We’ve seen a raft of new features and rule changes for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) ahead of 2026/27.
One of which sees tweaks made to the Bonus Points System (BPS).
These latest alterations, effectively, make it more difficult for defensive contribution (DefCon) monsters to supplement their scores with bonus points. Too often, a player received points for both.
ADJUSTING THE BONUS POINTS SYSTEM
Here are the changes:
| Action | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Being tackled | -1 bps | n/a |
| Every two clearances, blocks and interceptions | 1 bps | n/a |
| Every three clearances, blocks and interceptions | n/a | 1 bps |
| Save from a shot taken inside the box (GK) | 3 bps | 3 bps |
| Save from a shot taken outside the box (GK) | 2 bps | n/a |
| Any other save (eg from a cross that deflects off a defender and forces a save) (GK) | n/a | 2 bps |
| Saving a ‘big chance’ (GK) | n/a | 1 bps |
| Saving a penalty (GK) | 8 bps | 8 bps (actually 7 but +1 for a ‘big chance saved’) |
Players no longer losing a BPS point for being tackled is good news for dribblers.
Making clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBIs) is a huge DefCon crossover, so players – mostly centre-halves and defensive midfielders – will have to make more of them to boost their BPS score.
Meanwhile, goalkeepers are about to get a bit more love for making saves.
HOW THE NEW CHANGES WOULD HAVE AFFECTED FPL 2025/26
Looking at this graphic, applying such changes to last season would have removed some defender bonus points, redistributing them to goalkeepers and attack-minded midfielders.
WINNERS + LOSERS
So, which specific players should get a boost from such news?
The most tackled individuals of 2025/26 were Morgan Rogers (156), Jarrod Bowen (143), Antoine Semenyo (137), Brenden Aaronson (127), Iliman Ndiaye (126) and Jeremy Doku (113).
That’s why they’re the top half-dozen for Baseline BPS gains (before goals, assists and clean sheets are added). Yet, crazily, the frustrating Rogers still wouldn’t have secured any more actual bonus points.
In defence, the most tackled were Michael Kayode (83), Hugo Bueno (78), Jayden Bogle (72), Djed Spence (72), Nico O’Reilly (69) and Lewis Hall (69).
Between the sticks, goalkeepers will now receive one BPS when saving a big chance; handy for Jordan Pickford, Caoimhin Kelleher and Dean Henderson.
As for the overall bonus point gains and losses – keeping the likes of Keane Lewis-Potter and Eli Kroupi Junior at last season’s positions – we see below that Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes would have comfortably suffered the most with this new calculation, getting 20 rather than 30.
Throwing his expected starting price hike and the William Saliba injury into the mix, FPL managers will suddenly have a dilemma about whether he’s worth owning.
It’s also bad for James Tarkowski, Jaka Bijol and Malick Thiaw, though Lewis-Potter and soon-back-from-injury Mohammed Kudus would be the big winners.
In fact, no centre-back hypothetically gained more than one extra bonus. Whereas the 24 who’d deliver three, four or five were almost exclusively full-backs, goalkeepers and attacking midfielders.
*A big thanks to TopMarx, who provided the excellent number-crunching for this article
