FPL, explained properly.

Fantasy Premier League is the game inside the game: you pick a 15-man squad within a £100m budget (at most three players from any one club), set an eleven each gameweek, and score points from their real performances. More than eleven million people play, which makes it the second most-watched sport in English football after football.

How points work

Playing time first: 1 point for up to 60 minutes, 2 for more. Then the position-based scoring: a goal is worth 6 for a defender or goalkeeper, 5 for a midfielder, 4 for a forward. An assist is 3. A clean sheet pays 4 to goalkeepers and defenders who play 60-plus minutes, 1 to midfielders. Goalkeepers earn a point per three saves and 5 for saving a penalty. There are deductions — a yellow card costs 1, a red 3, an own goal 2 — and a bonus system awards 1–3 points to the best performers of each match.

The captain is everything

Your captain scores double. That single fact shapes more FPL decisions than any other: a good week and a great captain are two different things. The Triple Captain chip triples instead, for one week only.

Transfers and chips

You get one free transfer each gameweek; every extra one costs 4 points, which is why panic hits are the classic beginner tax. Four chips bend the rules for a week: two Wildcards (unlimited transfers, one per half of the season), Free Hit (a one-week squad reset that reverts), and Bench Boost (all fifteen play). The game shows each gameweek’s exact deadline — it falls shortly before the round’s first kick-off, so set the team the night before.

The desk’s angle: fixtures first

FPL is a fixtures game wearing a football costume. The tools on this desk map directly: the verified fixture list for the next round, the table for who is actually good, the weekend forecast for the storylines, and the scoring charts for who is finishing moves. Use them together — and remember the house rule applies here too: analysis and information, never gambling.