Key Changes to Fantasy Premier League for the 2026-27 Season

Fantasy Premier League Returns with New Features for 2026-27

The 2026-27 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season is underway, bringing fresh updates alongside some familiar elements. Changes include adjustments to player prices and positions, plus several new tools to assist managers in building and managing their squads.

New Support for Building Your Starting Squad

Picking a starting team remains challenging with a £100 million budget and 15 spots to fill. This season, FPL offers a new feature that helps create a starting lineup by asking a few questions about your preferred club and playing style. Managers can still tweak this suggested squad up until the deadline for Gameweek 1.

Mini-League Tables Now Update Live

For those competing in mini-leagues with friends or colleagues, scores update live during matches rather than waiting until all games finish. Bonus points are also displayed live from the 20th minute onward instead of after confirmation post-match.

Introducing the Price-Change Predictor

FPL now includes a tool predicting whether a player's price is likely to rise or fall at midnight the next day. The predictor ranks players into five categories: very likely to rise, likely to rise, unlikely to change, likely to drop, and very likely to drop. While it doesn't guarantee outcomes, it gives an early indication of potential price shifts.

Adjustments to Bonus Points System and Lockdown Timing

Following last season's major bonus points overhaul, further tweaks have been made:

• Players will no longer lose bonus points due to being tackled, benefiting attacking midfielders who were heavily tackled last season, including Chelsea's Morgan Rogers and Manchester City's Antoine Semenyo and Jeremy Doku.
• Full-backs like England's Djed Spence (Tottenham) and Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City) also benefit as they were among the most tackled defenders.
• Defenders will find it harder to rack up defensive contribution points since clearances, blocks, and interceptions now require three actions per BPS point, up from two.
• Goalkeeper saves now earn two BPS points regardless of shot location, removing the previous distinction for shots outside the penalty area. However, saving a big chance awards an extra BPS point.
• Saves from penalties now yield seven BPS points instead of eight, but goalkeepers gain an additional big chance save point, effectively balancing the change.
• Bonus points finalization has shifted to 9:00 AM UK time the morning after matches instead of one hour post-game, allowing better data review.

Ongoing Features from Last Season

Two key features remain from 2025-26:

• Chips can be used twice each: once before Gameweek 20 and once after. These chips include Bench Boost, Free Hit, Triple Captain, and Wildcard.
• Defensive Contribution Points (Defcon) continue awarding bonus points based on defensive actions. Outfield players receive two points per 10 defensive actions; midfielders and forwards earn two points for every 12 actions.

Player Prices and Position Updates

Erling Haaland of Manchester City is again the priciest FPL player, now priced at £15.5m, up from £15m two seasons ago. Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes saw a substantial rise from £9m to £12m after setting a Premier League record with 21 assists last season.

Arsenal centre-back Gabriel's value increased from £6m to £8m, making him one of the highest-priced defenders in FPL history.

Eleven players changed position classifications this season:

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

Additional Features: History Checker and Weekly Recaps

Managers can now compare their rankings from past seasons against other players using the history checker, which includes percentage finishes. After each gameweek, players may view a visual summary highlighting their overall performance and top-scoring player.

Join the BBC Sport FPL League

BBC Sport will once again run its own FPL league, inviting readers to compete against each other. Details on joining will be shared closer to the season's start.