FPL

FPL 2025/26: Huge rule change as defensive contributions come in

18 July 2025 179 comments
Skonto Rigga Skonto Rigga
Share:

The launch of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) 2025/26 seems to be imminent as a huge new rule change was announced on Friday morning.

In what is the biggest scoring system shake-up since the game’s invention over two decades ago, defensive contributions are to come into play this season.

This looks set to give a big boost to centre-backs and defensive midfielders, especially. The latter have been a long-overlooked group of players and may now enter the Fantasy reckoning.

How do players get contribution points in FPL?

PositionDefensive contributionsPoints on offer
Defenders10 clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles (CBIT)+2 points
Midfielders and forwards12 clearances, blocks, interceptions, recoveries and tackles (CBIRT)+2 points

DEFENDERS

Any defender who reaches a combined total of 10 clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles (CBIT) in a single match will score two FPL points.

Defensive contribution points are capped at two points per fixture. So, no matter if a defender makes 10 or 50 CBITs, they get two.

MIDFIELDERS AND FORWARDS

Midfielders and forwards will get rewarded for ball recoveries, as well as the above.

But they have to get 12 clearances, blocks, interceptions, recoveries and tackles (CBIRTs) in order to score two FPL points.

Again, there’s a cap: a maximum of two defensive contribution points per match.

WHICH PLAYERS WOULD HAVE GOT THE MOST DEFENSIVE CONTRIBUTION POINTS LAST SEASON?

While we crunch the numbers and attempt to get our heads around this new rule, the Premier League have helpfully already put out a table of the defenders and midfielders who would have most benefitted from contribution points last season.

DEFENDERS

PlayerStarts% starts in which they would have got defensive contributionsDefensive contribution points
Tarkowski3366.7%44
Bednarek3066.7%40
Huijsen2673.1%38
Murillo3652.8%38
Faes3056.7%34
Lacroix3548.6%34
O’Shea3548.6%34
Branthwaite2857.1%32
Collins3842.1%32
Kilman3839.5%30

MIDFIELDERS

PlayerStarts% starts in which they would have got defensive contributionsDefensive contribution points
Caicedo3855.3%42
Anderson3354.6%36
Gomes3551.4%36
Gueye3551.4%36
Norgaard3450.0%34
Baleba3148.4%30
Cook3246.9%30
Gravenberch3740.5%30
Lerma2653.9%28
Christie2748.2%26
Ndidi2846.4%26
Andre3141.9%26

No surprise to see centre-halves and defensive midfielders dominating the tables above.

And it’s no shock to see the defenders of the lower-to-mid-table sides high up the list. These are the teams that are less likely to have possession and are consequently forced to do more defensive work.

What you ideally want is defensive contribution mixed in with clean sheet potential. Murillo and James Tawkowski, for instance, combine this.

Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic, indeed, would have finished second and first among defenders for FPL points last season had defensive contributions been in place.

Moises Caicedo meanwhile would have risen above the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Brennan Johnson with his extra points.

More reaction and articles to come later today.

179 Comments Login to Post a Comment
  1. khanasim
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 1 Year
    1 day, 12 hours ago

    At last some change to make CDMs attractive though capping of 2 points should not be there rather +2 points every mulitple of 10 CBITs would have been nice.

    Open Controls
    1. Rwilliams90
      • 13 Years
      1 day, 12 hours ago

      Or 1 point for every 5.

      Open Controls
      1. khanasim
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 1 Year
        1 day, 12 hours ago

        Open Controls
  2. Moon Dog
      1 day, 12 hours ago

      https://youtu.be/ZgIrXKpv2gw?si=ewEG1iLo84mWocHo

      Open Controls
    • TheBiffas
      • 4 Years
      1 day, 12 hours ago

      They need to be careful not to increase the prices of the defensive mids too much as a result of this. A DM with a 4 pts ceiling at say £5.5m is not an option. They might end up being just as useless as before.

      Open Controls
      1. Deulofail
        • 9 Years
        1 day, 12 hours ago

        Plus a clean sheet = 5pts. Now who's not an option, Biffas?!

        Open Controls
        1. TheBiffas
          • 4 Years
          1 day, 12 hours ago

          My bad...

          Open Controls
      2. FPL Scoop
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        1 day, 12 hours ago

        Fair point! Surely they wouldn't, right? Especially if Salah comes in at £15.0, we'll need to find cheaper fodder somewhere!

        Open Controls
        1. TheBiffas
          • 4 Years
          1 day, 12 hours ago

          I've had a go at some drafts and with Salah at £15m there really isn't much budget to play with...

          Open Controls
        2. Deulofail
          • 9 Years
          1 day, 12 hours ago

          Yeah, or not get Salah. Heaven forbid, you have to make difficult decisions! No thank you!

