The Premier League season officially kicks off on August 15, with Liverpool taking on Bournemouth at Anfield. Kick-off is scheduled for 8pm, and the return of the Prem also brings the return of its companion: Fantasy Premier League.
In FPL, football fans create a Starting XI and a bench by buying players from different Premier League teams. The players earn points as they play their real-life matches, and the points tally up at the end of the week.
Fans can join custom leagues, like with their families or friends, while competing in official leagues, like nationals or ones between fans of their clubs. At the end of the season, those with the highest national scores win prizes.
FPL new rules 2025/26
This season, defenders that reach a combined total of 10 clearances, blocks, interceptions, or tackles in one match will score two points in FPL. The change aims to increase the contributions of outfield players in comparison to attackers. There are also extra points for midfielders and forwards, who will now earn points for their ball recoveries too. Because those players benefit from the same actions as the defenders, they will need 12 contributions to earn the two points, rather than the defenders’ 10.
Also new for the upcoming season, the definition of an assist in FPL has been simplified. Previously, assists have not counted if the ball was deflected by an opponent. Now, the intended target or destination of a pass will no longer matter. An assist will be awarded if the goalscorer receives the ball inside the penalty box and there is only one defensive touch before the ball reaches the goalscorer.
There will be extra free transfers to account for the Africa Cup of Nations, which takes place from December 21 to January 18. In Gameweek 16, the total number of free transfers will be topped up to five to account for players leaving for the tournament.
The Bons Points System is also changing this season. Ordinarily, it uses statistics supplied by Opta to award players bonus points; three points to the highest-scoring player, two to the second best and one to the third. Last season, keepers earned two points in the scoring system for each save. This year, a keeper will earn three points in the ranking if the shot is taking from inside the penalty area, and two points if the shot is outside. A penalty save now awards eight points instead of nine. Players now also earn nine points instead of three for goalline clearances, and they’ll now earn 12 points regardless of their position for scoring a penalty. The points system around tackles has also changed; now, players will earn two points for every tackle won, rather than the old system of subtracting lost tackles to the total.
New FPL chips
New for the 2025/26 season, Fantasy managers will have two sets of chips. There will be a Wildcard, Free Hit, Triple Captain, and Bench Boost in each half of the campaign, meaning a total of eight chips. Crucially, there is no Assistant Manager chip.
The first set of chips has to be played before the Gameweek 19 deadline in December, and cannot be carried over. This is how the different chips work:
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Wildcard: All transfers (including those already made) are free of charge
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Free Hit: Make unlimited free transfers for a single gameweek. At the next deadline, your squad is returned to how it was before those unlimited moves were made. The Free Hit can’t be played in Gameweek 1
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Triple Captain: Your captain points are tripled instead of doubled
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Bench Boost: The points scored by your benched players are included in your total
Player prices for 2025/26 season
There have been some notable departures from the Premier League during the summer. Chelsea’s Joao Felix, Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure, Liverpool legends Trent Alexander-Arnold and Darwin Nunez, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, and Tottenham legend Heung-Min Son are just some of the big names who have left the Premier League.
The most expensive goalkeepers for the 2025/26 season cost £5.5 million. They are David Raya (Arsenal), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Alisson Becker (Liverpool), and Ederson (Manchester City).
The highest price for a defender is £6 million, with Gabriel (Arsenal), William Saliba (Arsenal), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea), Jeremie Frimpong (Liverpool), Milos Kerkez (Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Manchester City), and Josko Gvardiol all costing a pretty penny. Four million is the lowest you can expect to pay for a defender.
The most expensive midfielder is Liverpool player Mohammed Salah, who costs £14.5 million. He’s followed by Cole Palmer (Chelsea) and Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) for £10.5 million. The lowest cost is £4.5 million.
Like last season, Erling Haaland of Manchester City remains the most expensive forward at £14 million, having been dethroned as overall most expensive by Mo Salah. Alexander Isak from Newcastle is in second place at £10.5 million, with Olly Watkins (Aston Villa) and Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal) both costing £9 million.
