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 sixth part of our Season Preview series, we’re taking a look at Leeds United and reigning champions Liverpool.
LEEDS – General preview for 2025/26
In dramatic fashion, Leeds United were relegated from the Premier League to the Championship on the final day of the 2022 – 2023 season. Considering their investments and the takeover by 49ers Enterprises in the summer of 2023, the Whites appointed Daniel Farke as their new manager and aimed for direct promotion back to the Prem. To their dismay, they missed out on promotion that season, which had the club at risk of getting stuck in the feared Championship swamp, due to the intense competition every season.
Those fears seemed to be justified at the start of last season, when Leeds had a slow start to their Championship campaign. By the end of October though, they had managed to move into second place and they would remain in the top three for the rest of the season. A three-horse race developed between Leeds, Burnley and Sheffield United, with Leeds eventually claiming the title. By the end of April, they had secured promotion and first place was secured on the last day of the season. They did so on goal difference despite reaching the 100-point mark, like Burnley. While the Clarets impressed with a practically impenetrable defence, Leeds blew everyone away with a superior attack, scoring no less than 95 goals in 46 league games, while conceding 30.
The question, as always with promoted sides, is to what extent they will be able to translate their impressive Championship performances into Premier League-worthy quality. Leeds have so far been able to retain most of their key players, though they did lose left-back Junior Firpo (free transfer to Real Betis), and assist king Manor Solomon and central midfielder Joe Rothwell, who were both on loan from respectively Spurs and Bournemouth. On the flip side, Leeds did already bring in a few new faces, including defensive midfielder Anton Stach from Hoffenheim, central defender Jaka Bijol from Udinese and goalkeeper Lucas Perri from Olympique Lyon. They also secured the services of Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff in midfield and of Sweden international Gabriel Gudmundsson at left-back, from Lille.
Leeds: Tactical preview 2025/26
“It’s about being dominant. I want our players to be protagonists on the pitch. I like to have the ball – if I could choose, I would have the ball for 90 minutes”. That’s what Leeds manager Daniel Farke once said when he was asked about his preferred style of play. And when we look at Leeds’ numbers from last year, it is not hard to understand what he is talking about. Just look at last year’s full-backs, Firpo on the left and Bogle on the right, who managed a combined 10 goals and 14 assists. Leeds’ striker Joel Piroe also finished the season as the 2024 – 2025 Championship topscorer, while Manor Solomon shared second-place for assists (12) with West Brom’s Jack Rudoni.
Last season, Farke turned up with a 4-2-3-1 formation at practically every game, with the goal of dominating possession. They play out from the back, with the central defenders pushing forward and wide, forcing the full-backs to push higher up the pitch. This widens the field of play and creates overloads in the both the middle of the park and up front, as the wingers are allowed to cut inside in support of the lone striker. In theory, this is a dream for fantasy managers, but the Premier League is not the Championship. Farke is not know the be the most flexible manager from a tactical point of view and lining up this season as they did last could end up being a disaster. It will therefore be very interesting to see how Leeds line up in Gameweek 1 and how they will approach their games at the very highest level.
LEEDS – Potential FPL picks
Taking the above into account plus the fact that Leeds do not have the easiest set of opening fixtures (apart from Everton at home in Gameweek 1), we do not expect too many Leeds players to feature in Gameweek 1 squads. At a glance though, the Leeds roster does seem to offer some budget-friendly considerations, if not for the early season then later on when their fixtures clear up a bit. One of those budget fantasy picks that caught our eye is striker Joel Piroe (£5.5m). The Dutchman was last season’s topscorer in the Championship with 19 goals and he also gave 7 assists. On top of that, he is on penalties, which is always a plus from an FPL point of view. While we expect Piroe to start in plenty of games for Leeds this season, two things should be noted. One, it will be the forward’s first season at the highest level of English football, and two, the Whites have brought in Lukas Nmecha from VFL Wolfsburg to compete with the Dutchman.
