FPL IS LIVE ⚽ New Changes, First Drafts, Funny Team Names!

FPL is LIVE! New Changes, First Drafts, Funny Team Names and Much more inside!

Fantasy Football Community

2025/26

In our Fantasy Premier League newsletter you will find lots of our essential articles to help get you prepared for the new season ahead. You can also check out @FPLReaction’s FIRST DRAFT 👀

Firstly! Over at FFC we have a BRAND NEW PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP. For JUST £12 per year you will have access to UCL Fantasy, and FPL top picks and team reveals for every single round!

Does that sound like something you would be interested in? If so use this link and sign up right here!

EXCLUSIVE: @FPLREACTION’ FIRST DRAFT

Firstly, the changes to FPL have been pretty explosive. I don’t mind the additional points for defensive actions because they add another level and set of thought processes to FPL.

I also quite like the double chips. Most of the time we play our one set of chips around double and blank Gameweeks, so this opens up opportunities to play them in single Gameweeks.

I’m not keen on the AFCON free transfers. I think it punishes careful planning for the most experienced managers. But, who knows, we could find positives in it eventually.

Talking of changes. I’m not yet settled on a chip strategy at this point. I have played with ideas around bench boosting in Gameweek 1, but I’m unsure.

Moving into my first draft, between the sticks is Chelsea’ Robert Sanchez (£5m) and Leeds’ Karl Darlow (£4m). I like Sanchez as a long-term hold in a Chelsea defence with limited options with limited attacking threat and good starting fixtures. Meanwhile Darlow could well be a starter for Leeds.

I have gone for a mix in defence. I really like the £6m defender options. One of them us Liverpool’ Milos Kerkez (£6m) who was fantastic for Bournemouth last season. I like Cucurella but I have Sanchez as cover, and Arsenal’ fixtures aren’t great.

Joining him at the back is Aston Villa’ Ezri Konsa who comes in at £4.5m again. Brighton’ Maxim De Cuyper (£4.5m) is very attacking – scoring and assisting in his previous two matches for country. Nottingham Forest were brilliant last campaign defensively, and one of their cheapest options is Ola Aina (£5m).

I also have new Sunderland centre-back Reinildo Mandava (£4m) who helps enable the team. He could well be Burnley’ Maxime Esteve (£4m) in my next draft depending on pre-season matches.

Moving into midfield, Mohammed Salah (£14.5m) remains an essential for me, even after a £2m price rise. I think it’s important to get a second route into Liverpool’ attack and one of my favourite players in Europe fits the bill, Florian Wirtz (£8.5m). Both are two of the best in the world in their positions for me.

Cole Palmer (£10.5m) is another non-negotiable player. Easy starting fixtures and his Club World Cup form make him an essential I think.

Morgan Rogers (£7m) is another solid option. He plays for a good side, with great starting fixtures and finished as one of the top 10 midfielders in FPL last season. His price rise doesn’t put me off much at all to be honest.

Sunderland have good starting fixtures, so budget pick Enzo Le Fee (£5m) could be a good enabler. Le Fee was crucial to the Black Cats attack last season.

Up front, Joao Pedro (£7.5m) feels like another lock, but we’ll see how pre-season goes. Chelsea have two other decent forward options who could start, so monitoring him during pre-season will be key.

I also really like Tottenham’ Dominic Solanke (£7.5m). Other than Manchester City in Gameweek 2, the Tottenham fixtures are very good. The lack of decent forward options also plays a part in me selecting him.

Completing my frontline is Strand Larsen (£6.5m) of Wolves. I thought he impressed last season, and without Matheus Cunha in the side, he could well take over as the main man.

😅 FUNNY FANTASY PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM NAMES 😅

Not sure what to name your team? We have lots of great team names inside:

🔥 BEST FPL PLAYER FROM EVERY PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM 🔥

We looked at the best assets from every team in FPL:

🧗10 FPL COMMUNITY LEAGUES 🧗

Get joining leagues and see how you stack up against some of the best:

💰PREMIUM PLAYERS IN EACH POSITION💰

We take a look at the best premium picks in each position and see if they are worth including in your teams:

🤔ALL OF THE CHANGES TO FPL EXPLAINED🤔

There has been plenty of change ahead of the new season, and we covered it all in one article:

Be sure to check out all of our latest articles over at Fantasy Football Community.