Fantasy Premier League advice: Top players for your squad, optimal formations, winning tactics, and how to approach FPL 2025/26

The 2025/26 Premier League season is set to kick off, and that also means the return of Fantasy Premier League. 

Established in 2002, the league has rapidly ascended to become the premier fantasy domestic league globally, attracting more than 11 million participants last season, setting a fresh benchmark. 

This year, it's expected to expand even more, and here at AllSportsPeople, we're providing all the essential information for Fantasy Premier League. 

Discover expert advice on choosing the ideal team, the most effective formation, and strategies for gaining an advantage. Plus, learn how to maintain your team's engagement throughout the season, ensuring it doesn't fall by the wayside by Christmas!

Check out our full guide below...

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A guide to playing Fantasy Premier League

To play Fantasy Premier League for the first time, you must register on the FPL site.

This straightforward, three-step procedure involves the standard "About Me", then "Your Favourites" for choosing your favored team, and finally "Email preferences". 

You have the option to join public or private leagues, and you'll automatically be included in the main Fantasy League, as well as leagues for players from your nation and fans of your preferred teams. 

However, first you must pick your squad. 

Selecting your Fantasy Premier League team

Every player who joins FPL is given an initial budget of £100m to work with, and every manager must choose 15 players for their team. 

A team comprises 11 starters and four substitutes and requires two goalkeepers, five defenders, five midfielders, and three forwards. 

A maximum of three players can be chosen from any one Premier League club.

To pick your team, you're able to adjust the filters based on last season's total points, which players are most frequently chosen, or just their cost. 

Each week, you will select a captain, whose points return will be doubled. 

You're free to alter your lineup at any time, but only one free transfer to swap players in and out per week. Any additional changes will result in a four-point penalty. 

The deadline for picking your squad, team and captain for each gameweek is 90 minutes before the first game's kick off.

That's the basics to get you started, but what about who to select in your squad? 

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For the 2025/26 season, which FPL players should be prioritized for selection?

This leads us perfectly to discussing the top players in Fantasy Premier League. Naturally, this is the crucial question that all FPL managers are perpetually seeking to resolve!

Last season's price and total points are predictably the strongest predictors of where to begin, yet numerous players offer significantly greater value than their initial cost suggests. 

Only Mohamed Salah (344) surpassed Bryan Mbeuno (236) in points last season, and the player now at Manchester United is priced at £6.5m less than the Liverpool legend for the 2025/26 campaign, so keep an eye out for possible value buys. 

Regarding the top players, much like actual football, scoring goals is key to winning in fantasy, and assists also contribute significantly. Salah, Erling Haaland, Cole Palmer, Alexander Isak, and Bukayo Saka have consistently been among the highest-performing players in recent years, and it's probable they'll continue this trend this season. 

This principle extends to Fantasy Premier League defenders as well. Players capable of contributing goals and/or assists, in addition to keeping clean sheets, will prove invaluable throughout the season.

Marc Cucurella, Josko Gvardiol and Nikola Milenkovic all scored five times last season, while Antonee Robinson led the league with 10 assists. 

Assessing recent acquisitions is challenging, yet players such as Florian Wirtz, Viktor Gyokeres, Joao Pedro, Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha are anticipated to be well-received by managers from the outset. 

MORE: Premier League top scorer, who will win the 2025/26 Premier League Golden Boot race?

Selecting an FPL formation

In Fantasy Premier League, formations differ from actual football; the primary objective is to include as many players as possible who are likely to score points in your starting lineup. 

This often requires adopting a 3-4-3 formation to accommodate three forwards, or a 3-5-2 if your squad features numerous attacking midfielders. 

The formation you select each week should be adaptable, considering player availability, potential injuries, and the specific matchups each player faces.

Staying on top of the Premier League fixtures, and adjusting accordingly is the surest way to succeed.

FPL strategies and tips

Given your probable team composition, there's no need to allocate substantial funds to four or five defenders.

To optimize your team's defense, prioritize players who can either score goals or contribute assists. This is the rationale behind selecting three full-backs can be so valuable in Fantasy. 

Having cheap back up defenders is another good tip, a nd that goes for the bench in general.

It's not very beneficial to have a large portion of your funds unused, but aim to secure some initial units for when you intend to deploy your "Bench Boost" chip. We'll discuss this further shortly...

Regarding goalkeepers, try and find value in a starter who is £5m or cheaper to save funds for attacking players. It's likely beneficial to have an extremely inexpensive backup ready in case of an unforeseen injury. 

As for midfielders and forwards, the obvious tip is to get as many goalscorers and assist providers as possible.

While players such as Rodri, Martin Zubimendi, and Carlos Baleba are invaluable in actual football matches, their utility in Fantasy Premier League is diminished, despite the introduction of points for defensive actions. 

There are plenty of midfielders who really are forwards, particularly Salah, Mbeumo, and Palmer, who achieved the highest point totals last season. Midfielders receive an additional point over forwards for each goal scored, making it advantageous to select these kinds of players. 

All three also took penalties last season, which is an easy bonus in terms of getting points. Take a look at who takes penalties for teams, as well as set pieces, before deciding on your squad. 

FPL 'chips' are special tools within the Fantasy Premier League game that can be activated to boost your team's performance for a single gameweek.

The Bench Boost offers managers an additional method for accumulating points during the season.

Mastering the timing of leveraging these strengths is vital for securing extra points during critical junctures and capitalizing on significant achievements.

Regarding upcoming matches, it's advisable to review the initial 4-6 fixtures for each team prior to finalizing your initial squad, and continue to monitor future games as the season progresses. 

Players have a total of four chips at their disposal, including Bench Boost, which is complemented by Free Hit, Wildcard, and Triple Captain. 

Here's what they all do:

• Free Hit — Allows players to 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.

• Triple captain — This means precisely what it sounds like, as your captain's points are multiplied by three rather than two. It's a smart move to activate this when your key player faces a simpler opponent or has two matches within the same gameweek. 

• Wildcard — Allows players to change their team as much as they want free of charge when the chip is played. 

• Bench Boost — The points gained by your players on your bench are included in your weekly total.

This season, you'll receive two of each chip: one for the first half of the season, usable until the conclusion of Gameweek 19, and a second for the latter half, from Gameweek 20 onward.

MORE: Guide to wagering on the 2025/26 Premier League season: Forecasts, advice, and current betting lines for champions, demotion, top quartet, and additional markets. 

Premier League fixtures 2025/26 and FPL game weeks

The Fantasy Premier League fixture list largely follows the actual football schedule, though certain weeks will feature double gameweeks, so pay attention to this detail during the season. 

The Premier League season's current schedule is available, though TV broadcast changes for October and beyond haven't been finalized.