Fantasy Premier League is deceptively simple on the surface — pick 11 players, captain one of them, and earn points based on their real-world performances. But underneath that simplicity lies genuine strategy that separates players who finish 50,000th overall from those battling for top 100. If you’ve never played FPL before, this guide will walk you through everything you need to get competitive, starting from gameweek 1.
What Is Fantasy Premier League?
FPL is a free-to-play fantasy football game where you manage a virtual squad of Premier League players. Each week, you select 11 players who earn points based on their actual performances in real matches. A defender who gets a clean sheet earns 4 points. A midfielder who scores gets 5 points. Over 38 gameweeks, you’re competing against 13 million other players globally, plus your mates in a private mini-league.
The beauty of how to play FPL is that it’s accessible to anyone — you don’t need deep football knowledge, just curiosity and discipline. But if you want to compete seriously in your mini-league, you’ll need to understand squad structure, fixture difficulty, and when to use your limited transfers wisely.
FPL Squad Rules Explained
Your squad consists of 15 players: 2 goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders, and 3 forwards. At the start of each gameweek, you pick 11 to play — 1 goalkeeper, 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, and 2 forwards. The remaining 4 sit on your bench as substitutes if anyone gets injured or underperforms.
Here’s where the strategy kicks in: your bench isn’t just backup. If your starting goalkeeper gets injured pre-match, your bench goalkeeper automatically replaces him. If a midfielder scores 2 points but your bench midfielder scores 8, the game engine automatically swaps them to maximise your total. This bench boost mechanic is crucial for beginners to understand — you don’t get to manually choose who plays. It’s automatic, based on position and points earned.
You’ve also got a squad value limit of £100m. This is the hard cap. Every player has a price — Haaland at Manchester City currently sits at £14.4m, while bench defenders from smaller clubs cost £4.5m. You can’t just fill your squad with superstars; you’ll need to balance premium picks with value punts.
How FPL Scoring Works
Understanding FPL scoring is fundamental to how to play FPL effectively. Let’s break down the point system:
Goalkeepers and Defenders: 1 point per clean sheet (no goals conceded). 4 points if their team keeps a clean sheet. 1 point per 3 shots on target if they’re a defender. -1 point per goal conceded. -2 points per penalty conceded.
Midfielders: 5 points per goal scored. 1 point per assist. 1 point per 2 shots on target. 1 point per 3 chances created. -1 point per yellow card. -2 points per red card.
Forwards: 4 points per goal scored (one point less than midfielders). 1 point per assist. 1 point per 2 shots on target. -1 point per yellow card. -2 points per red card.
This is why strikers are premium positions — they’re paid in goals, not volume stats. Haaland this season has 22 goals and sits on 197 points across 32 gameweeks. That’s elite-level production. Meanwhile, a defender like Gabriel (Arsenal) with 3 goals sits on 173 points — elite for his position, but accumulated differently through clean sheets and defensive bonus points.
Bonus points are awarded to the top 3 performers in each match: 3 points to the best, 2 to the second-best, 1 to third. These often go to players with goals and assists, but sometimes a defender gets bonus for a clean sheet and defensive actions.
Transfers: The Weekly Decision
Every Friday before the deadline (17:30 UK time in GW32), you can make transfers. A transfer is swapping one player out of your squad for another. You get 1 free transfer per gameweek. Use it or lose it.
Most beginners waste their first 3-4 gameweeks making casual transfers. Don’t. Your free transfer is precious. If no one in your squad is injured and your next fixture is decent, hold your transfer. Accumulating unused transfers means that by gameweek 5, you might have 2-3 free transfers banked, giving you flexibility when an injury crisis hits.
Making an extra transfer beyond your free one costs 4 points — it’s deducted from your gameweek total. So if you make 2 transfers in a week, you’re -4 points before anyone even kicks a ball. Over a season, casual extra transfers add up to 40-80 points lost. Serious players in mini-leagues rarely make more than 1 extra transfer per gameweek.
Check the FPL Price Changes page before deadline — player prices fluctuate constantly. Welbeck (Brighton) has 127,000 transfers in this week at £6.2m. Understanding why (good fixtures, form, or price movement) helps you time your transfers better. Buying a player the day before a price rise means missing out on a cheap entry point.
