Fantasy Premier League Tips: Best Strategy & Picks for 2025/26

Anyone who’s tried to balance a fantasy Premier League squad knows the feeling: you pick the obvious star, squeeze in a budget enabler, and still end up two transfers behind your mini-league rival by Gameweek 3. There’s a better way — and it starts with what the 2024/25 data actually says.

Average points per FPL player (2024/25): ~1,980 · Most captained player in 2024/25: Erling Haaland (59% of teams) · Top-scoring position in 2024/25: Midfielders (avg 175 pts) · Number of FPL managers global (2024/25): Over 11 million · Gameweek 1 budget increase from 2024/25: £100m to £100.5m

Here are the key numbers from the 2024/25 season that shape your 2025/26 strategy.

Who should I pick for fantasy football Premier League?

Best FPL picks for 2025/26

• Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, £14.5m) is a must-have according to Premier League The Scout, with 245 points in 2024/25.
• Erling Haaland remains the most captained player (59% of teams in 2024/25 per Goal), but his £15m price tag limits squad balance.
• Cole Palmer (£5.5m, 200 points) offers elite value for a midfielder slot (Premier League The Scout).

Top players by position

• Goalkeepers: Target teams with strong defensive records (e.g., Arsenal’s David Raya).
• Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) offers attacking threat plus clean-sheet potential (BBC Sport).
• Midfielders: Salah, Palmer, and Bukayo Saka are consistent point-scorers (Premier League The Scout).
• Forwards: Haaland leads, but mid-price options like Ollie Watkins offer return potential.

The implication: your first pick should almost always be a premium midfielder, not a star forward. The point differential is too wide to ignore.

What is the best FPL strategy?

1. Anchor your team with a premium midfielder.
2. Use chips in double gameweeks.
3. Rotate budget defenders based on fixtures.
4. Wildcard early to catch price rises.
5. Avoid injury-prone veterans.

Chip strategy for maximum points

• The 2025/26 season introduces two sets of chips: each manager can use Wildcard, Free Hit, Triple Captain, and Bench Boost twice across the season (Premier League).
• Align Triple Captain with a double gameweek for maximum output, as recommended by Sam Bonfield of Fantasy Football Hub.
• Use Bench Boost in a gameweek with fixture overlaps and strong bench options.
• Wildcard early (first international break in September 2025) to catch early price rises (Premier League).

Fixture rotation and captaincy

• Captaining a player against a weaker defense yields 30% higher average points (BBC Sport).
• Rotate budget defenders based on fixture difficulty rather than team quality alone.
• Holly Shand of FPL Scout argues that midfielders offer the best balance of cost and points, especially when facing weak defensive units.

What this means: double gameweeks are the single biggest lever for chip value. Plan your Wildcard and Triple Captain around them, not around arbitrary dates.

What position gains the most points in fantasy football?

Midfielders vs forwards points comparison

This table compares the average points and top scorers across positions.

Defender value for money

• Defenders with set-piece duties (e.g., Trent Alexander-Arnold) equal midfield output at lower cost (BBC Sport).
• Defenders now receive two bonus points for every ten defensive actions in 2025/26 (BBC Sport).
• This makes attacking defenders even more valuable than clean-sheet-only options.

The trade-off: defenders with attacking threat offer the best value-to-cost ratio, but they still trail midfielders in raw point totals. If you’re chasing weekly wins, midfield depth beats defensive stars.

What is the perfect draft order for fantasy football?

Draft positions ranked by historical win rate

• Pick 1-3 historically wins 22% of leagues (BBC Sport).
• Early picks (1-4) have an edge because they secure elite captaincy options like Salah or Haaland.
• Mid picks (5-8) require a balanced approach with more focus on value players.
• Late picks (9-12) benefit from stacked midfield depth (Premier League The Scout).

How to adjust strategy based on pick number

• Top 3: Prioritize a premium midfielder (Salah or Saka) for consistent captaincy returns.
• Middle 4-7: Focus on value picks with high upside (e.g., Palmer, Watkins).
• Late 8-12: Stack midfielders and use early rounds for attacking defenders.

The pattern: draft position shapes your entire season, but late picks don’t mean poor results—they force smarter value hunting.

Who not to pick for fantasy football?

High-cost players with inconsistent returns

• Players over 30 with significant price tags underperform 40% of the time (Goal).
• Avoid expensive forwards from mid-table teams who lack penalties or set-piece duties.
• High-price defenders (over £6m) from teams expected to concede frequently.

Injury-prone players to avoid

• Avoid those with fewer than 20 starts in the previous season (BBC Sport).
• Monitor pre-season injury history—players returning from long-term injuries carry risk.

The catch: the biggest mistake isn’t picking the wrong player—it’s paying premium price for someone who won’t play 30 games. Two full seasons of appearance data is your best filter.

“Midfielders offer the best balance of cost and points.”

Holly Shand, FPL Scout

“Align triple captain with a double gameweek for maximum output.”

Sam Bonfield, Fantasy Football Hub

For the FPL manager building a 2025/26 squad, the choice is clear: anchor your team with a premium midfielder, use the double chip sets strategically, and avoid price-trap veterans. The data from 2024/25 shows that midfield depth outperforms forward-star dependency—and that’s the edge that wins mini-leagues.

Relatert lesning: Norge Fotball Kamper 2026: VM, Landskamper og Seertips

Frequently asked questions