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 eighth part of our Season Preview series, we’re taking a look at Newcastle United and a Nottingham Forest side that qualified for Europe for the first time in 29 years.
NEWCASTLE UNITED – General preview for 2025/26
When it came to the race for European football, and in particular Champions League football, last season, much of the (general) public’s focus was on Liverpool’s impressive campaign, Arsenal’s continued inability to truly fight for the title, Man City’s disappointing performances and even Chelsea’s seeming return as top-four contender. As a result, Newcastle United’s season was perhaps a little bit overshadowed. Unjustly, because the Magpies rather quietly had one of their best seasons ever.
The Saudi Arabia-owned club, who were playing Championship football just nine seasons ago, finished fifth in the Premier League, ensuring Champions League football at Tyneside for the second time in three years. That in itself is an achievement to be proud of in a league that is becoming more tightly contested by the season. It is even more so, though, when you know they did so while also winning the League Cup. Their 1-2 victory over Liverpool meant the first League Cup in the club’s history and their first major trophy since the FA Cup victory all the way back in the 1954 – 1955 season.
As we write this FPL Club Preview, star player and top scorer Alexander Isak is still a Magpie. Whether that will be the case by the time the summer transfer window closes on September 1st is the big question. Apart from that, it looks like the Magpies will be able retain their key players, with central defender Lloyd Kelly (Juventus) and central midfielder Sean Longstaff (Leeds) the only major sales so far. Striker Callum Wilson was let go on a free to West Ham, while reserve goalkeeper Martin Dubravka was sold to Burnley for an undisclosed fee. As far as new names, Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga is the star signing of the summer so far for a fee of around £52 million. Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was loaned from relegated Southampton to replace Dubravka for a fee of around £2.5 million.
Newcastle United: Tactical preview 2025/26
Since the appointment of Eddie Howe as Newcastle manager back in October 2021, the side has mainly turned up in a 4-3-3 formation with rather classic wingers. During games, the former Bournemouth head coach would often have his team change shape depending on what the situation demanded, into a 4-2-3-1 or even sometimes a 3-4-3 formation. Looking at Newcastle’s signings so far this summer though, we do not see any indication that Howe is planning to shift too far away from the 4-3-3 lineup that has brought them so much success in the past few years.
One of the main reasons for that is the way in which Howe’s initial 4-3-3 setup allows for quick transitions without losing too much composure in the centre of the park. Led by a world-class striker in the person of Alexander Isak, the wingers often cut inside to leave space for the full-backs to overlap. It’s a proven concept at St. James’s Park, though it will be interesting to see to what extent Howe is able this season to find a solution for teams who sit deep and set up shop on their own half, something the Magpies have struggled with in the recent past.
NEWCASTLE UNITED – Potential FPL picks
Our first Newcastle fantasy pick comes with a potential transfer disclaimer, but at the moment of writing, Alexander Isak (£10.5m) is still part of the Magpie roster, although Howe may not want to play Isak until after the transfer window shuts on 1st Sep. As we mentioned earlier, somehow keeping hold of the Sweden international would essentially be Newcastle’s transfer coup of the season. After a stellar 2024 – 2025 campaign in which he scored 23 goals and provided 6 assists (for a total of 211 FPL points), his price tag was elevated into the premium category. That does not deter us from seriously considering him for our Gameweek 1 squad, though Newcastle’s challenging set of opening fixtures should be taken into account added to the transfer window being open until 1st September. The Magpies travel to Villa Park in Gameweek 1 and then host champions Liverpool in Gameweek 2, before getting Leeds away and Wolves at home. We are clearly not the only ones with confidence in Isak’s abilities either, as he sits pretty in almost 22% of all Gameweek 1 squads at the moment but ensure you have a good substitute in case Howe decides to bench Isak.
One of the interesting aspects of Newcastle from a fantasy point of view is that their roster offers value in both attack and defence. The club managed 11 clean sheets last season and ranked third in terms of Expected Goals Conceded, while actually conceding 47 goals in 38 league games. Considering his current price tag and the fact that he will be Newcastle’s undisputed man between the sticks, we have included Nick Pope (£5.0m) in our last of potential Newcastle FPL picks as well. He missed a bunch of games through injury between December 2024 and January 2025, but still managed to record 8 clean sheets in 28 league starts for a total of 102 FPL points. If he stays fit this season, we can easily see him reach his numbers from earlier seasons, as he recorded at least 130 FPL points in every season between the 2019 – 2020 and the 2022 – 2023 campaigns.