          Open Controls
          1. FPL Scoop
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 8 Years
            1 day, 11 hours ago

            Quite, DF!

            Open Controls
    • The Hunt
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 16 Years
      1 day, 12 hours ago

      Ah, the thrill and satisfaction of seeing your 4.5m centre half hoofing the ball right out of the park. What a load of p!sh.

      Open Controls
      1. FHRITP
        • 1 Year
        1 day, 9 hours ago

        It's better than everyone picking the same 5% of defenders every year.

        Open Controls
    • Hairy Potter
      • 10 Years
      1 day, 12 hours ago

      Does this mean I'm going to have to learn the definition of a block and a clearance? Great fun game!

      Open Controls
    • SM001
      • 9 Years
      1 day, 12 hours ago

      Considering theres a cap of 2 points and attacking midfielders and forwards can score these points too, it's hardly a game changer.

      Open Controls
      1. ᶠᶦˡᵗʰʸLucre $$$
        • 10 Years
        1 day, 12 hours ago

        So why do it at all?

        Open Controls
        1. The FPL Units
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 15 Years
          1 day, 12 hours ago

          More changes to come would be my expectation

          Open Controls
        2. Andy_Social
          • 12 Years
          1 day, 12 hours ago

          You might alter your strategy to invest more into defenders and def mids.

          Open Controls
          1. ᶠᶦˡᵗʰʸLucre $$$
            • 10 Years
            1 day, 12 hours ago

            It's either "hardly a game changer" or it is not

            Open Controls
    • keefy59
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      1 day, 12 hours ago

      Is this a step towards removing the bonus points ?
      All that does at the moment is further reward players that have already picked up points in the game .
      Thus increasing the points gap on teams that don't have that player .
      Another idea might be 1 point significant goal contribution (assisting the assister)
      How many times have we seen players like say Palmer having a great game creating opportunities from killer passes.
      But not getting any rewards.

      Open Controls
      1. The FPL Units
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 15 Years
        1 day, 12 hours ago

        There will be more changes for sure.

        Open Controls
      2. Deulofail
        • 9 Years
        1 day, 12 hours ago

        Altogether now!

        Open Controls
      3. Moon Dog
          1 day, 12 hours ago

          Bonus points made sense when it was man-in-the-stand, but I agree that now it's purely data based, it should just be for hitting certain targets. Bonus is a vestige from the past..

          Open Controls
      4. Moon Dog
          1 day, 12 hours ago

          So... how is Wirtz for tackles, blocks, interceptions, and clearances? 😆

          Open Controls
          1. keefy59
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 7 Years
            1 day, 12 hours ago

            I would expect him to get at least 12
            But that's in total over the season

            Open Controls
        • farmerfat
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 9 Years
          1 day, 12 hours ago

          Is it just me or does this seem like a pretty underwhelming change?
          I do not see myself buying Caicedo for an extra 2 points every 2 games. Still no attacking threat.
          It may make certain defenders slightly more appealing but I would rather consider attacking defenders.
          I think it would make certainly players like Declan Rice more appealing as he can still chip in with goals and assists.
          Pretty meh for me.

          Open Controls
          1. Moon Dog
              1 day, 12 hours ago

              It all depends on price. You might want a cheap midfielder who's good value long term to enable extra big hitters like Salah, Palmer, Isak, Wirtz etc...

              Open Controls
            • Deulofail
              • 9 Years
              1 day, 12 hours ago

              Lotta fluff for not much guff

              Open Controls
            • bitm2007
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 11 Years
              1 day, 12 hours ago

              It's a welcome step in the right direction exspecially if the bonus points system is also tweaked to bring DMs more into play.

              Open Controls
            • AxeMinion
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 13 Years
              1 day, 11 hours ago

              A great change should simply whelm.

              If it overwhelmed, then it would have been too big a change that affected how we play the game.

              If it underwhelmed, then it would be so pointless as to not factor into our thinking at all (e.g. All Out Attack chip back in the day).

              This change is whelming. It gives us something interesting to work with, brings more players into the game, but isn't going to drastically change the way people play the game.

              "Whelmed FPL" - a new handle if anyone wants it

              Open Controls
            • have you seen cyan
              • 5 Years
              1 day, 3 hours ago

              Yea, I don't think this will change much tbh. It may allow a stronger xi, if you get a cheaper defensive mid, but there's normally a cheaper attacker who is good anyway and probably still gonna outscore them, like Rogers last season.

              The biggest benefit will be finding an attacking mid with defensive qualities, Bruno for example may benefit well from this change, but he might play deeper this season and less attacking. Rice might be a decent option, but he isn't as defensive as he used to be.

              Open Controls
          2. Moon Dog
              1 day, 12 hours ago

              So Forest and Everton centre backs should be 6.0m?

