Winning at Fantasy Premier League just got easier with our Ultimate FPL Cheat Sheet for 2025/26.

We’ve condensed years of fantasy expertise, articles and tips from the world’s best managers into one article ahead of Gameweek 1 to help you win your mini-leagues.

We’re so confident our AI-powered tools and content will turn you into an FPL winner that you can claim your money back if you don’t win your FPL mini-leagues.

🤖 Hub AI quick summary 🤖

Simplicity and speed are among Fantasy Football Hub’s core values, so many of our articles this season will come with a quick ‘Hub AI’ summary for those who want the answer – fast.

Read the full article for the detailed picture – and listen to an audio summary 👇

🧑‍🏫Big rule changes – extra points for defensive actions, double the chips and extra AFCON transfers
🤖Use Hub AI to cut through the data and use its predicted points as a guide to build your team
🐐Listen to the experts: Patience is the key to a winning strategy

FPL rules recap: Big changes for 2025/26

Our FPL Training Academy is the best place to start if you’re completely new to the game.

But even if you’ve played the game before, you may have missed some big changes to the 2025/26 game over the summer, including most importantly:

🆕Defenders: +2 points for 10 clearances, block, interceptions and tackles per game
🆕Midfielders/forwards: + 2 points for 12 clearances, blocks, interceptions, tackles and ball recoveries per game
🆕Twice the chips: An extra Free Hit, Bench Boost and Triple Captain to use in the first half of the season
🆕Extra transfers: Top up to five free transfers ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Gameweek 16

James Tarkowski. Picture by Getty Images

Cut through the data: Hub AI does the hard work for you

You can spend hours analysing the fixtures, comparing players and researching your Gameweek 1 team in detail if you have the time before Friday’s deadline (August 15).

Using our Opta stats tool for example, you can see that the top performers for the new defensive contributions (DC) last season would have been:

🥇James Tarkowski (Everton): 44 points
🥈Moises Caicedo (Chelsea): 42 points
🥉Murillo (Nottingham Forest): 40 points
4️⃣Joao Gomes (Wolves): 36 points
4️⃣Idrissa Gueye (Everton): 36 points
6️⃣Elliot Anderson: 36 points

But there is another way…let Hub AI take the strain.

It cuts through all the noise and churns out one simple number for every player in the game each week – predicted points.

Taking into account all the stuff you used to do manually and more, Hub AI provides an immediate insight into who’s likely to do well – and who’s not.

And following the tireless work of our tech team, it takes into account the new scoring system changes.

If you’ve already started making drafts, our AI team rating tool gives you feedback in seconds. All you need is a screenshot of your side – no need to input everything manually!

AI team rating

It doesn’t stop in Gameweek 1, either. You can get AI-recommended transfers for your team, customised to the type of manager you are.

You don’t have to follow them to the letter, of course, but for those of you who are new to the game or seeking an edge over your rivals, it’s the perfect starting point.

Hub AI-recommended transfers

FPL Gameweek 1 tips: Pick a solid team

Getting off to a good start makes all the difference.

There’s no need to take risks or be different for the sake of it in Gameweek 1.

Our expert team reveals often look quite similar at the start of the season and it’s for good reason.

Hub AI offers a draft Gameweek 1 team, which changes frequently as new information is received. Here’s an example to get you started:

AI team example

What makes a good FPL pick?

The best managers will focus on a small shortlist of players, many of which will tick the following boxes

Reliable for minutes ✅
A track record of FPL points ✅
On set-pieces and/or penalties ✅
Good fixtures ✅

Players like Bruno Fernandes and Mohamed Salah are trusted because they often play the full 90 minutes, maximising their chances of scoring points.

Experienced managers often steer clear of new players to the league – for every Erling Haaland who sets the league on fire, there’s a Timo Werner who struggles.

It’s often best to wait and see how new signings adapt and put your trust in players who’ve scored well before – but the very best newcomers like Florian Wirtz are often tempting.

Florian Wirtz. Picture by Getty Images

Attacking players who are on penalties, corners and free-kicks have plenty of ways to score points – packing your team with them could pay off.

Set-piece takers guide

But with the new rules rewarding different kinds of players, there are very few poor picks this season. So long as they are expected to play, there’s a chance they will do OK in some way.

Our best player pieces in our Ultimate Guide picks out the top picks by team and price point to help build your shortlist.