In that sense, new signing Sean Longstaff (£5.0m) might be more appealing. The 27-year-old midfielder was brought in from Newcastle for around £ 12 million this summer and is expected to slot right into Daniel Farke’s starting eleven. Longstaff provides Leeds with much-needed Premier League experience in the centre of the park, while he has also shown to be a productive asset when deployed a bit further up. Last season was not his greatest in terms of playing minutes, but in the two seasons prior he played 2,742 minutes (6 goals, 3 assists, 110 FPL points) and 2,514 minutes (1 goal, 5 assists, 93 FPL points) in 2023 – 2024 and 2022 – 2023 respectively. With a price tag of just £5.0m, the former Newcastle man could very well emerge as a budget favourite, especially if Farke uses him in a slightly more attacking role.
Joel Piroe became the Championship topscorer and Manor Solomon provided more assists than any other Leeds player, but it was Daniel “Dan” James (£5.5m) who was the star man. As a right winger mostly, the Wales international recorded 12 goals and 9 assists in 36 Championship games. Going by the pre-season so far, Farke will also be counting on James to bring the goods in the Premier League this season. At 27 years old, he is reaching the prime of his footballing career (in theory) and he has got some Premier League experience under his belt already. In the 2019 – 2020 season, he recorded 3 goals and 6 assists (95 FPL points) in 2,281 minutes of Premier League action, while he returned 4 goals and 5 assists (91 FPL points) from 2,489 minutes in the 2021 – 2022 season, for Manchester United and Leeds respectively. We would not get him for our own Gameweek 1 squad, but as a £5.5m midfielder in the official fantasy game, he is definitely on our watchlist.
LIVERPOOL – General preview for 2025/26
Uncertainty surrounded Anfield after the 2023 – 2024 season, as Jurgen Klopp, one of the best and most successful managers in Liverpool’s history, left the club after nine years in charge. The German was replaced by the promising Arne Slot, who was brought in from Dutch side Feyenoord. Though unproven in the Premier League, the Dutchman impressed the Liverpool’s owners and management by leading the Rotterdam giants to a Dutch title in 2023, winning the Dutch cup in 2024 and finishing as UEFA Conference League runner-up in 2022. What followed was one of the most impressive debut seasons in the modern Premier League era.
The Reds went on to clinch the Premier League title in their first season under Slot, recording 25 victories, 9 draws and just 4 losses. The Dutchman became only the fifth manager in history to win the Premier League in their first season, which included an unbeaten run of 26 consecutive league games. Liverpool also managed to score in every away game in the Premier League, which had never before happened in the club’s history. With 86 goals, no other side scored more than Slot’s men and to make it all even more impressive, the club barely opened their purse during the prior summer transfer window. Only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who was immediately loaned out to Valencia, and Juventus reserve player Federico Chiesa were brought in for just over £40 million in total.
It is a whole different story this summer transfer window, in which Liverpool has been one of the most active clubs so far. At the moment of writing, the Reds have already spent about £300 million and we would not be surprised if there is more to come still. A cool £116 million was spent on German prodigy Florian Wirtz from Leverkusen, while around £69 million was paid for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike. The full-back positions were strengthened as well with Milos Kerkez (£40 million from Bournemouth) on the left and Jeremie Frimpong (£30 million from Leverkusen) on the right. Part of these expenses were financed by the departure of Luis Diaz (£66 million to Bayern Munich), Jarrell Quansah (£35 million to Leverkusen), Caoimhin Keller (£12.5 million to Brentford) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£10 million to Real Madrid).
