With Fantasy Premier League (FPL) live for 2025/26, we’re welcoming back our team of guest writers for the new campaign.
After winning the inaugural FPL Challenge in the 2024/25 season, Zawad Amin shares his FPL ‘classic’ thoughts and team-building approach for the upcoming campaign.
Make sure you sign up for the new season to get all the Member-only articles, tools and features to make 2025/26 your best FPL campaign yet!
Pre-Season Strategy: Playing the Long Game
The 2025/26 season brings with it some significant changes, particularly in the chip structure.
However, I’m maintaining my long-standing philosophy of avoiding early chip usage. Instead, my focus remains on saving transfers early, ideally through Gameweeks 1 to 3, and making my first key moves in Gameweek 3 or 4, when we have enough data on player roles, minutes, and form.
To support this approach, I’ve built a squad that balances popular picks with a few calculated differentials. The idea is to minimise early damage from ownership swings while staying flexible enough to jump on early-season bandwagons with minimal hits.
Key Selection Principles
✅ Penalty Takers & Talismans from Big Teams
Players on pens and with talismanic roles are usually immune to short-term dips. This year, I’ve prioritised players with set-piece duties in top teams, often a consistent source of FPL points.
✅ Ownership-Based Stability
I lean toward highly owned assets early on to limit rank volatility. This helps absorb early bandwagons and reduce the risk of falling behind from a low-owned punt that didn’t land.