What are the prizes for winning FPL?
While most people play FPL for gloating rights within their families or groups of friends, there are real prizes to be won. Those with the most points in Fantasy across all Managers win some very valuable things:
1st Prize – 2025/26 Fantasy Premier League Champion
- 7-night break in the UK, inclusive of two VIP hospitality at two 2026/27 Premier League matches
- A selection of experiences at popular UK tourist attractions
- Includes travel and 7 nights’ accommodation
- Microsoft Surface Laptop
- 4 Hobby Boxes of Topps Premier League (Chrome, Merlin, Pristine and Finest)
- Puma Training Top or Hoodie
- Puma Football
- Official Premier League Club Replica Shirt
- EA SPORTS FCâ„¢ game
- Official FPL Certificate
- FPL bundle consisting of a T-shirt, mug, thermal bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
Runner-up
- Two hospitality tickets at one 2026/27 Premier League match
- Includes travel and 3 nights’ accommodation
- Microsoft Surface Laptop
- Puma Training Top or Hoodie
- Puma Football
- Official Premier League Club Replica Shirt
- EA SPORTS FCâ„¢ game
- Official FPL Certificate
- FPL bundle consisting of a T-shirt, mug, thermal bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
3rd place
- Microsoft Surface Laptop
- Puma Training Top or Hoodie
- Puma Football
- Official Premier League Club Replica Shirt
- EA SPORTS FCâ„¢ game
- Official FPL Certificate
- FPL bundle consisting of a T-shirt, mug, thermal bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
4th-10th place
- Puma Training Top or Hoodie
- Puma Football
- Official Premier League Club Replica Shirt
- EA SPORTS FCâ„¢ game
- Official FPL Certificate
- FPL bundle consisting of a T-shirt, mug, thermal bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
2025/26 FPL Cup Winner
- Two hospitality tickets at one 2026/27 Premier League match
- Includes travel and 3 nights’ accommodation
- Microsoft Surface Laptop
- Puma Training Top or Hoodie
- Puma Football
- Official Premier League Club Replica Shirt
- EA SPORTS FCâ„¢ game
- Official FPL Certificate
- FPL bundle consisting of a T-shirt, mug, thermal bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
2025/26 FPL Cup Runner-up
- Microsoft Surface Laptop
- Puma Training Top or Hoodie
- Puma Football
- Official Premier League Club Replica Shirt
- EA SPORTS FCâ„¢ game
- Official FPL Certificate
- FPL bundle consisting of a T-shirt, mug, thermal bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
Second Chance League first prize
- Puma Training Top or Hoodie
- Puma Football
- Official Premier League Club Replica Shirt
- EA SPORTS FCâ„¢ game
- Official FPL Certificate
- FPL bundle consisting of a T-shirt, mug, thermal bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
1% League first prize
- Puma Training Top or Hoodie
- Puma Football
- Official Premier League Club Replica Shirt
- EA SPORTS FCâ„¢ game
- Official FPL Certificate
- FPL bundle consisting of a T-shirt, mug, thermal bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
10% League first prize
- Puma Training Top or Hoodie
- Puma Football
- Official Premier League Club Replica Shirt
- EA SPORTS FCâ„¢ game
- Official FPL Certificate
- FPL bundle consisting of a T-shirt, mug, thermal bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
Monthly Manager of the Month prize
- Puma Training Top or Hoodie
- Puma Football
- Official Premier League Club Replica Shirt
- EA SPORTS FCâ„¢ game
- Official FPL Certificate
- FPL bundle consisting of a T-shirt, mug, thermal bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
Weekly Manager of the Week prize
- Puma Training Top or Hoodie
- Puma Football
- Official Premier League Club Replica Shirt
- EA SPORTS FCâ„¢ game
- Official FPL Certificate
- FPL bundle consisting of a T-shirt, mug, thermal bottle, stress ball, pen, pad and key ring