Captaincy: Your Biggest Weekly Decision
Every gameweek, you choose one player to be captain. That player’s points are doubled. If Haaland scores 5 points as captain, it counts as 10. This is the single most impactful decision you make each week in FPL, and it’s why captain picks matter so much.
Beginners often captain their highest-priced player reflexively. That’s not strategy. Haaland is elite, but if Man City are playing Chelsea (difficulty 4) while João Pedro (Chelsea forward, £7.8m) faces Bournemouth (difficulty 3), Pedro might be the better captain choice that week despite costing £6.6m less.
Use the Captain Impact tool to analyse which player has the highest expected points based on fixture difficulty, form, and bonus point likelihood. This week, Fernandes (Man Utd) has an exceptional form score of 11.0 and faces Leeds (difficulty 2) — an attacking opportunity. Comparing his expected output to Haaland’s fixture difficulty is how you win captaincy decisions.
Most mini-leagues are decided by captaincy gains and losses over the season. A manager who consistently captains players with +20 point differentials gains 40-50 points on the field over 38 weeks — enough to swing a league. This isn’t luck; it’s analysis.
Chips: Your Secret Weapons
You start with four special chips to use strategically across the season:
Bench Boost: All 15 of your players score points, not just your starting 11. Use this when multiple bench players are in exceptional form or facing easy fixtures.
Free Hit: Make unlimited transfers for one gameweek without permanent changes. Your squad reverts afterward. This is perfect for gameweeks with injury crises or when 5+ of your players face difficult fixtures.
Triple Captain: Your captain’s points are tripled instead of doubled. Use this sparingly — only when a player is nearly guaranteed points (e.g., an in-form striker facing a bottom-six side at home).
Wildcard: Two per season. Make unlimited transfers permanently for one gameweek, keeping all changes. This rebuilds your squad mid-season. Most managers use one around gameweek 19-23 (winter injuries) and one around gameweek 34-37 (final push).
Don’t blow chips early. A beginner using Triple Captain in gameweek 3 because their favourite player is in form is wasting a season-defining asset. Save chips for gameweeks with the most impact — international breaks, fixture congestion, or injury crises.
Using the Fixture Difficulty Guide
Every fixture has a difficulty rating (1-5). West Ham vs Wolves (both difficulty 2) are easier matchups than Arsenal vs Bournemouth (difficulty 5 and 3 respectively). These ratings predict whether a team will attack aggressively, concede easily, or struggle to score.
The Fixture Difficulty tool shows you which players face the easiest next 4-5 gameweeks. This week, Brighton (facing Burnley at difficulty 3) and Leeds (facing Man Utd at difficulty 2) have varied difficulty ahead. Welbeck’s 127k transfers this week reflect Brighton’s upcoming fixtures and his exceptional form (implied by the transfer surge).
Plan your transfers around double gameweeks (when a team plays twice) and fixture swings. A midfielder facing 5 consecutive difficult fixtures is a sell candidate, even if they’re in form. One facing 5 easy fixtures is a buy target, even if they’re slightly underperforming.
Mini-League Strategy: Beating Your Mates
Your FPL experience is shaped by your mini-league — the private competition with friends, colleagues, or online communities. Mini-league winners aren’t necessarily the best overall players; they’re disciplined managers who make fewer catastrophic mistakes and navigate differential decisions.
Check the FPL360 Dashboard to track your league’s rankings and see which managers are ahead. If you’re trailing by 15 points with 7 gameweeks left, you need differential captaincy picks — captaining players your rivals don’t own. If you’re leading, you want safe, consensus picks that keep your advantage.
Avoid knee-jerk transfers based on a single poor gameweek. If Semenyo (Man City midfielder, 174 points) blanks once, don’t panic-sell. Players in form earn more points than players chasing form. Most mini-leagues are won by managers who trade actively but thoughtfully — not frantically.
Study your rivals’ squads. If 4 out of 6 of your league mates own João Pedro, captaining him won’t gain points on them. But if only 1 owns Wilson (Fulham, 152 points, 25% owned), captaining Wilson if he faces a poor defence is a differential move.
