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Fantasy Premier League Changes for the 2026-27 Season

The 2026-27 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season has arrived with several fresh features and adjustments. Player prices and positions have shifted, but new tools aim to make team selection and competition more engaging.

Assistance in Choosing Your Starting Squad

Picking a squad within the £100m budget can be overwhelming. This season, FPL offers a helper that suggests a starting lineup based on your preferred club and playstyle. You remain free to tweak this squad until the gameweek one deadline.

Real-Time Mini-League Updates

Competition among friends and colleagues is a major part of FPL's appeal. Unlike before, mini-league standings now update live during matches. Bonus points will also appear from the 20th minute onwards, instead of only after confirmation.

Predicting Price Changes

A new price-change predictor estimates whether a player's value will rise or fall at midnight the next day. It uses five categories ranging from "very likely to rise" to "very likely to drop," giving managers insight though not guarantees.

Adjustments to Bonus Points and Lockdown Time

Minor tweaks continue to refine bonus point scoring. Tackled players no longer lose bonus points, which benefits attacking midfielders who faced heavy marking last season. Defensive players face a higher threshold to earn points from clearances, blocks, and interceptions—now requiring three actions per BPS point instead of two.

Goalkeeper saves are simplified: all saves count as two BPS points regardless of shot location, but extra points reward stopping a big chance. Penalty save points have been slightly reduced but balanced by this big chance bonus.

Bonus points finalization now happens later, at 09:00 UK time the morning after matches, allowing more thorough data reviews.

Continuing Features from 2025-26

The ability to use each chip twice remains unchanged:

  • Bench Boost: Scores from all four substitutes count in a gameweek.
  • Free Hit: Allows unlimited temporary transfers in one gameweek, reverting the next week.
  • Triple Captain: Triples the captain's points instead of doubling them.
  • Wildcard: Unlimited permanent transfers in one gameweek.

The defensive contribution points system (Defcon) also stays. Outfield players gain bonus points based on defensive actions, with different thresholds for defenders and attackers.

Player Price Changes and Position Updates

Erling Haaland of Manchester City remains the priciest player ever in FPL at £15.5m, up from £15m two seasons ago. Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes sees a big hike to £12m, after setting a Premier League assist record last term.

Arsenal centre-back Gabriel rises to £8m, making him joint-third most expensive defender historically.

Several players have changed positions:

  • Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Lamare Bogarde (Aston Villa), Keane Lewis-Potter (Brentford), Patrick Dorgu (Manchester United) switched from defenders to midfielders.
  • Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth) moved from forward to midfielder.
  • Mats Wieffer (Brighton), Rio Cardines (Crystal Palace), Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham), Eric Moreira (Nottingham Forest) shifted from midfielders to defenders.
  • Omar Marmoush (Manchester City) and Georginio Rutter (Brighton) transitioned from midfielders to forwards.

New Tools: History Checker and Gameweek Recaps

FPL now lets you compare your current season ranking to past years, including percentage finishes, offering a clearer view of progress. After each gameweek, you can receive a visual recap of your performance highlighting your top scorer.

Join the BBC Sport FPL League

BBC Sport continues to host its own FPL league, inviting readers to compete. Details on how to join will be shared closer to the season start.

Summary of Key Changes

  • Starter squad help based on preferences.
  • Live mini-league and bonus point updates.
  • Price-change prediction tool.
  • Tweaks to bonus point calculations benefiting certain player roles.
  • Later bonus point finalization time.
  • Retention of double chip usage and defensive contribution points.
  • Significant player price adjustments and position reclassifications.
  • New features like history checker and weekly performance summaries.

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