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Fantasy Premier League’s millions of fans subreddit nerds are buzzing with excitement with the changes to the chip system announced today. Literally millions hundreds of people are commenting on the subreddit about the change.
Okay, okay I’ll stop. I am genuinely excited about this one but I needed to take the piss out of myself first. Probably because I called for this change in our article at the end of last year and I think they must have read my post. (I am being sarcastic to be clear).
For years, managers have had to carefully plan the use of their limited chips, but now, FPL Towers have decided to double the number of chips available each season. In this article we will recap the old system, tell you what has changed and then look at strategies for using TWICE as many chips this year.
Traditionally, FPL managers have had access to two wildcards, one triple captain, one bench boost, and one free hit. This system has been in place for several seasons.
It basically meant that experienced managers saves their precious chips for those coveted double game weeks later in the season. And, rookie managers/casuals pissed them up the wall in the first three weeks and then gave up or were at a disadvantage for the rest of the year.
Last season, we were introduced to the Assistant Manager chip. This allowed managers to benefit from manager points over three weeks. If that doesn’t make any sense to you, it doesn’t matter – its dead now.
That chip has now been retired. It is dead. Or possibly living on the moon with JFK, Tupac and the All Out Attack chip if you believe that sort of thing.
The new system grants managers two of each chip: two triple captains, two bench boosts, and two free hits, while still keeping the two wildcards.
Similar to the use of the first Wildcard in recent seasons, the first set of these chips must be played before the Gameweek 19 deadline passes at 18:30 GMT on Tuesday 30 December. They cannot be carried over into the second half of 2025/26.
This. Is. Great! Casual managers will no longer have to suffer for not saving their chips. And, nerds like you and I will get to have ACTUAL fun playing chips in the first half of the year rather than waiting to do our chores at the end of the season.
If you want no chips, I sympathise. But this is actually more like that. More chips means that the individual chips are less powerful so there is less variance risk.
It is probably a bit early to think about this but here are my initial thoughts.
Many of us were already considering a Gameweek one bench boost.
The logic was simple: starting the season with a strong, nailed-on squad ensures that your bench players will actually play and potentially earn you points. And, the bench boost often doesn’t get you that many points as you boost with some pretty bad players – a 4.0 GK, 2 4.5 Defs and a 4.5 mid.
Now, bench boost gameweek one will be even more popular. There is even less risk of it being a colossal mistake because you have the one in the second half of the season.
A new factor to consider is the introduction of points for defensive contributions. Defenders like James Tarkowski and Nathan Collins, who consistently rack up defensive points, could become key players for your bench boost strategy. More likely, the recently promoted defenders and midfielders could be really good cheap options that deliver an extra couple of points.
The hard part would be picking those newly promoted players in gameweek one without knowing much about them or the teams. Still, Sunderland play West Ham at home and Leeds play Everton at home in gameweek one – both are pretty damn good fixtures because West Ham and Everton had dreadful attacks last year.
Another popular strategy might involve using the second bench boost right after the first wildcard, ensuring a fully optimised squad for maximum impact.
The triple captain chip will likely continue to be reserved for the likes of Salah, Haaland or Palmer. We will all probably target a game where they play against a newly promoted side – so that will be nine games to pick from.
Man City play Burnley at home in gameweek 6 – before the Champions League pile up begins. That could be an ideal moment to triple captain the best striker in the world.
The free hit chip can now be used more creatively than just covering a blank.
We could use it to navigate a bad fixture week in the middle of a load of good ones. Or, we could use it just before an international break when we have an injury crisis just to see if we can make it through. We might just use it to take advantage of a decent gameweek.
Regardless, all of these are fun options.
It’s not impossible. The king could die? Or a pitch could get waterlogged? Or a global pandemic might shut down the league for a bit?
It is pretty damn unlikely and I would really encourage you to have some fun with these chips and get serious about the season after Christmas. Like Jesus did.
Doubling chips is a welcome change that promises to make FPL more engaging, strategic and fun than ever before!
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