Welcome back to the Fantasy Premier League and welcome back to FISO!
The 2024-2025 Premier League season has gone into the rich archives of English football as the season in which Liverpool FC won their 20th title in the topflight of English football. A record-equalling 20th title, we should say, because the Reds equalled the 20 titles of their archrivals Manchester United, who won their last one back in the 2012-13 season. And all of that in the very first season of Arne Slot, the Dutch manager who was brought in from Feyenoord in the summer of 2024.
While that was a beautiful story, the Premier League offered much more drama than that. What about the crumbling of the traditional top six, for example? With Manchester United the great disappointment as a result of their finish in 15th (!) place? Of course, Spurs did even worse, finishing 17th (!), but the Londoners deviated the embarrassment a bit by winning the 2024-2025 Europa League (against Manchester United in the final), thus qualifying for the Champions League Group Stage. Or what about Nottingham Forest qualifying for European football for the first time in 30 years, thanks to an impressive 7th-place finish?
In other words, it was a season full of ups and downs, spectacle and disappointment, but as the saying goes: we need to move on. The Premier League 2025-2026 is just a few weeks away at the time of writing, which means that FPL preparations are in full swing for millions of fantasy managers. And there are a few important changes to take into account, once again:
Chips: Fantasy managers will have four chips at their disposal this season, namely the Bench Boost, the Free Hit, the Triple Captain and the Wildcard. Last season’s Assistant Manager chip has been removed from the game. Instead, all four of the previously mentioned chips will be available twice this season: once in the first half of the season and once in the second half.
Defensive points: Outfield players will earn points for defensive actions this season. These include clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles for defenders, while forwards and midfielders also get points for ball recoveries on top of that. A defender gets 2 extra FPL points for every 10 defensive actions, while forwards and midfielders get 2 extra FPL points for every 12 defensive actions.
Bonus Point System changes: This season, goalkeepers now get 3 (instead of 2) bonus points for saved shots from inside the box, while a penalty save is now worth 8 bonus system points (down from 9 bonus system points). A scored penalty is now worth 12 bonus system points for the scoring player, instead of 18 or 24. Goalline clearances from outfield players have gone up in worth, from 3 to 9 bonus points. Finally, every successful tackle is now worth 2 bonus points.
Assists: For assists that took a deflection off a defender, assists will now be awarded regardless of whether the assist reached its intended target, providing it only took one touch off a defender and was received by the goalscorer inside the penalty area. Unforced defensive errors will also now lead to an assist being given by the player whose pass led to it, as long as the defensive error in question is not a misplaced pass. Players will now also earn an assist if they earn a penalty or free-kick that is scored via a handball, regardless of whether it was forced or unforced.
AFCON transfers: The Africa Cup of Nations will take place between Gameweek 16 and Gameweek 22 of the 2025-2026 FPL season. Fantasy managers receive five free transfers at the start of Gameweek 16 to deal with that.
The Premier League 2025-2026 season is set to kick off on Friday, August 15th, at 20h00 (UK time), when champions Liverpool host Bournemouth at Anfield.
In the build-up to gameweek 1, we will be taking an in-depth look at each of the 20 teams competing in the Premier League this season, including a general team preview, a tactical preview and some FPL recommendations per side. In this first part of our Season Preview series, we’re taking a look at Arsenal and an Aston Villa side that managed to secure a Europa League Group Stage spot last season by clinching fifth place in the Prem.
ARSENAL – General preview for 2025/26
Manager Mikel Arteta is doing a great job at Arsenal and he has been doing a great job practically since his arrival back in 2019. In a Premier League that has grown exponentially in terms of team and player quality in the last decade or so, the Spaniard has managed to keep the Gunners firmly within the top four of English football. At the same time, they are “in danger” of becoming the eternal number two, as the 2024-2025 campaign ended with another second-place finish. Their third consecutive 2nd place.
Of course, Arsenal have had to deal with serious powerhouses throughout the years. Both Manchester City and Liverpool managed to construct some of the strongest sides their fans have ever seen. Optimism was especially high at the Emirates at the starting stages of last season, as it became clear that Manchester City were (surprisingly, perhaps) not going to perform at the elite level we have become accustomed to from them. It was Liverpool though, and not Arsenal, who jumped in that gap, clinching the Premier League title in very dominant fashion under new manager Arne Slot.
