Fantasy Premier League (FPL) rolled out some changes to the Bonus Points System (BPS) ahead of 2024/25.
But how has it affected actual bonus points in the season so far? We take a look in the article…
A big thanks go to TopMarx for his help with this piece.
HOW DOES THE BONUS POINTS SYSTEM WORK?
The BPS utilises a range of statistics supplied by Opta, who capture actions on the pitch to create a performance score for every player.
These actions range from scoring a goal, assisting and keeping a clean sheet to successful dribbles, recoveries and pass completion.
You can read more about these actions here.
The players with the top three BPS scores in a given match receive FPL bonus points – three points to the highest-scoring player, two to the second and one to the third.
WHAT ARE THE BONUS POINTS SYSTEM CHANGES IN 2024/25?
The adjustments to the BPS for 2024/25 are as follows:
| Action | BPS score in 2023/24 | BPS score in 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper saving a penalty | 15 | 9 |
| Goalkeepers/defenders conceding a goal | N/A | -4 |
| Goalline clearance | N/A | 3 |
| Foul won | N/A | 1 |
| Shot on target | N/A | 2 |
They may seem like small tweaks – but the results suggest otherwise.
BONUS POINTS IN GAMEWEEKS 1-28: 2023/24 v 2024/25
| Number of players getting bonus in GW1-28 of 2023/24 | Total bonus points | Number of players getting bonus in GW1-28 of 2024/25 | Total bonus points | |
| Goalkeepers | 26 | 154 | 25 | 112 |
| Defenders | 113 | 502 | 90 | 393 |
| Midfielders | 125 | 777 | 136 | 819 |
| Forwards | 47 | 352 | 39 | 451 |
| 279 matches | 281 matches |
| Change in total bonus points from 2023/24 to 2024/25 | |
| Goalkeepers | -42 (-27.2%) |
| Defenders | -109 (-21.7%) |
| Midfielders | +42 (+5.4%) |
| Forwards | +99 (+28.1%) |
So, then, midfielders and especially forwards are benefitting from the BPS changes this season.
The opposite is true of goalkeepers and defenders.
Let’s take a look at each position in closer detail.
GOALKEEPERS
TOP GOALKEEPERS FOR BONUS: 2023/24 v 2024/25
| Name | Team | Bonus points after GW28 of 2023/24 | Name | Team | Bonus points after GW28 of 2024/25 |
| Leno | FUL | 13 | Pickford | EVE | 10 |
| Martinez | AVL | 12 | Sels | NFO | 10 |
| Neto | BOU | 12 | Alisson | LIV | 9 |
| Pickford | EVE | 12 | Ederson | MCI | 9 |
| Areola | WHU | 11 | Raya Martin | ARS | 9 |
| Alisson | LIV | 9 | Sanchez | CHE | 9 |
| Onana | MUN | 9 | Henderson | CRY | 6 |
| Vicario | TOT | 8 | Verbruggen | BHA | 5 |
| Foderingham | SHU | 7 | Flekken | BRE | 5 |
| Johnstone | CRY | 7 | Muric | IPS | 5 |
| Sanchez | CHE | 7 | Onana | MUN | 5 |
| Ramsdale | SOU | 5 |
As mentioned above, goalkeepers are finding bonus points harder to come by in 2024/25.
With minus BPS awarded for every goal conceded, fewer awarded for penalty saves and attack-minded options getting rewards for shots on target/fouls won, even save machines will struggle to be in the bonus mix unless they’ve kept a clean sheet.
And, indeed, that’s what we’ve seen so far this season.
WHO ARE THE WINNERS + LOSERS FROM THE BONUS POINTS SYSTEM CHANGE?
In the above tables, we compare how many bonus points goalkeepers would have netted had the BPS remained unchanged versus what they’ve actually got in 2024/25.
Not a single goalkeeper is better off – and most have been disadvantaged.
Dean Henderson (£4.6m) would have been in double figures for bonus points had things remained the same. As it is, he’s only on six.
Even Matz Sels (£5.1m), whose team have been keeping clean sheets and lots of them, is three points worse off.
DEFENDERS
TOP DEFENDERS FOR BONUS: 2023/24 v 2024/25
| Name | Team | Bonus points after GW28 of 2023/24 | Name | Team | Bonus points after GW28 of 2024/25 |
| Trippier | NEW | 20 | Aina | NFO | 15 |
| Alexander-Arnold | LIV | 18 | Alexander-Arnold | LIV | 13 |
| Romero | TOT | 15 | Murillo | NFO | 13 |
| Porro | TOT | 14 | Saliba | ARS | 11 |
| Zinchenko | ARS | 13 | Huijsen | BOU | 11 |
| White (Ben) | ARS | 11 | Lewis Hall | NEW | 11 |
| Doughty | LUT | 11 | Wan-Bissaka | WHU | 10 |
| Dalot | MUN | 10 | Marc Guehi | CRY | 10 |
| Schär | NEW | 10 | Cucurella | CHE | 9 |
| Andersen (Joachim) | CRY | 9 | Gabriel Magalhães | ARS | 9 |
| Lacroix | CRY | 9 |
There’s a similar story in defence.
