7 Tips for FPL in 2025/26
Our 7 tips for FPL in 2025/26 will give you knowledge you need to start the new season, and continue it successfully. To reveal those tips we brought in Fantasy Football Scout Hall of Famer @dmpwright.
With lots of new changes to the game and even more competition, knowing how to navigate the campaign will be essential, so lets dive in.
Aim for a strong start
Seems obvious, right? While it has always been beneficial to hit the ground running, the planning required to navigate multiple blank/double Gameweeks and the availability of fewer chips meant it was easier to claw back lost ground in previous seasons.
With multiple chips now available to FPL managers and fewer blank/double gameweeks, there are fewer opportunities to capitalise on scheduling headaches and much less emphasis on planning in general, underscoring the need to get it right early on.
Don’t take too many risks with your GW1 squad
Linked to the above, one of the big mistakes I made last season was loading up on minutes risks in my GW1 squad. I started the campaign with all three of Valentín Barco, Jarell Quansah and Christopher Nkunku (yes, really…) and spent several Gameweeks thereafter rectifying those mistakes. While it’s fine to take calculated punts, I would limit this to one player at most for GW1.
I would also be mindful of the strains of the Club World Cup on Manchester City and Chelsea players, in particular. Chelsea understandably have a limited preseason schedule, the first game of which isn’t until 8th August, meaning some of their players may not be 100% fit to start the campaign and possibly avoided from an FPL perspective, at least to begin with.
Target 90-minute men
Our 7 Tips for FPL in 2025/26 will be extremely helpful, but you should also check out our Essential Guide for the new season!
Further to my previous point, whereas in previous seasons it may have been advantageous to take a punt on a high-upside player with risky xMins like Nkunku, the availability of points for defensive contributions from this season means it’s even more important to target 90-minute men – particularly those who score highly in this category – in order to maximise routes to points.
With two points on offer for defenders and midfielders who make 10 and 12 defensive contributions, respectively, it stands to reason that players who go the full 90 minutes are more likely to reach those targets than those who don’t.
Bank your free transfers where possible
Another mistake I made last season was undervaluing the importance of banking free transfers. I think I only ever accumulated three free transfers and only got to that point in the latter half of the season, in part due to the need to deal with early-season issues such as Quansah and Nkunku.
While the importance of accumulating free transfers is somewhat diminished now we have two sets of chips and additional transfers to navigate AFCON (more on that later), they can still be incredibly helpful to overhaul you squad ahead of favourable fixture runs and deal with injury crises when they arise.
Points over pounds…as long as you don’t haemorrhage team value
Last season I mentioned that, in most instances, I would prioritise points/rank over team value. However, starting out with Quansah and Nkunku last season meant I quickly began to lose a lot of team value: in those scenarios, I would act quickly to prevent losing too much team value, even if it means making early transfers and/or taking a points hit.
Make the most of your AFCON transfers
For the first time, FPL managers will receive five free transfers to navigate AFCON this season. While I don’t agree with this change to the game, it’s important to have a plan for and spend any available free transfers before GW16 in order to maximise your AFCON allowance.
Any transfers carried into GW16 will result in a net transfer deficit to other FPL managers equivalent to the number of transfers you carry.
Have a plan for your chips
Again, the importance of this is somewhat diminished for chips like the Free Hit and Wildcard given our AFCON allowance. However, it’s still a good idea to map out when you’re likely to deploy your chips – particularly as there are unlikely to be any blank/double Gameweeks to target in the first half of the season.
For example, bench boosting in GW1 has gained traction in recent seasons and is likely to be even more popular now we have two Bench Boost chips. If you go this route, it will be important to consider the impact on both your pre- and post-GW1 squad, but also the potential knock-on effect for other chips.