To make matters worse for Arsenal, they could also smell success in Europe, only for Paris Saint Germain to crush their dreams in the semi-finals. Before we start joking about Arsenal’s trophyless season though, it’s important to remember that they went head-to-head with the best teams in England and Europe. Did they come up just slightly short? Yes. Are they one of the best teams in Europe? Yes. And do they have the quality to aim for the stars again this season? Also yes.
Arsenal: Tactical preview 2025/26
Arteta is going into his seventh full season as Arsenal manager and if there is one thing he has shown over that period, it’s that he is tactically flexible. The Spaniard has some fundamental ideas about how his side should play, including a strong emphasis on pressing and defensive organisation, but he is not afraid to switch up when the situation or the match calls for it. As a result, the Gunners have grown into a tactically fluid and mature squad capable of facing any challenge thrown at them.
We expect Arsenal to continue to play in Arteta’s preferred 4-3-3 formation, with an important emphasis on the wide areas for attacking movements. Do not be surprised if you see the Gunners line up in more of a 4-2-3-1 or even 3-2-5 formation though, as they tend to utilise a combination of these formations throughout their games. Perhaps one of the Arteta’s best qualities is that he knows how to create a defensively stable unit without compromising his side’s attacking intentions. Will the acquisition of Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyökeres prove to be the missing piece of this puzzle, in the hunt for Premier League glory?
ARSENAL – Potential FPL picks
Our first Arsenal fantasy pick is neither the most imaginative nor the most surprising. We believe it is impossible though, to start a list of potential FPL picks from the Gunners’ roster without Bukayo Saka (£10.0m). The England international is once again the most expensive Gunner in the official fantasy game and in combination with Arsenal’s challenging set of opening fixtures, he will probably not appear in too many Gameweek 1 squads. He is one of the side’s absolute stars nonetheless and you can count on him to deliver in any week. Just look at last season. Despite missing a large chunk of the season due to injury, between January and April, Saka still racked up 6 goals and 11 assists for 127 FPL points. Spread over his 20 Premier League starts, that comes down to 6.35 FPL points per start. The winger is looking good in pre-season so far and Arteta will need him in top shape if he wants to fight for the silverware once again this season.
We generally tend to avoid new signings, as it’s always harder to predict how a player will perform as a newcomer in the Premier League. Having said that, we are making an exception for Viktor Gyökeres (£9.0m), who was recently brought in by Arsenal from Sporting Lisbon for £64 million plus add-ons. The Swedish striker arrives from Sporting on the back of an extraordinary two seasons in the Portuguese top flight, producing 68 goals and 16 assists in 66 Liga matches. Looking at all competitions over that same period, the numbers are no less impressive: 104 matches, 97 goals and 27 assists. He is also a proven penalty specialist with 19 hits just last season, which makes us think that he will at least share spot kick duties with Saka and Odegaard this season. As we said, Gyökeres is new to the Prem, but he looks like a dead-set starter for Arsenal and we wouldn’t be surprised to see him make a crushing impression in his first season in England.
The Arsenal defence is also worth looking at, as no team let in fewer goals as the Gunners did last season. In 38 league games, they conceded just 34 goals, which was 7 goals less than the second-best defence, Liverpool. Goalkeeper David Raya, who won the Golden Glove in each of the last two seasons, is an excellent choice between the sticks, but we are going with William Saliba (£6.0m) this time. He was Arsenal highest-scoring defender in FPL last season with 130 FPL points, but it’s especially outside of the fantasy world, in the real world, where he impresses. Since his arrival in England back in 2019, he has grown into one of the best central defenders in the world, forming a key part of Mikel Arteta’s starting eleven. On top of his defensive prowess, he also tends to pop up in front of goal a few times per season, which is underlined by the fact that he scored 2 league goals in each of his last three seasons.
ASTON VILLA – General preview for 2025/26
Much like the Arsenal fans and their Spanish manager Mikel Arteta, the Aston Villa fans have witnessed impressive improvements under their own Spanish manager, Unai Emery. The 4-time Europa League-winning tactician was appointed as the successor to the underwhelming Steven Gerrard in October 2022 and it has been up and away for the Villans since then. He just finished outside of the top 6 in his debut season, but a 4th place finish in the subsequent season meant Champions League football at Villa Park for the first time since the 1982-1983 season.
