Basics to consider when planning for FPL Gameweek 1

The 2025/26 Premier League season kicks off on Friday 15th August with current champions Liverpool hosting Bournemouth. The build up to the season also involves millions of FPL players picking their squads, and we have covered some of the basics that we consider important ahead of the new season to help players manage their squads before the Gameweek 1 deadline.

Understand the multitude of changes within FPL for the 25/26 season:

The new season in FPL has seen the greatest number of changes to the game in its history, so let's cover some of the basics. You can read the Premier League's own overview of the changes by clicking here, whilst we will be covering the functional changes in the game as there have been some cosmetic updates (such as creating AI badges for your team, a frustrating series of UI/UX design changes to the website, and global league updates).

Overview of functional game changes in FPL:

• Defensive Contributions

• Double the number of 'Chips'

• Changes to awarding Assists

• Additional transfers ahead of AFCON

• Changes to the Bonus Points System

The positives changes implemented in FPL:

Defensive Contributions are without doubt the best introduction in FPL in many years. In years gone past the team at Hype Train have reviewed MLS Fantasy and Fantasy Bundesliga, which has a comprehensive points system for all players - and in our estimation, these scoring systems which use statistics to provide points across entire contributions in games, has been a superior method when compared to Fantasy Premier League. Historically, FPL has favoured attacking play and there have been gaps in the game's scoring system, which has been basic and somewhat limited to appeal to casual players, most notably for defensive midfielders and central defenders.

From the new season, all players are eligible to earn an additional 2-points-per-game if they earn a total of 10 defensive contributions in a single match, which the FPL refer to as CBIT's - clearances, blocks, interceptions, and tackles. These additional points are capped.

Midfielders and Forwards will also earn the above CBIT points and will also be rewarded for 'ball recoveries' in matches, which is unique to attacking players to reward their work pressing other teams and their ability to win the ball back in matches. The difference with MID/FOR players will be that they need to earn 12 contributions when compared to 10 for defenders, in order to receive the 2 additional points.

To put this into practise, in the most recent 2024/25 season, James Tarkowski (EVE) would have earned an additional 44 points to the 105 points the defender managed, and that's because in 33 starts for Everton, he got 10 or more contributions in 22 matches. Moises Caicedo (CHE) was the top earning midfielder, earning 42 defensive contribution points in 38 games, which is extra points in 21 matches.

These elite earners were earning additional points in more than half the games this season, so it is best to estimate that across the league you can expect the figures to be lower depending on the player or team, so it will be hit-or-miss if players hit the new benchmark, but it isn't unreasonable to expect these additional points every other week in FPL (or just less).

The other change that is a positive is the amendment of awarding assists in FPL. The game has had a history of not awarding clear assists for reasons such as the ball/pass not being made for the intended target or taking the slightest of deflections that doesn't even change the direction of the ball.

So, in 2025/26, the intended target or destination of a pass will no longer matter and a Fantasy assist will be awarded when the following two criteria are fulfilled:

• The goalscorer receives the ball inside the penalty box (if outside the box, the assist will not be awarded)

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

• If there is a double deflection, an assist will not be awarded

• Defensive errors following a pass to the intended pass will be awarded with an assist

• If an attacking pass has led to a forced handball, an assist will now be awarded

Some of the above Premier League terminology can be wordy, but the basics are that more assists will be awarded as the leniency for the qualification of an assist has been relaxed - with the FPL suggesting an additional 41 assists would have been awarded. These two changes have been a breath of fresh air to open the game's dynamics and make more of the game's players relevant picks.

These tweaks to FPL changes have also seen a cleaning up of the game's Bonus Points System (BPS), with slight amendments made. Most notably, a player who makes a clearance on the line with receive 9 BPS (up from 3 last season), whilst penalty kick takers receive 12 BPS for scoring a spot kick (in any position, limited from last season), and goalkeepers will earn 3 BPS for each save they make (up from 2), which will see more goalkeeper's fight for bonus points.

