Overview

• A calm, fixture-driven Gameweek 1 draft is recommended, with managers urged to prioritise reliable starters over early differentials.
• New defensive scoring awards 2 points to any player recording at least 10 clearances, blocks, interceptions or tackles in a match.
• Each manager now has two full sets of Wildcard, Free Hit, Triple Captain and Bench Boost chips to deploy once in each half of the season.
• Experts advise simple early captaincy picks—often Mohamed Salah or Erling Haaland—to avoid wasting armbands on risky calls.
• Key habits include avoiding knee-jerk transfers, finalising bench orders before deadlines and timing moves late to account for injury news.