It also meant that Villa had to combine encounters with Europe’s very best with the gruelling schedule of the English football season. Emery’s men took on the challenge in admirable fashion though, making it to the Champions League quarterfinals, where Paris Saint Germain proved a bridge too far. If you think this happened at the cost of domestic football, think again, because Villa also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where the eventual surprise champions Crystal Palace eliminated them.
And throughout all of that domestic and European cup action, the Villans also needed to perform in the Premier League, and perform they did. While their eventual 6th place finish may feel a tad underwhelming considering their qualities, their form and the fact that they missed out on a top-five finish as a result of a shock defeat against a horrible Man United side at Old Trafford in the final gameweek, it is a very good result in reality. It will be interesting to see how Emery’s extremely talented squad will fare in the Europa League Group Stage, as they will surely be aiming for a return to Champions League football through a top-4 finish in the Premier League as well.
Aston Villa: Tactical preview 2025/26
While Unai Emery is renowned for his tactical prowess, you should not expect too much change in terms of his starting formation. The Spaniard likes to line up in a 4-2-3-1 with a very attack-oriented front four and penchant for quick transitions. During games, his Villa side is also known to shift into more of a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 formation, depending on what the specific game demands from them. As a result, Villa forwards and wingers have represented great value in the past few seasons of FPL.
Defensively, Emery relies on the double pivot in the middle of the pitch to provide structure and guidance to a side that sometimes risks imbalance as a result of their quick transitions. Aston Villa tend to employ a high defensive line, especially against weaker opponents, and full-backs with licenses to bomb forward. The midfield block is also crucial in the high pressing style that Emery wants to see from his players, starting with the striker and aimed at recovering the ball as quickly as possible, either to recycle it into a possession-based attack or to immediately launch a counter-attack.
ASTON VILLA – Potential FPL picks
We expect many Gameweek 1 squads to feature various Aston Villa assets, as the West Midlands club has one of the most favourable starting schedules, on paper at least. While their fixtures are not the easiest imaginable, it is not unthinkable that Villa come out of the first seven games of the season with at least 17 points. To that end, it would almost be foolish not to start this list of potential Aston Villa FPL fantasy picks with Ollie Watkins (£9.0m). The striker has become the epitome of Premier League pedigree and quality over the past few seasons, scoring at least 15 goals in each of the last three campaigns. Last season, with 16 goals and 8 assists for 186 FPL points, was even considered a somewhat “calm” season for the England international, as he managed a whopping 19 goals and 18 assists for 228 FPL points the season prior. This season, he will once again be the main man in Unai Emery’s attack, leading the attack and taking penalties in the process, which makes his current price tag of £9.0m quite reasonable.
Every season, there are a few players who make a complete mockery of their starting price tags and last season, one of those players was Morgan Rogers (£7.0m). The 23-year-old winger started the season priced at £5.0m, but quickly proved that FPL Towers had gravely underestimated his abilities. By the end of the campaign, Rogers had 8 goals and 11 assists to his name from 37 league starts, which resulted in 161 FPL points. Only the previously mentioned Ollie Watkins outscored the youngster in that sense, on the Villa roster. It is therefore no surprise that Rogers’ price was cranked up considerably for the new season, with a £7.0m price tag moving him into the mid-price bracket category. Still, if he can just replicate his performance from last season, that would come down to a fantastic 23 FPL points per million spent. Seeing as we don’t see Emery taking the winger out of his starting eleven anytime soon, it was only logical for us to include him in this list.
The third Villa fantasy asset on this list is a bit of a gamble and the eventual relevance of this pick depends entirely on what will happen to goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. The Argentinian goalkeeper is being heavily linked to Manchester United, while a few other options have appeared as well. Emi himself seems to be open to a move away from Villa Park as well, which would open the gates for new signing Marco Bizot (£4.5m). The Dutch goalkeeper was brought in on a free transfer from French side Brest, where he impressed over the past few seasons, playing a key role in their third-place finish in the Ligue 1 in the 2023-2024 season. This was the club’s best-ever season and the first time Les Pirates qualified for the Champions League, in which they reached the knock-out stage last season. Should Martinez complete a move to another club before the end of the transfer window, then Bizot could represent excellent value as a £4.5m goalkeeper for a top-six contender in the Premier League.
For further discussions have a look at FISO’s FPL forum.