Ultimate Guide to New FPL Rules for the New Season

With the Premier League and FPL season finishing just under two months ago, football-crazed addicts have been itching for their next fantasy fix. For some, pre-season friendlies and the Club World Cup is just not enough.

But now, rejoice—we are glad to announce that your favourite football game is back! And with it, there are a few surprises.

Whether you are just a casual player or someone fighting to come top of your league, this is your ultimate guide to all the new FPL rules for the 2025/26 season. So sit back, grab a cuppa, and start building that first draft as you scroll.

Double Chips

For the upcoming season, managers will be equipped with eight chips each.

Unlike previous years, we will have two sets of each chip—triple captain, bench boost, free hit and wildcard.

In recent seasons, the wildcard made a comeback halfway through the campaign, and this year follows the same pattern.

You will receive one set to use before Gameweek 19—the deadline is Tuesday, 30th December, 6:30 GMT—and a second set to utilise after that point.

So make sure to use those chips up, you do not want to start falling behind early and become the laughing stock of your group chat!

Defensive Action Boosters

After years upon years of fans calling out to make defenders more useful, the FPL makers have finally listened.

For too long, hardworking midfield enforcers like N’Golo Kanté and Rodri were stuck in fantasy purgatory; these players did not get the same clean sheet bonuses like defenders—four points for defenders, one point for midfielders—and did not have the same attacking output as more advanced midfielders.

Now, that is all going to change.

From next season, any defender who reaches a combined total of 10 clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles will receive an extra two points.

For midfielders and attackers, much is the same, but they need a combined 12 defensive actions including an extra category—ball recoveries—which defenders don’t get credited for.

New Assist Rule

A fairly simple rule, FPL has introduced fairer assist rules.

Unlike last season, if a player's action directly leads to a goal, even with one unavoidable deflection, it's an assist.

The new criteria that the FPL website has given is:

A fantasy assist will be awarded when the following two criteria are fulfilled:

- The goalscorer receives the ball inside the penalty box

- There is only one defensive touch before the ball reaches the goalscorer

AFCON Transfer Boost

Everybody loves the African Cup of Nations. A tournament filled with laughs, fantastic football, and some of the biggest shocks in world football.

But it is a massive pain in FPL. A few seasons ago, if you had a few African players in your squad, you would need to gut half the team and spend lots of points on extra transfers.

But this season, in Gameweek 16, your total number of free transfers will be topped up to five, regardless of what it was before that.

So make sure that going into Gameweek 16, you use all your transfers, ensuring an extra four total moves.

Elite Global Leagues

This season, we have two new leagues that only a small number of people will be able to compete in.

Finished in the top 114,319 last season? Congratulations, you are competing in the top 1% league.

Landed somewhere between that and 1,143,193? You didn’t quite crack the elite, but you’re still in good company in the top 10% League.

If you did not manage to make it to either of those leagues, do not worry! Just ensure you come in the top 10% this season, and you will be able to have a crack at it next year!

Big Position Changes and Price Watch

Many players have changed position this year in FPL. So far, both Matheus Cunha and Omar Marmoush have been swapped from a forward to a midfielder.

Jarrod Bowen has gone the other way, moving from midfielder to forward, a switch that might dent his value unless he keeps up his impressive attacking output.

It’s not just attackers shifting roles; there have been changes further back, too. Myles Lewis-Skelly and Matheus Nunes have both swapped midfield for defence, a move that could boost both players’ points as they claim clean sheet bonuses.

Ryan Sessegnon, however, has gone the other way, finding his place in midfield.

For player prices, we have been introduced to the most expensive player in FPL history.

After racking up a staggering 344 points last season—breaking his own FPL record in the process—Mohamed Salah has been handed a historic price tag of £14.5 million for the 2025/26 campaign.

This makes the Egyptian King the most expensive midfielder in FPL history, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s £14 million pricetag, a record that had stood untouched for 17 years, dating all the way back to the 2008/09 season.

Other key players' pricetags include

- Erling Haaland - £14 million- Cole Palmer - £10.5 million- Alexander Isak - £10.5 million- Bukayo Saka - £10 million- Bruno Fernandes - £9 million- Florian Wirtz - £8 million- Virgil Van Dijk - £6 million

On the lookout for cheaper players? Try reading this Football Park article on the biggest FPL bargins!

Final Thoughts

This year’s FPL is less plug-and-play, more plug-and-pray. With every manager receiving two sets of chips and defensive metrics finally gaining recognition, expect managers who can dig deep into the data to start rising up the leaderboard.

As always, be wary of early bandwagons and first-month tactics. Your FPL league is not won in August, but it can certainly be lost.

So, plan when to play your chips, draft your team, and most importantly, make sure you beat your friends and family in your mini-leagues!