Top FPL picks according to Hub AI

Here’s a selection of the most highly rated players over the first six gameweeks at a range of price points:

🧤Goalkeepers: Alisson (£5.5m), Djordje Petrovic (£4.5m), Martin Dubravka (£4.0m)
💪Defenders: Nikola Milenkovic (£5.5m), Chris Richards (£4.5m), Reinildo (£4.0m)
🔥Midfielders: Mohamed Salah (£14.5m), Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m), Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m), Elliot Anderson (£5.5m)
🥅Forwards: Erling Haaland (£14.0m), Ollie Watkins (£9.0m), Chris Wood (£7.5m), Marc Guiu (£4.5m)

Plan your chip usage wisely

If your season gets off to a disastrous start, you can play your Wildcard early. Whenever you use the chip, Hub AI is on hand to help with its best Wildcard team.

But if you can, stay patient and wait a few weeks at least before giving your team a refresh.

Input your team into our My Team tool and have a look at how it looks over the opening period – a handy gameweek rating gives you a great idea of how it’s predicted to perform.

FPL chip strategy

The more data the better, as we learn more about how the season will unfold.

Changes to FPL this season mean we have two sets of chips to use in either half of the season.

The advice previously would have been to save the Free Hit, Bench Boost and Triple Captain for blank and double gameweeks later in the season – but now we’ll have one of each of these to use in the first half of the season too!

Our Chip Strategy Guide outlines some of the options.

TOP TIP: Some managers, like our very own Fergi – co-host of the Green Arrow podcast – are planning an aggressive start. Seeking to get ahead of the crowd, he’s considering a Bench Boost to start the season. A Gameweek 2 Bench Boost could be an option if Dubravka and Guiu are looking likely starters by that stage.

🍟 SELECTED EARLY CHIP STRATEGY OPTIONS 🍟

Triple Captain: GW4, GW6, GW9, GW12, GW13, GW14, GW15

Free Hit: GW2, GW6, GW11

Bench Boost: GW1, GW2, GW16 onwards

Wildcard: GW4, GW8, ahead of AFCON

Tips from former FPL winners and world’s top managers

The Hub is home to some of the world’s best FPL brains – from former winners to serial top finishers.

We asked some of these elite managers to give us their top tips for a winning season – and their answers are below.

Patience and playing it safe are key:

Ben Crellin, all-time number one FPL manager:

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Crellin’s Gameweek 1 team reveal

“Avoid making transfers early in the gameweek, especially if they’re motivated by frustration or anger. Even chasing price changes is normally not a good enough reason to make an early transfer unless you’re going to priced out of what’s obviously the best move for you.”

Rich Clarke, 18 years of top 1% FPL finishes

EXCLUSIVE: Rich Clarke’s Gameweek 1 team reveal

“There will often be pressure to react to issues in FPL like injuries – or transferring in an in-form player – but patience is important and mastering a balance will pay off handsomely. In order to win at FPL, it’s not necessarily about your good gameweeks but how bad your bad gameweeks are.”

Lovro Budisin, reigning FPL champion

EXCLUSIVE: Lovro Budisin’s Gameweek 1 team reveal

“It’s more important to trust yourself and your own judgment than to follow other people’s opinions. Content creators are good to follow because they have a lot of useful info before deadline but always make your own final decision.

“Also, at the start it’s quite important to keep an eye on price changes but that doesn’t mean making transfers just because a player’s price is about to drop. The more you watch the matches, the better – and try to enjoy it rather than get frustrated if things go badly. Don’t let one bad decision or one bad gameweek ruin your whole season – there’s no giving up.”

Jonas Sand Labakk, 2023/24 season FPL champion

“Don’t take unnecessary risks. Popular players are popular for a reason. Let the other managers make the mistakes. Planning is also very important. I would advise you to make a proper plan and plan four to six weeks ahead.”

How can I stay ahead of my mini-league rivals?

Here’s four simple things you can do to this season to get ahead of your mini-league rivals:

🙋‍♂️ JOIN: The Hub – if you haven’t already.
🔖 BOOKMARK: Our Ultimate Guide to FPL, updated every week with our award-winning tips
💻 WATCH: Our YouTube channel and the Green Arrow FPL podcast weekly
📱 CHAT: To like-minded fantasy fans in our exclusive WhatsApp groups for Pro and Ultra members

Best of luck for the 2025/26 season – we hope you dominate your mini-leagues!

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The Ultimate FPL Cheat Sheet: Winning tips, picks and best AI team

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