The not-so-positive changes added to FPL:

Had the above changes been the only changes to the game, we would have rejoiced about FPL going in the right direction, but the decision makers at the Premier League just couldn't help themselves to add too much at once, with some changes that complicate the basics of the game - and at its core we believe FPL should be as easily accessible and playable as possible.

In our opinion, doubling down on the number of seasonal Chips players have access too is a step in the wrong direction. FPL players for the first time will have to use a Wildcard, Triple Captain, Bench Boost, and Free Hit, during each half of the season (Gameweek's 1-19 and 20-38).

During Gameweek 16, players will also be given an additional 5 transfers to cope with players leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). So, in additional to a wildcard, you can reset a third of your squad due to AFCON.

Our core issue with these changes are that we believe that all these additional chips will only worsen the game's 'templated' nature, which essentially attempts to dictate when players should play their chips, or risk being well off the pace due to a lack of flexibility in making transfers in particular (as you could be forced into transfers to accommodate more chips). Players should be able to play their own game, not be forced down one or two transfer routes. The additional AFCON transfers limit any transfer strategies within the game (not that there is a giant exodus of players to begin with). The chips players use should also be special, but when you double up on these, it minimises their impact. Less is more in this respect.

Limit noise from content creators where possible:

There are some first-class content creators out there in the world of FPL, but in 2025 we (and most people) would argue that there is more than a lot of FPL related content out there. This is a short point, that whilst we are not disparaging the content being made, we believe it is simply too early to be taking into consideration elements such as the rotation of £4.5m defenders, weekly captaincy, differential players, when transfers haven't been finalised and at a whim, whilst template draft teams can be ripped up with new player arrival.

As of writing, Viktor Gyökeres has just joined Arsenal, and has been added to FPL at £9.0m. The litany of draft teams across social media may be ripped up. The same applies for if Alexsander Isak moves from Newcastle to Liverpool, and if other big foreign imports make their way to the Premier League.

A lot of businesses rely on clicks, likes, and the social media cycle to attract new revenue sources, it's been a constant element of playing fantasy football now in 2025. The hype of pre-season and these endless hypotheticals in reality do not really help teams when it comes to picking your team for Gameweek 1 as much as you might think, and we'd like to hope that players spend time in their actual lives, instead of fixating on elements out of your control.

There's no need to tinker with endless Drafts of your FPL team:

We appreciate anyone who has a jumpstart on the planning ahead of Gameweek 1, and below are our considerations for players ahead of Gameweek 1.

• Pre-Season form is good for evaluating how a squad is performing, who is injured, and tactical elements Manager's utilise, but teams are still resting, trialling, and learning. It's never a reflection of the season, though can help guide with potential starters

• Transfer incomings and outgoings are always ongoing. New players will get added that might tear up the template. Injuries also happen, and players being pushed to the bench for new arrivals

• Player ownership on the FPL website is not reflective of actual % ownership as a lot of players just leave their team on auto-pick until later in the summer. Trends for ownership only really establish themselves during the week of Gameweek 1

• Player form has not been established just yet. Starting XIs are also not known, so it's best to be open-minded instead of having a set idea of a player or system weeks in advance (which may rot your brain as you have become attached on a template idea, or a series of fixtures)

• The game changes quickly when Gameweek 1 arrives. A few games in and it always happens that a quick starter is transferred in by the masses. Our point here is that it's ok to not have a perfect template on day one as you will always have chances to correct yourself when understanding the flow of points in the game

• Nobody is completely sure on how the new changes to the game will work out in this second, other than the ceiling for points will be higher in the 2025/26 season. So, we assume it is safe to suggest that there are more routes for points across the point, and unlike previous seasons, players shouldn't be struggling to earn points (happy players = happy game)

When should you start finalising your FPL Gameweek 1 team?

In all honestly, the week of Gameweek 1 is the time to start taking a more serious look at the game. That current date would be around Monday 11th August, which is just shy of 2 weeks away from the opening game at Anfield on Friday 15th August.

Who are some of the players to consider ahead of the new season?:

Ultimately, what everyone is looking for is the Gameweek 1 cheat code for a quick start. The 25/26 season has added a few variables, notably the addition of defensive contributions, that will push the average points each Gameweek up.

