2025/26 FPL Season- New Rules & Changes | What’s New in FPL?

The 2025/26 FPL Season is nearly here, and FPL have announced some groundbreaking changes. We could have the likes of Caicedo, Rice, and Rodri as FPL options this season thanks to the rule changes. In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about the FPL 2025/26 Season Changes- Chips and Defensive Contribution Points.

Link to all our 2025/26 Pre-Season articles including all team pre-season friendly updates, team previews, fixture analysis, position-wise analysis, differentials, players to target, budget enablers and more. Completely free to access as well!

2025/26 FPL Season – New Changes

Points for Defensive Actions:

FPL is adding points for Defensive contributions this season, which means that Center Backs and Defensive Midfielders also now have routes to FPL Points, which makes the game more interesting🔥

Everything you need to know & how it will work:

🔹Defenders will get 2 FPL Points for a combined total of 10 clearances, blocks, interceptions, and tackles (CBIT) in a single match. Note: Defensive contribution points will be capped at two points per match, so if a defender makes 20 CBIT in a match, they would still collect just two points, not four points.
🔹In addition to their clearances, blocks, interceptions, and tackles, For Forwards and midfielders, “Ball recoveries” will also count towards their total of defensive contributions (CBIRT). For defenders, Ball recoveries won’t count.
🔹Midfielders & Forwards have to get 12 defensive contributions to get 2 Points, whereas defenders only need 10.
🔹You will be able to see which players have earned these new points while a match is happening, on the FPL website and app.

Now, let’s take a look at how these Defensive Contribution Points would have been in previous seasons, so as to get an idea of what players to target.

Top players for Defensive Contribution points in the last four seasons:

It is interesting to note that Tarkowski is the only Defender to make this list.

Defenders:

First things, first, James Tarkowski would have been the No.1 Defender for Defensive Contributions(Clearances + Blocks + Interceptions + Tackles) in EACH OF THE LAST 4 SEASONS. So he will surely be an option this season if he comes in at a good price, as Everton are generally strong defensively as well.

Top Defenders for Defensive Contribution Points in 2024/25:

Most FPL Points for Defenders Last Season (if Defensive Contribution Points are added):

• Milenkovic- 171
• Murilo- 168
• Van Dijk- 165
• Gvardiol- 163
• Collins- 159
• Munoz- 156
• Alexander Arnold- 154
• Tarkowski- 149
• Lacroix- 148
• Huijsen- 142

Midfielders:

Top Midfielders for Defensive Contribution Points in 2024/25:

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Fantasy Football Hub(FFHUB)

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More Chips for 2025/26 FPL Season:

FPL Managers will get two of every chip in FPL this season– One for each half of the season. So there will be 2 Wildcards, 2 Free Hits, 2 Bench Boost, and 2 Triple Captains. Usually, the chips are all saved up for the 2nd half of the season to navigate Double and Blank Gameweeks, but this time it’s quite different. You will have a Wildcard, Free Hit, Triple Captain, and Bench Boost that you need to use before GW19.

This also makes Bench Boost in GW1 a good option as well. You will have 15 good players going forward, which enables good rotation and will also help you to get rid of the chip early. You can focus on other chips and also reduce the size of the bench if needed, and focus only on the Main 11.

Potential Windows to Play the First Triple Captain Chip:

• Saka vs Leeds(H) – GW2
• Palmer vs Sunderland(H)- GW9
• Haaland vs Burnley(H)- GW6
• Haaland vs Leeds(H)- GW13
• Haaland vs Sunderland(H)- GW15
• Salah vs Sunderland (H)- GW14
• Salah vs Leeds(A)- GW15
• Salah vs Leeds(H)- GW19 (Likely to miss this due to AFCON)

Potential Windows to Play the First Free Hit Chip:

• GW15 Free Hit( Reasoning in Image Below)

• GW11 Free Hit– City and Liverpool play each other. Arsenal have a good fixture vs Sunderland, Forest are up against Leeds, while West Ham are up against Burnley.
• GW19 Free Hit– Same fixtures as GW15(Reverse fixtures)

No Assistant Manager Chip

Assistant Manager Chip, aka Mystery Chip, has been scrapped for the 2025/26 season. It was there in 2024/2,5 but it had mixed views among the audience due to the variance, complexity around scoring and using the other chips, as well as the chip was to be used for 3 consecutive Gameweeks.

Like everyone, we are looking forward to the Price Reveals as well. More articles are coming in after the price reveals and game launch. Stay tuned!

Further reads from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL GW1 of the 2025/26 FPL Season

FPL Rotational Pairs & Combinations for the 2025/26 FPL Season
2025/26 FPL Season- New Rules & Changes | What’s New in FPL? 
FPL 2025/26 Team Structure and Planning based on Fixtures
FPL Fixture Analysis for The 2025/26 FPL Season | PL Fixtures
2025/26 Premier League Clubs Pre Season Friendlies Fixtures List
Funny & Creative FPL Team Names for the 2025/26 Season

If you’re new to FPL, here is a link to all our FPL Beginners Guide including FPL Beginner’s Guide- How to play?, Bench boost, Team value, Triple captain, Effective ownership, Price Changes, Free Hit, Bonus Points, and more.

Link to all our 2025/26 Pre-Season articles including all position-wise analysis, team previews, fixture analysis, position-wise analysis, and more. Completely free to access as well!

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What’s next from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL Gameweek 1 of the 2025/26 FPL Season?

We’ll be covering team previews, FPL team structures, must-own players, player comparisons, differential picks, fixture analysis, captaincy metrics, multiple FPL drafts with pros and cons, chip strategy, rules guide, beginners guide, FPL tips, and more. Keep checking allaboutfpl.com for all our blogs and subscribe to our free newsletter through the link below. We’ll also be posting regularly about the same on our social media accounts, so follow us on Twitter/X, Instagram, Threads, and Facebook keep our notifications ON.

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