Defenders who have delivered attacking returns in games where their sides haven’t kept a clean sheet have been hit hard.
WHO ARE THE WINNERS + LOSERS FROM THE BONUS POINTS SYSTEM CHANGE?
Antonee Robinson (£5.0m), for instance, is FPL’s leading defender for attacking returns. But he would have had an extra eight bonus points to his name had the BPS remained as it was in 2023/24.
Fulham have kept only four clean sheets all season, while all 10 of Robinson’s assists have come in matches in which the Cottagers haven’t shut the opposition out.
Attack-minded peers like Lewis Hall (£4.9m), Pedro Porro (£5.3m), Josko Gvardiol (£5.9m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) have also been adversely affected.
Very few defenders are better off in the new system.
Joel Veltman (£4.4m) is, however – and his status as the Premier League’s most fouled defender is no coincidence. Fouls won were key to him gaining two bonus points in both Gameweeks 4 and 18.
MIDFIELDERS
TOP MIDFIELDERS FOR BONUS: 2023/24 v 2024/25
| Name | Team | Bonus points after GW28 of 2023/24 | Name | Team | Bonus points after GW28 of 2024/25 |
| Groß | BHA | 28 | Salah | LIV | 51 |
| Douglas Luiz | AVL | 25 | Palmer | CHE | 31 |
| Saka | ARS | 23 | Mbeumo | BRE | 23 |
| Salah | LIV | 23 | Bruno Fernandes | MUN | 22 |
| Foden | MCI | 21 | Saka | ARS | 16 |
| Son | TOT | 21 | Díaz | LIV | 15 |
| Palmer | CHE | 20 | Kluivert | BOU | 14 |
| Odegaard | ARS | 18 | Maddison | TOT | 14 |
| Bernardo Silva | MCI | 16 | Amad Diallo | MUN | 14 |
| Ward-Prowse | WHU | 15 | Szoboszlai | LIV | 13 |
| Smith-Rowe | FUL | 13 |
With the extra baseline bonus points on offer for shots on target and fouls won, trigger-happy midfielders and, to a lesser extent, those felled by the opposition are prospering.
Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) is a remarkable 28 points ahead of where he was in Gameweek 28 of 2023/24, although the new BPS is only partly to thank – it’s his upswing in goals and assists that is the main reason.
WHO ARE THE WINNERS + LOSERS FROM THE BONUS POINTS SYSTEM CHANGE?
Salah would, in fact, still have got a whopping 45 bonus points had the 2023/24 Bonus Points System still been in place.
Bruno Guimaraes (£6.1m) and Anthony Gordon (£7.4m) are the two most fouled midfielders in the division, so it’s no surprise to see their names in the right-hand table.
FORWARDS
TOP FORWARDS FOR BONUS: 2023/24 v 2024/25
| Name | Team | Bonus points after GW28 of 2023/24 | Name | Team | Bonus points after GW28 of 2024/25 |
| Watkins | AVL | 24 | Wood (Chris) | NFO | 37 |
| Haaland | MCI | 20 | Matheus Cunha | WOL | 33 |
| Álvarez (Julián) | MCI | 17 | Isak | NEW | 31 |
| Solanke | BOU | 17 | Haaland | MCI | 25 |
| Morris | LUT | 15 | Watkins | AVL | 24 |
| Matheus Cunha | WOL | 12 | João Pedro | BHA | 23 |
| Wood | NFO | 12 | Mateta | CRY | 22 |
| Isak | NEW | 11 | Wissa | BRE | 21 |
| João Pedro | BHA | 11 | Raúl Jiménez | FUL | 20 |
| Semenyo | BOU | 11 | Delap | IPS | 17 |
Nine forwards have delivered 20 or more bonus points after Gameweek 28 of this season. Contrast that to this time last year, when only two had managed that feat.
WHO ARE THE WINNERS + LOSERS FROM THE BONUS POINTS SYSTEM CHANGE?
The vast majority of forwards have been better off this season.
Matheus Cunha‘s (£6.9m) standing as the most-fouled forward has helped boost his bonus tally.
Of the top eight forwards for shots on target in 2024/25, only Nicolas Jackson (£7.7m) fails to appear on the right-hand table above.
Erling Haaland (£14.7m) has, in fact, benefitted more from the bonus points changes than any FPL asset in any position.
Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) is a rare loser in all of this: in two matches in the last four Gameweeks, Beto (£5.1m) and Ismaila Sarr (£5.6m) have nabbed an extra bonus point off him thanks to extra shots on target/fouls won.
Mateta is the exception to the rule, though – it’s attacking midfielders and forwards who have been quids in thanks to the BPS tweaks.
For goalkeepers and defenders, clean sheet potential is now more important than ever in nabbing those bonus points.
