the most eye-catching change to the rules for FPL in 2025-26?

Holly: Doubling the number of chips for the season definitely caught my eye, and left me feeling excited about the season ahead.

As an engaged manager, in the past I have often felt restricted by having to save chips for the second half of the season, where we typically see more blanks and double gameweeks — these have traditionally been the best time to use these chips “on paper”. This time around, we will have the opportunity to use our chips in the first half of the season, with the freedom to go on instinct and gut feeling, and without being punished in its second half.

Since the introduction of chips for 2015-16, they have been the most exciting part of the game, with the power to make or break your season, so to have those opportunities doubled provides plenty of hope. I think it will also encourage a greater variety of strategies and team differences, which is only a good thing in my eyes.

Abdul: The double set of chips for sure. I’m all for any changes that make the game more fun but, at the same time, please don’t change its core scoring. Having more chips means we don’t need to wait until the second half of the season to use them around doubles and blanks. We can have a bit of fun using them in single weeks and chase upside. It also means more varied strategies, which is a great thing.

Of course, we were free to use the chips in the first half of the season before, but you would have to get quite lucky to outscore those managers using them around double and blank gameweeks.

I think this will also keep more FPL managers engaged for longer, which is probably why the game has introduced the change.

What do you make of the changes to chips, and how do you think this will affect strategies?

Holly: We often see players new to the game using chips in the opening gameweeks of the season without realising their worth later on, and then being punished for this lack of knowledge.

These changes will allow them to remain on an even keel with more experienced managers in the long term, instead of dropping off. As a content creator in FPL, a strong start is definitely helpful, so I’m absolutely open to using the chips early, too.

Bench Boost has plenty of constraints on your team and could be something best played in Gameweek 1 or shortly after your first Wildcard. I’ll personally be waiting to gather information on the worst defences in the league before committing to using a Triple Captain chip in the first half of the season, but it will likely be used on one of the big premium-price players, such as Erling Haaland or Mohamed Salah.

Free Hit can be used as a “get out of jail free” card if injuries or suspensions leave your team in bad shape, or could be activated to attack a gameweek with alternative picks when you have lots of players facing each other in your main squad.


Fancy triple-captaining Erling Haaland twice in an FPL season? Now you can (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Abdul: I don’t think it will change much for the second half of the season, as it will still be optimal to use them around blanks and doubles — but it will mean planning more meticulously in the first half of the season now.

A Bench Boost in Gameweek 1 becomes much more viable, as you can set your team up for an early wildcard afterwards and get that chip “out of the way”. You are effectively wildcarding in Gameweek 1, so it’s not a bad time to play it at all now that we have another available to us.

Triple Captain and Free Hit can be used on a whim as and when your team need them, and there will be less need for long-term strategy as we are not planning for doubles and blanks. The Free Hit might come in really handy, actually, with nine of the 20 Premier League clubs competing in Europe this season and the extra games that come in those competitions.

Having two sets of chips might even encourage FPL managers to be a bit more maverick with their first ones. Chasing differentials and unconventional times to use the chip is a lot easier when you know you have another set to use in the second half of the season.

What do you make of the removal of the Assistant Manager chip that was introduced in the 2024-25 season?

Holly: The removal of the Assistant Manager chip is a major positive for me, as the introduction of this chip in the 2024-25 season seemed flawed on several levels.

For starters, it felt far too complicated for casual managers to understand, and the one-chip-per-gameweek rule will have caught many out. In addition, the chip had too much power in the game, with massive swings of 50-plus points if activated to perfection, which could cause a huge shift in overall rank and mini-leagues come the end of the season.

It was also frustrating to spend half the season looking at what was billed as a “Mystery Chip”, with no idea of what it was, what it would do and how it could impact strategy later on. Avoiding that eventuality is another positive in my book.

Abdul: I enjoyed the Assistant Manager chip from a selfish point of view, simply because I gained around 45 points from it. But from a game-state perspective, I think it is the right decision to remove it from the game, as it was too powerful.

I also feel it was maybe a bit too complicated for the average FPL manager to take advantage of. It really favoured the hardcore managers who were able to research the best time to use it.

There should be a nice balance of luck and skill in FPL, and at the moment, I think they have it right, even with the two sets of chips. The Assistant Manager chip tipped it too far into the luck category, due to how the scoring was structured. You could literally come away with zero points while others were getting near 50.

Let’s talk about the new defensive contribution points. What do you make of this addition?

Holly: The introduction of defensive contribution points brings FPL in line with other popular fantasy games that we’ve seen from other providers, and those from major international tournaments.

I’m not surprised by its inclusion, given that it’s been something well discussed in the FPL community for years. I’m a little sceptical of the form in which it’s been introduced, with a variety of actions all being pooled together in one metric known as clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles (CBIT) for defenders, and then adding ball recoveries for attacking players — it might have been neater to have those actions count individually.

It will change the way FPL managers watch games and scout players, and there will almost certainly be some frustrations along the way about exactly which actions are credited towards the tally of 10 or 12, respectively by position, to activate the two-point bonus.

Abdul: I am not a big fan of the points for defensive contributions.

There are only two extra points on offer per game and player, so it’s not overpowered and won’t cause a huge shift in the viable player pool. But the reason I love FPL is its simplicity, and this change is leading towards taking that out of the game. I’m not totally against it, though, and am willing to see how it goes in the coming season.

