Following the game’s official relaunch last Thursday, managers far and wide have provisionally selected their 15-man squads with a £100million budget to strive for glory.

KEY CHANGES FOR 2026/27

With many competitors having racked up experience in the FPL world over recent seasons, here are a few key alterations the Premier League have tweaked this summer ahead of the new season kick-off when we host Coventry City on Friday, August 21.

Starting with positional changes, Myles Lewis-Skelly (£5.5m) is one of 11 players whose in-game positions have been moved ahead of the new campaign. Our No. 49’s terrific end to 2025/26 in the centre of the park have seen him moved into a default midfield slot on FPL, in place of his previous defensive berth.

A breakout season as a ‘deep-lying’ attacker for Bournemouth last term, Eli Junior Kroupi (£7.5m) has surprisingly been reinstalled as a midfielder in Fantasy football this term. With his price having also risen by a whole £3.0m since this time last year, FPL have recognised the youngster’s popularity - particularly now any goal he scores will register his owners five points rather than just four.

Going the opposite way is Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush (£7.0m), now in as a forward rather than a midfielder following his attacking deployment last year, while Brighton’s Mats Wieffer (£5.0m) will now be eligible for clean sheet points having seen his usual defensive position recognised. Manchester United’s Patrick Dorgu (£6.0m) will now be available as a midfielder having played as an effective winger under boss Michael Carrick.

The bonus points system will also change, having relied on a behind-the-scenes formula to decide the handouts of up to three points for the best-performing players in any given match. This also applies to defensive contributions (DefCon), which single-handedly added a wealth of points to top-performing defenders and midfielders and increased many teams’ values in its inaugural season.

MASTERING THE BENEFITS

Continuing with the walkthrough of key changes to FPL this season, there are several features which could pay dividends for managers - both those just starting out, and those who have been part of the Fantasy community for decades.

For relative newcomers or those requiring a helping hand when selecting their squad this summer, a new option has been freshly introduced in which managers can answer some quickfire questions on what they are most actively seeking in their team to begin the season.

A recommended squad will then be delivered, and can be adapted with unlimited changes until the Gameweek 1 deadline on Friday, August 21, at 6:30pm. More experienced managers or those comfortable with building from scratch can bypass this suggestion, but it provides a more effective option than the long-standing squad randomiser.

Another new feature allows managers to keep their finger right on the pulse throughout the action, with live updates to mini-league rankings. While the most skilled in the worldwide community will seek the world rankings, mini-leagues make up a considerable majority of the stakes among friends, families and colleagues and can now be tracked - even including projected player bonus points - as every ball is kicked.

For a significant time, existing features such as the Fixture Difficulty Rating (FDR) algorithm have acted as a huge assistance when strategising our teams across future Gameweeks. This can ensure your squad is well-structured to more regularly take on favourable opponents, and that transfers can be made within budget at the most efficient times.

You can now view your squad alongside the FDR to more easily make the changes you need, while the incoming Price Change Predictor (PCP) will prove critical when looking to plan transfers, remain within the £100m threshold and maximise your squad value.

The final major change worth mentioning at this stage is the later ‘lockdown’ as described by the Premier League. This means FPL squad points totals will not be finalised until 9am UK time the following day after a Gameweek’s final matchday. For instance, should there be a Monday evening match to round off a Gameweek, the succeeding Tuesday will be the period to check your round total. Having previously cut off an hour after the final whistle on the final Gameweek fixture, this change allows more accuracy in the scoring system, which is calculated alongside Opta.

As referred to in last week’s edition of FPL Focus, the major aspect of the game to remain the same this summer is your selection of chips. The iconic quartet of Wildcard, Bench Boost, Triple Captain and Free Hit will all be available twice each - one use for each before the Gameweek 19 deadline, and likewise after the turn of the year. Previous initiatives including the rather spontaneous 2024/25 ‘Assistant Manager’ chip will again be absent.

RAYA AND GABI LEAD THE WAY

While there will be no points on the board for over three weeks yet, the indications for the most popular 2026/27 FPL starters are clear for all to see.

The squad selection percentages are now live on the Premier League’s Fantasy statistics page, and there has been a significant tilt towards several of our Gunners following their title-winning totals last season.

Having scooped another Golden Glove and led the way for FPL goalkeepers in 2025/26, David Raya has been selected by just shy of 30% of managers, even despite his starting price of £6.0m which reflects his clean sheet record.

Having become the third-most-expensive defender in Fantasy history, Gabriel (£8.0m) is certainly not putting off many with his premium fee, having been included in 25.3% of provisional line-ups after smashing the 200-point milestone last time out. David and Big Gabi are closely followed by Declan Rice (£7.5m), his impact at both ends of the pitch last season making him a must-have for 22% of managers.

Following the medical update regarding William Saliba (£6.0m) last week, a massively popular pick of late has been Cristhian Mosquera (£5.5m). Our young Spaniard enjoyed a very impressive debut campaign in England, ending with a Premier League winner’s medal and a start in the Champions League final, and his name flashes up in 16.8% of squads so far.

Keep your eyes peeled for our next edition of FPL Focus, where we continue to count down to that first kick back at Emirates Stadium next month against Coventry City, when your Fantasy team must be firmly locked in!