The aim of the game
You pick a squad of real Premier League players. Each week, your players score points based on what they do in their real matches: playing, scoring, assisting, keeping clean sheets and more. Your total over the season decides your rank against millions of other managers and against your friends in private leagues.
Building your squad
- You pick 15 players: 2 goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders and 3 forwards.
- You have a budget of £100.0m. Each player has a price set by the game.
- You can pick at most 3 players from any one club.
Your starting 11
Each gameweek, 11 of your 15 players start and 4 sit on the bench. Only the starters score, unless you use the Bench Boost chip. Your starting 11 must have 1 goalkeeper, at least 3 defenders, at least 2 midfielders and at least 1 forward, so formations such as 3-4-3, 4-4-2 and 3-5-2 are all allowed.
If a starter doesn't play at all, the game automatically brings on a bench player in the order you set. See bench and auto-subs for how that works.
Captain and vice-captain
Pick one starter as captain. Their points count double. Your vice-captain takes over the double points if your captain doesn't play. This is the biggest weekly decision, so see how to pick your captain.
Transfers
You get one free transfer each gameweek to swap a player out. Unused free transfers roll over, up to five. Extra transfers cost 4 points each. Read free transfers and points hits before making several changes.
Chips
Chips are one-off boosts: Wildcard, Free Hit, Bench Boost and Triple Captain. This season you get two of each, one set per half of the season. See FPL chips explained.
Deadlines
Every change must be made before the gameweek deadline, which is usually 90 minutes before the first match of that gameweek. Our deadline bar at the top of every page shows the next one. See gameweek deadlines for what locks and when.
Your first-week checklist
- Spend most of your budget on a few reliable attackers and fill the rest with cheap players who start every week.
- Check the injury list so you don't buy someone who's out.
- Use the fixture grid to favour teams with easier upcoming matches.
- Join a private league with friends. It makes every week more fun.
Last updated October 2026.