With the arrival of Anthony Elanga, who will likely be posted mostly on the right wing, and the uncertainty surrounding the continued presence of Alexander Isak, it’s Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) who looks like the safest route into Newcastle’s attack at the moment. Where Elanga will mainly battle with Jacob Murphy and Harvey Barnes for a starting spot on the right, Gordon’s spot looks his to lose. On top of that, the England international has also filled in up top on more than occasion, which could be especially interesting should Isak leave St James’ Park before September 1st. The only real downside to Gordon is his recent injury history, which does not consist of his serious problems but did see him miss out on several games last season, though he still got 6 goals, 6 assists and 124 FPL points to his name. Actually, as we write this, the 24-year-old is flagged in the official fantasy game, but we expect him to be fit and ready to fire come Gameweek 1.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST – General preview for 2025/26
Nottingham Forest’s 2024 – 2025 Premier League campaign will go down as historic for several reasons, the most important being their eventual 7th place finish. During most of the season, the Tricky Trees even mounted an unlikely challenge for Champions League football, but a slump at the tail-end of the season saw them eventually qualify for the UEFA Conference League. This nevertheless marked a return to European football for the first time since the 1995 – 1996 season.
Forest ended the season with 65 points, just a single point behind number 5 Newcastle United, who clinched Champions League football. Between the end of 2024 and the start of 2025, the club recorded a series of six consecutive victories in the Premier League, which included victories over Manchester United at Old Trafford, Aston Villa at home and Spurs at home. This was their best winning streak in a single season in the top division since 1967 and also the joint-best winning streak in the league last season.
As far as transfers go, Forest had their work cut out for them pretty early in the summer transfer window as Newcastle bought Anthony Elanga, one of their star players, for around £52 million. The Tricky Trees reacted fast though, by signing the wanted right winger Dan Ndoye from Serie A side FC Bologna for around £39 million. On top of that, they have also signed striker Igor Jesus (£10 million) and central defender Jair Cunha (£10 million), both Brazilians from Brazilian side Botafogo. The experienced Angus Gunn was brought in for free to fill the spot of reserve keeper Matt Turner, who left for Charlotte FC in the MLS.
Nottingham Forest: Tactical preview 2025/26
In December 2023, Nuno Espirito Santo was brought in as new manager to replace Steve Cooper and the former Wolves man managed to secure Premier League survival that season, despite the club being docked 4 points in March 2024 for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules a season prior. The Portuguese manager’s tactical approach has emphasised a strong defensive foundation from the beginning, in combination with quick transitions and positional flexibility. This has allowed players like Anthony Elanga, Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood to thrive, particularly last season.
As a matter of fact, based on Espirito Santo’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, Nottingham Forest has evolved into one of the most lethal Premier League sides on the counter. They rely on aggressive pressing to win back possession quickly and then quickly move the ball forward. This resulted in 58 goals in 38 league games last season, but also in just 46 conceded goals. Only Arsenal (34), Liverpool (41), Chelsea (43) and Manchester City (44) conceded less.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST – Potential FPL picks
After a fantastic season in which he even looked like challenging for the Golden Boot for a while, you can expect Chris Wood (£7.5m) to lead the line once again for Nottingham Forest this season. The New Zealand international started in 35 out of 38 league games and recorded 20 goals plus 3 assists for a total of 200 FPL points. As far as forwards in the official fantasy game go, only Newcastle’s Alexander Isak managed to outscore him and just slightly (211 FPL points). In terms of goals, only Liverpool’s superstar Mohamed Salah (29), the previously mentioned Isak (23) and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (22) scored more than Wood. On top of that, Forest have an appealing opening run of fixtures with Brentford (home) in GW1, Crystal Palace (away) in GW2, West Ham (home) in GW3, Burnley (away) in GW5 and Sunderland (home) in GW6. Forest do have Thursday Conference League fixtures on 21st and 28th August to content with though.
We know that we lauded Nottingham Forest’s defensive setup various times above, but our second potential FPL pick from their roster is also an attacking player. Morgan Gibbs-White (£7.5m) had the best season of his career last season, scoring 7 goals and giving 11 assists for 154 FPL points. That performance was not an anomaly though, as he got close to those numbers in the two seasons prior as well: 5 goals and 12 assists for 145 FPL points in the 2022 – 2023 season, and 5 goals and 12 assists for 142 FPL points in the 2023 – 2024 season. MGW recently extended his contract with the Tricky Trees until the summer of 2028, so we don’t doubt his continued role as a key man this season. He is Forest’s playmaker par excellence and an essential cog in Espirito Santo’s high-pressing, counter-attacking machine.
Had central defender Nikola Milenkovic not been priced at £5.5m for the upcoming season, then we would have probably included him in this list. Instead, we have gone with Ola Aina (£5.0m), who comes in at £0.5m cheaper and who plays at right-back. We generally prefer full-backs (and especially wing-backs) for their bigger potential involvement at the other end of the pitch, though it should be noted that the previously mentioned Milenkovic scored 5 goals and provided 2 assists last season. Aina ended the 2024 – 2025 campaign with 2 goals and 1 assist, and somehow we feel that it will be more difficult for Milenkovic to equal his attacking output from last season than it will be for Aina to surpass his. On top of that, with Espirito Santo’s proven track record as a creator of solid defences, we see the potential for at least three clean sheets in the first six Gameweeks of the new season.
For further discussions have a look at FISO’s FPL forum where you can also see the FPL mini-leagues and FPL side-games available.