Liverpool: Tactical preview 2025/26
Upon his arrival, Arne Slot announced that he would be crazy not to build on the excellent foundations left by his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp. And while he definitely did that, the Dutchman also added his touches and tactical adaptations to the mix, which resulted in the 20th league title in Liverpool’s history. This was especially noticeable in the defensive aspect of Liverpool’s style under Slot, as the new manager immediately switched from a 4-3-3 formation to a 4-2-3-1 formation. The double pivot in the middle of the park, formed mostly by Alexis Mac Allister and the completely reinvigorated Ryan Gravenberch, provided more protection for the backline without compromising the side’s attacking intentions.
A very solid defensive foundation, captained by the imperial Virgil van Dijk, allowed the attacking players in the team to thrive consistently. Compared to Klopp, who preferred transitions at breakneck speed at all times (basically), Slot’s Liverpool is more measured and more patient. While they still attack often, this approached has greatly reduced the Reds’ vulnerability on the counter. At the same time, they were still lethal on the break, which is, of course, made easier when you have one of the best players in Premier League history at your disposition in the person of Mohamed Salah.
Before we move on to the potential FPL picks from Liverpool, we want to mention the tragic passing of their beloved forward Diogo Jota, together with his brother André Silva, in a car crash on July 3rd 2025. Our thoughts and prayers were and are with their family and loved ones, and Liverpool rightly retired his number 20 jersey at all levels.
LIVERPOOL – Potential FPL picks
Obviously, Mohamed Salah (£14.5m). He is very expensive, but there is no list of potential Liverpool fantasy picks that does not start with the Egyptian magician. He was the highest-scoring player in the official fantasy game last season with 344 FPL points, courtesy of 29 goals and 18 assists. That’s right, 29 goals. And 18 assists. He started every league game under Slot and will do so again this season, if fitness allows, as he extended his contract at Anfield towards the end of last season. Salah’s performance was no fluke either, as he ranked first over the entire season for Expected Goals, Expected Assists and Big Chances Created. And if you don’t trust the underlying stats, just look at his recent FPL history:
- 2023 – 24: 18 goals, 12 assists, 211 FPL points
- 2022 – 23: 19 goals, 13 assists, 239 FPL points
- 2021 – 22: 23 goals, 14 assists, 265 FPL points
- 2020 – 21: 22 goals, 6 assists, 231 FPL points
- 2019 – 20: 19 goals, 10 assists, 233 FPL points
- 2018 – 19: 22 goals, 12 assists, 259 FPL points
- 2017 – 18: 32 goals, 12 assists, 303 FPL points
Just bring Salah in first and build the rest of your squad around him. That’s it.
We weighed up for a long time between Virgil van Dijk and Milos Kerkez (£6.0m) as special mention from the Liverpool defence, and we have eventually gone with the latter. They are priced the same and while the Liverpool captain is a perfectly solid shout after his 143-point campaign last season, we feel there is a slightly bigger upside to Liverpool’s new left-back. He was brought in for £40 million from Bournemouth, where he started every single league game last season, and recorded 2 goals and 6 assists in the process. Our logic tells us that these numbers should only improve now that he is at Liverpool, as will his number of clean sheets. The Reds never spent more in a full-back ever and despite the continued presence of Andy Robertson, we feel Kerkez’ minutes are pretty much secured this season.
Perhaps one the most pleasant surprises for FPL managers in the build-up to Gameweek 1 has been the price tag of Florian Wirtz (£8.5m). By bringing him in for £116 million this summer, the Reds turned the German wonderkid into the Premier League’s most expensive incoming transfer ever. Arne Slot will expect him to be Liverpool’s creative brain and if pre-season is anything to go by, he will be. Wirtz is an incredibly nimble and intelligent player, who is constantly on the move and creates chances for fun. On top of that, his dribbling is on par with the very best in Europe. Put all that together, in one of the best attacking outfits in European football at this moment, and we have got a possible historic debut season in the Premier League on our hands. If you look at it like that, his £8.5m price tag is very affordable, which is probably why about 11% of all fantasy managers have already included him in their Gameweek 1 squad at the moment of writing.
For further discussions have a look at FISO’s FPL forum.