Also, there is already at least one controversy per gameweek as to what counts as an assist according to the game’s rules, which can cause frustrating changes to points scored. It feels like this new tweak is going to cause similar issues in terms of what constitutes a block, clearance, tackle et cetera. It’s fun watching your FPL players and cheering them to score or assist. I’m not sure I want to be sitting there counting how many tackles or interceptions my guys have made.

Do you think this will have a big impact on how FPL players construct their teams?

Holly: Without the context of player prices, it’s hard to categorically say how the new defensive contribution points will affect team construction. If prices stay widely similar to the past, I don’t think it will have a big impact in terms of team construction, but it will give certain players more utility.

Traditionally, we’ve always targeted attacking full-backs in FPL, but centre-backs will now carry more appeal. We’ve also tried to avoid defenders from the promoted teams or against tough opposition, but both of these situations invite pressure on such teams’ defences, which could allow their centre-backs to rack up CBIT actions more frequently. We may also choose a fifth midfielder differently, with those who play the holding role also rewarded in this system.

Abdul: I think it will impact our defence a lot more than the attack. The likes of Everton’s James Tarkowski and other similar cheaper centre-backs will become more popular. Choosing players who play the full 90 minutes will be even more important now, with full-backs getting subbed off much more often than centre-backs.

The lads in central defence also generally make more blocks, interceptions and tackles. There definitely will be some full-backs who will breach this threshold regularly, but that will only become more apparent once the season kicks off.

For the attacking positions, I reckon it only really makes a difference to our fifth, or possibly fourth, midfielder. We are still going to pick the likes of Mohamed Salah, Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka. However, when it comes to the cheaper midfielders at £5.0m and below, their defensive contributions will become a lot more important.


Tarkowski – the kind of player that’s now an attractive FPL asset? (Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Who are the players that you think have become attractive FPL assets now they can rack up defensive points?

Holly: My thoughts immediately went to attack-minded forwards and midfielders who press for their team and get involved in defensive actions too.

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes is immediately on my radar. He could be set for a deeper role in the coming season, especially with the looming arrival of Bryan Mbeumo in the summer transfer window to follow that of Matheus Cunha.

I’ll also be keeping a close eye on the prices of Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea, who are no strangers to attacking returns and also have some set-piece involvement, while also providing plenty of defensive contributions. Backing assets who play 90 minutes regularly could be an important consideration.

When it comes to defenders, centre-backs from units who typically don’t have plenty of possession fit the bill — we know that Tarkowski was the top performer in this metric last season. There may also be merit to picking central defenders from those sides who keep consistent clean sheets, such as Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and Arsenal’s Gabriel.

Abdul: FPL’s official X account put out a graphic showing the defenders and midfielders who would have picked up the most points from the defensive contributions last season. Tarkowski, Jan Bednarek of relegation-bound Southampton and Bournemouth’s now-at-Real Madrid Dean Huijsen (all centre-backs) led the way, so the Everton man is definitely on my radar.

David Moyes’ Merseysiders are a solid defensive team and will pick up a fair few clean sheets. Tarkowski is also nailed-on to start if fit, plays 90 minutes when he’s in the team and has a bit of goal threat, too.

Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo would have picked up the most defensive contribution points among midfielders, followed by Elliot Anderson of Nottingham Forest and Wolves’ Joao Gomes.

Caicedo picked up an extra 42 points, which is quite significant, so his price is something I’ll be keeping an eye on. Other defensive midfielders such as Rice, Fernandez, Manchester City’s Rodri and Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle might be interesting, too. They all have a fair bit of attacking threat as well.

Fernandes could be the one who benefits the most from this. We all know he’s one of the most likely players in the league to start and that he is on penalties for United, but he’s also really involved in play and was used deep quite a lot last season.

Overall, though, a fair bit of research is still needed pre-season to try and find those gems before the pack.

What do you make of all FPL managers getting topped-up to five free transfers in Gameweek 16 to mitigate the impact of AFCON?

Holly: This is the wildest introduction of all the rule changes we’ve seen in the past couple of days, and one I’m not a fan of.

AFCON has never had a major impact on FPL, with planning not really necessary for navigating the mid-season tournament. The chances of it impacting four or five of the template player picks seem slim and it effectively gives managers close to an additional wildcard, in addition to the four chips we already have to use in the first half of the season.

I believe FPL has introduced this to help casual managers who may not plan for that tournament, but less engaged managers will more likely have transfers accrued anyway. The initial reaction within the FPL community has been very negative: maybe we’ll see a U-turn on this decision?

Abdul: I’m really not a fan of this change. The introduction of extra transfers feels like an attempt to keep casual FPL managers engaged across the season, but it comes at the cost of one of the game’s core elements: planning.

With two wildcards, the ability to roll up to five free transfers, and now an additional five of the latter in Gameweek 16, it feels like there are simply too many “get out of jail free” cards. In FPL, or any competitive game, players should be rewarded for putting in the effort, researching stats, scouting players, and thinking ahead. While FPL already involves a significant element of luck, this change tilts the balance even further, making it easier for those who don’t plan or prepare.

AFCON planning, for example, has always been part of the challenge, giving a real edge to the more engaged managers. Removing that aspect makes the game feel too easy and less rewarding for those who plan strategically.

I also worry that this change will push more managers into following the same strategies and template picks during the first half of the season. It’s disappointing, because the other changes, like the two sets of chips and improved defender bonus, were steps in the right direction in terms of adding variety.

(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images/Getty Images For The Premier League)



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