Having personally played FPL for more than a decade and largely finishing inside the top 500k as a minimum, here are our considerations when picking a squad.

• Set-piece takers will have more chances for goals and assists, particularly with the changes to assist awards. The FPL site has added a section for set-piece takers to aid players

• A 5th midfielder with high Defensive Contributions odds may be an essential pivot in the game. If you have a questionable line-up decision, but have Rice (ARS) or Caicedo (CHE) as a 5th midfielder, you can gamble on the chances of an additional 2 points

• Upcoming fixtures play a big part in player selection. Nobody wants to have a run of Champions League clubs in a tow, so it is a wise idea to narrow down clubs who have a good run of fixtures to help maximise the potential for points.

• Targeting promoted clubs has proven to be a good tactic for FPL players, particularly last season. Ipswich, Southampton, and Leicester, who were promoted in 23/24, were all relegated in 24/25. The quality of the league is such that it is becoming an uphill battle for promoted clubs to not immediately drown when they come up - with Leeds, Burnley, and Sunderland, all naturally teams to stack the odds against for FPL players

• The league's best players are typically fixture proof, so maximising quality and trusted sources of points has previously helped in Gameweek 1 in years gone by. Liverpool, Man City, and Arsenal are in our estimation the safest route to FPL points, regardless of the fixture.

• Historical results are a factor to consider when picking a squad. If a team hasn't won away from home at a particular ground in a long time, we'd want to know to potentially mitigate the risks. Some team's do not travel well, whilst teams like Newcastle and promoted teams rely on being a fortress at home

• Team's losing their Management and top FPL assets shouldn't go unnoticed either. Instability at Brentford having lost Thomas Frank to Spurs and Bryan Mbeumo to Man United means that the club are an unknown variable, with it probably best to wait and see how they adapt before committing to their players at FPL. Understanding struggles in advance at clubs has been a deciding factor for our player picks often

• Regular starters more than ever are reliable early season picks, particularly club captains. If there is any doubt about one of your players on a watchlist not starting, it's safe to assume that Virgil van Dijk will start (whereas Robertson and Kerkez will be rotating)

• A fear of 12:30pm lunch time kick-offs is a real thing. Slower games, erratic and diminished FPL returns, and a certain uncertainty over general sleepy player performances, particularly when captaining a player, is something we observe on a weekly basis. Aston Villa vs. Newcastle open the season at 12:30 this season, which is already a tough game to call on paper

These considerations mean that at the top of our considerations would be to rely on 2-3 regular star performers in FPL such as Cole Palmer (CHE), Mohamed Salah (LIV), and Erling Haaland (MCI) to lead your attacking line and form the backbone of your captaincy selections.

When targeting promoted clubs, West Ham travel to Sunderland which may encourage players to take a gamble on Jarrod Bowen (8.0m) in his new role as a Forward, whilst Iliman Ndiaye (6.5m) has been reclassified as a midfielder, and travels to Leeds with the potential of set-pieces and penalties. Burnley also travel to Spurs, likely without James Trafford, which puts Dominic Solanke (7.5m) at the summit of Gameweek 1 considerations.

Further back, Virgil van Dijk (LIV) is a sure starter against Bournemouth at home, whilst a good run of fixtures puts Chelsea's defensive line in contention, with Levi Colwill (5.0m) and Marc Cucurella (6.0m) attractive selections against a Crystal Palace side that is threatened of being pulled apart with outgoing transfers.

In goal, with the additional BPS for goalkeepers per save, and with a wayward Brentford at home in Gameweek 1, Matz Sels (5.0m) is a realistic option for most players, whilst we will wait and see if James Trafford (5.0m) seals a move to Man City, ahead of an opening day away at Wolves.

Just remember, there will be lots of changes and additions between now and the Gameweek 1 deadline, so the best time to assess the state of your FPL team is closer to the deadline. Our closing thoughts are to not be sold on one template or method, for now. The state of the game will change before the start of the season, and it is best placed to be open minded so FPL players can be flexible with their final choices when it matters most.

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