Getting Started: Your First Squad
For your first gameweek, avoid overthinking. Pick the obvious premium players: Haaland, B.Fernandes, Semenyo, and Gabriel (the top four players overall). They’re owned by 44-54% of managers because they deliver consistently.
Balance premiums with value. Tarkowski (Everton, £5.7m, 142 points) offers elite defensive production at a discount. Rice (Arsenal, £7.3m, 163 points) is a midfielder with only 26% ownership despite strong returns. These players give you points without forcing you into budget constraints.
Choose your goalkeeper and defence based on fixture difficulty. Defences facing difficulty 2-3 fixtures next week are better targets than those facing difficulty 4-5. This week, West Ham (difficulty 2) and Wolves (difficulty 2) offer value; Arsenal (difficulty 5) is a trap despite being elite.
Don’t obsess with having a balanced squad in gameweek 1. You’ll make 20-30 transfers across the season. Your initial squad just needs to be sensible enough to survive 2-3 weeks while you learn the game.
Common Beginner Mistakes to Avoid
Chasing Points: Buying a player after they’ve just scored 15 points in one week is how you lose to experienced managers. Points are already priced in. Buy players in form with easy fixtures ahead, not players who’ve just had great weeks.
Overcomplicating Transfers: Making 3-4 transfers per week because you’re indecisive costs 8-12 points per gameweek. Stick to 1 free transfer unless there’s an injury or fixture emergency.
Ignoring Form: B.Fernandes’ form score is 11.0 — that’s exceptional. Captaining him over Haaland (form 2.0) in certain matchups is smart. Form is the strongest indicator of near-term points.
Not Using the Bench: Your bench isn’t failures; it’s your tactical flexibility. A defender returning from injury is a smart bench pick. They’ll play if your starting defender blanks, and you haven’t wasted a starting slot.
Panic Selling After One Bad Week: A single blank doesn’t make a player bad. If Haaland doesn’t score one week, he’s still your best forward. Sell based on fixture difficulty and form trends, not single-week panic.
Learning as You Play
The only real way to learn how to play FPL is to play it. Your first season will be humbling — you’ll make transfers you regret and captain the wrong players. That’s normal. Most managers finish their first year outside the top 100,000 overall. By year 3-4, good ones crack top 50,000.
Watch how your mini-league rivals move. If they’re all transferring in Welbeck and you don’t see why, check the Stats page for his form, xG (expected goals), and upcoming fixtures. Learning from others’ decisions (both good and bad) is how you accelerate your learning curve.
Check the Live Table each gameweek to see how your team performs in real-time. This teaches you to recognise patterns — which players consistently outscore their price, which fixtures truly are easier, which captaincy picks pay off.
Key Takeaways for FPL Beginners
How to play FPL fundamentally comes down to four skills: squad building (balancing premiums and value within the £100m budget), transfer timing (using 1 free transfer per week wisely), captain selection (analysing form and fixtures each week), and mini-league strategy (making differential picks when trailing).
Your first month is about establishing good habits — using free transfers carefully, understanding fixture difficulty, and learning to analyse form rather than chasing points. By gameweek 6, you’ll have a sense of which decisions work and which don’t.
FPL rewards patience, analysis, and discipline. Impulsive managers lose to consistent ones. Start this gameweek, track your decisions, and use FPL360’s tools to analyse every choice. Your mini-league won’t know what hit them.
FAQ: FPL Beginner Questions
Is FPL free to play?
Yes, completely free. You create an account on the official Premier League website, pick your squad, and compete globally and in private mini-leagues with no fees. Premium statistics tools like FPL360 offer paid features, but the base game is entirely free.
How many transfers do you get in FPL?
One free transfer per gameweek. You can make additional transfers by paying 4 points per extra transfer (deducted from your gameweek total). Unused free transfers bank up — so if you don’t transfer in gameweek 1 or 2, you’ll have 2 free transfers in gameweek 3. Maximum of 2 banked transfers at any time.
What are FPL chips?
Special one-use powers you activate strategically. Bench Boost plays all 15 players. Free Hit makes unlimited temporary transfers. Triple Captain triples one player’s points. Wildcard rebuilds your squad (2 per season). You should use these sparingly, timing them for gameweeks with maximum impact — injury crises, fixture swings, or final-week pushes.