              Open Controls
              1. The FPL Units
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 15 Years
                1 day, 12 hours ago

                Not worth it

                Open Controls
              2. AxeMinion
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 13 Years
                1 day, 11 hours ago

                No! Consider that VVD also ranks highly in the CBI data. He all of a sudden becomes interesting over the likes of Kerkez or Frimpong/Bradley. His numbers are almost double that of the highly regarded Saliba, for example.

                It gives us some variety. Instead of everyone going for Gabriel, we might consider Saliba. Instead of Kerkez, VVD. Instead of Mykolenko, Tarko... etc.

                Instead of James Ward Prowse, we might consider McAllistair. Instead of Odegaard, maybe Rice is the better pick. I could go on forever.

                We've just been granted more options - this is unequivocally a good thing.

                Open Controls
              3. AxeMinion
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 13 Years
                1 day, 11 hours ago

                Sorry I failed to address your specific reference...

                My point is that whatever benefits Forest and Everton CB's also benefits Liverpool & Arsenal CB's (love that nobody is talking about City players), so the Everton & Forest players still need to be considerably cheaper than them. They might move up 0.5m but they're not suddenly going to be premiums.

                Open Controls
            • Old Man
              • 14 Years
              1 day, 12 hours ago

              Hallebloodylujah! I've been banging on about having something like this for years! Well done Mark. Defensive midfielders have been a non-option for ever, but now they have a chance.

              Open Controls
              1. Nightcrawler
                • 6 Years
                1 day, 12 hours ago

                No they still won't have a chance. This changes nothing

                If they increase their prices he might even be worse options than they already where

                Open Controls
                1. Old Man
                  • 14 Years
                  1 day, 10 hours ago

                  I think that yo might be surprised - unless, as you suggest, they raise the prices.

                  Open Controls
              2. SM001
                • 9 Years
                1 day, 12 hours ago

                The change is minimal. Pointless change. Or a cap of 2 points.

                Open Controls
              3. Lanley Staurel
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 14 Years
                1 day, 11 hours ago

                Does Mark control FPL as well as FFS?

                Open Controls
                1. RedLightning
                  • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                  • Has Moderation Rights
                  • 15 Years
                  1 day, 9 hours ago

                  Mark is highly influential in FPL, especially since he took up a new position with them earlier this year, but I'm not sure exactly what that position is.
                  He sold FFS at least three years ago.

                  Open Controls
            • Moon Dog
                1 day, 12 hours ago

                What's the difference between a recovery and an interception?

                Open Controls
                1. Deulofail
                  • 9 Years
                  1 day, 12 hours ago

                  Some thoughts https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/2025/07/18/fpl-2025-26-huge-rule-change-as-defensive-contributions-come-in?hc_page=1&hc_sort_by=comment_date#hc_comment_27219864

                  Open Controls
              • Lanley Staurel
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 14 Years
                1 day, 12 hours ago

                I think this change is going to do 2 core things. Firstly, extend the analysis of CBs of wingers especially as CBs are usually cheaper and secondly, make the bench options of defensive mids more attractive. More of a tweak than a game changer especially with the 2 point cap. Fair summary? What have I missed or under-played?

                Open Controls
              • khanasim
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 1 Year
                1 day, 11 hours ago

                Hey can we know what would have been effect on bonus points last year had this system been effective then?

                Open Controls
              • FPL Brains
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • Has Moderation Rights
                • 13 Years
                1 day, 10 hours ago

                I think this is excellent. Great adjustment by FPL.

                Open Controls
              • Tommyg
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 16 Years
                1 day, 10 hours ago

                This has got Mark Suthers written all over it.

                It's needed this rule change for years. Gonna make it a lot more interesting.

                Open Controls
              • Robwooly
                • 2 Years
                1 day, 10 hours ago

                I like it, it brings into play so many players who were just there unpicked and unused because they were doing the things top flight teams need to succeed/survive.

                Open Controls
              • Robwooly
                • 2 Years
                1 day, 10 hours ago

                All hail the 'Water Carriers' who are key to winning trophies. Lets give them some points and get some in our line ups.

                Rodri, Rice etc could haul in some games, top top players with low ownership.

                Open Controls
              • Penguin & Tonic
                • 8 Years
                1 day, 3 hours ago

                I like the idea of bringing in defensive players to broaden the choice. But if you watch a game and cannot work out your score until stats tables are released the it is a backwards step.

                Open Controls
                1. Penguin & Tonic
                  • 8 Years
                  1 day, 3 hours ago

                  Lesson assistant manager is good. Overload of chips is not good for anyone's health.

                  Open Controls
                  1. Penguin & Tonic
                    • 8 Years
                    1 day, 3 hours ago

                    Should have said removal of assistant manager chip....

                    Open Controls

              You need to be logged in to post a comment.