Why are fixtures important in FPL?
Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers have been planning their initial 2025/26 squads since June’s unveiling of fixtures, as these are important to all decisions.
- READ MORE: When Will FPL 2025/26 Launch?
Determining which team’s players have attractive upcoming schedules and which don’t plays a role in pretty much everything about to take place between now and May.
Here are a few specific reasons why.
AIM FOR GOOD FIXTURES
Simply put, FPL is about picking lots of the best players without exceeding budget. Whether that’s individuals in good form or those with appealing fixtures – ideally, both – players usually do better in ‘easy’ matches, which makes sense.
For example, seven of last season’s 10 biggest hauls came against teams in the bottom five. Aiming for Southampton and Leicester proved particularly fruitful, so expect the same for Sunderland and Burnley.
AVOID THE BAD FIXTURES
Again, it’s just logical to avoid players about to face the likes of Liverpool, Man City, Arsenal and Newcastle.
While very occasionally you’ll see something like Justin Kluivert’s hat-trick at St James’ Park, harder matches mean that a team will probably concede and then have a hard time getting a go at the other backline.
CHEAP DEFENSIVE ROTATIONS
Active FPL managers will look to squeeze value out of two or three cheaper players by interchanging them.
A quick look at 2025/26 shows Burnley’s stellar Championship defence hosting Sunderland in Gameweek 2. And Nottingham Forest’s own tightness faces both in Gameweeks 5 and 6.
It’s more often a defensive situation, although an outstanding cheap attacker like Cole Palmer (2023/24), Anthony Gordon (2023/24) or Morgan Rogers (2024/25) could also introduce this further upfield.
CAPTAINCY
Meanwhile, by each deadline, a captain is picked to score double points in that Gameweek.
Selecting the player you trust most to score highly usually involves facing a poor defence.
FUTURE PLANNING
By looking at each team’s longer-term fixture runs, rotation plans emerge and future transfers can be pencilled in.
- READ MORE: Every Premier League Team’s Best Fixture Runs for FPL 2025/26
- READ MORE: Every Premier League Team’s Worst Fixture Runs for FPL 2025/26
Finishing second in three successive seasons, Arsenal have been handed a tricky-looking start. They’re against Man City, Liverpool and Newcastle early on, before things improve from Gameweek 7 onwards.
Perhaps that’s a good time to buy Bukayo Saka and a defender.
CHIP USAGE
Furthermore, if it’s a moment where numerous fixture runs swing from bad to good, making lots of transfers at the same time using a Wildcard chip could work out best.
The other chips are traditionally saved for the season’s final third (March onwards), where cup matches will force postponements and create Blank and Double Gameweeks. Therefore, some teams will play twice between deadlines, but some won’t feature at all.
Fixtures are crucial to FPL managers.
