The FPL season is just 4 days away!
Reigning champs Liverpool kick things off with a Friday night match against Bournemouth and they'll be hoping for a more positive result than they achieved on Sunday versus Wembley specialists Crystal Palace.
For Hive FPL managers it gave a first glimpse of a few Premier League newcomers in the form of Ekiteke (FWD), Frimpong (DEF) and Wirtz (MID) all of whom recorded goal involvements on their Liverpool debuts.
So the big question is, who are you going to select in your initial 15 man squad?
Here are a few squads I've put together to prompt discussion.
The popular picks squad
Let's be honest, every season there are a core group of players which almost every manager invested in the game has. Some of them are shoe-ins from the start while others will come along as the season progresses. As things stand, these are the most popular 15 players in the game.
For illustrative purposes only. This squad is both over budget and contains too many Liverpool players
The above appear in most FPL squads at present. How many do you have in your current team?
In goal, there is no clear consensus on whether to go with a specific high-value pick but managers are now flocking towards Dubravka who looks very likely to be Burnley's new number 1 and at £4.0mil offers a starting option.
Another keeper on the move over the summer in Kelleher is also a popular option with Brentford's new number 1 a little more expensive but still a solid option.
At the back, Wan-Bissaka is arguably the only West Ham player to show any real improvement in the 24/25 season with managers undoubtedly attracted by both his price and fixture list with the Hammers starting at Sunderland and then having 3 home games in their next 4.
Konsa too, represents both good value for money and could benefit from Villa's relatively easy start to the season.
It's then a case of who do you pick for your premium £6mil option at the back. So far managers are gravitating towards Liverpool's VVD and Frimpong. The former gave away a penalty in the defeat to Palace while the later got on the score sheet and is likely to continue to pop-up in advanced positions throughout the campaign.
Alternatively, Ait-Nouri, another new signing, is attracting interest. Pep's rotation and tactical shuffling makes him a bit of a high risk pick in my opinion.
In midfield, it's probably no surprise to see Mo Salah is once again the most popular selection in the game. The man is an FPL machine and the majority of managers don't appear dissuaded by his massive £14.5 mil price tag.
The fact that Palmer appears in the majority of squads is perhaps a little more surprising. He endured a difficult end to last season but FPL managers appear to have been convinced by his Club World Cup performances and the massive returns he offered prior to his barren spell. At the time of writing he is in only 0.1% fewer squads than Salah!
Liverpool's new £100mil man, Writz is also a popular pick and certainly if he can put up the kind of numbers he did in the Bundesliga last season, will be an absolute steal at £8.5mil
Of the more middle of road options, managers are keeping faith with Rogers who was a very popular £5mil pick this time last year. While Spurs new signing Kudus is seen by many as decent value for money at £6.5mil. There is of course the possibility that he will play centrally given the latest Spurs injury crisis.
Upfront, it's 2 new signings and a possible 3rd.
Surely, the popularity of Isak will be determined over the coming days based on whether a transfer to Liverpool materialises or not. As things stand however, it seems very unlikely that he'll be involved in GW1...
Joao Pedro looks likely to be Chelsea's first choice forward at the start of the campaign and so £7.5mil looks a decent price for him. Meanwhile, at least a quarter of FPL managers believe that Gyokeres is the number 9 that Arsenal have been missing for the last few seasons.
Points per minute with new scoring system
Perhaps the biggest challenge that managers face when selecting their initial squad for this season is to come to grips with a new points scoring system that gives greater importance to defensive contributions.
It used to be simple right? Pick the players who were most likely to contribute goals and if your defenders and keeper could pick up a clean sheet then great.
That's all changed for FPL 25/26 and so the squad below are the best FPL 24/25 players (based on points per 90mins) using the new scoring system for 25/26!
For illustrative purposes only. This squad is over budget
What's really interesting here is that only 2 players (Salah and Isak) who appear in the popular picks squad appear in this team. FPL managers clearly feel that form isn't necessarily something that can be transferred from season to season.
Obviously price rises do play a factor in this. Murillo, Milenkovic and Hall are all still good picks but at £5.5mil each, they are difficult to fit into your team without compromising elsewhere.
That being said, do real defenders in the mould of the Forest centre-back pairing now represent better value for money than flying full-backs like Frimpong and Ait-Nouri? Both were worth an additional 33 and 39 points respectively last season when factoring in the new scoring for this year.
The second concern is of course minutes. Matheus Nunes and Trippier were effective when they played but are by no means guaranteed starters for their respective clubs.
Further forward, the FPL jury is still out on United's 2 acquisitions in Mbuemo and Cunha. Mbuemo is of course highly likely to lose penalty taking duties and it's well documented how he vastly over performed his xG last year.
Speaking of purple patches, only about 15% of FPL managers appear to believe that Chris Wood can recapture his goal scoring form in 25/26.
The real consideration here has to go to the likes of Saka and Watkins. Both have been very consistent points scorers over the last few FPLs and neither has risen in price for the new season. With both currently appearing in less than 20% of teams, they could suddenly become excellent differentials for the new season.
Marmoush too is a player worthy of consideration. His price has risen from £7.5mil when he joined in January to £8.5mil for the start of the new season. However, he had the 2nd highest points per 90mins of last season (89 points in 1179 mins) of any player in 24/25 using the new scoring system. As with any City player, the real concern for managers is whether he's guaranteed a start every single week of the season.
The new boys
Of course, it's all very well selecting players off the back of previous form but who are the new arrivals that will make an impact? At this time of the year, it is ultimately the transfer market that everyone is watching most closely. Could these new arrivals have a major impact?
There are a number of high profile new signings in the squads above that I've deliberately not included in this selection.
In goal, Petrovic looks likely to be Bournemouth's new number 1 after the departure of Kepa and it's perhaps surprising that more FPL managers haven't backed the former Chelsea man.
Speaking of Chelsea players, Marc Guiu still technically belongs to them and did make a handful of appearances last season for the Blues. However, the former Barelona forward is much more likely to find game time at newly promoted Sunderland and at £4.5mil is certainly a good bench option if he does.
Chelsea have of course been busy bringing in their own new players. Jammie Gittens returns to English football looking to make an impact follow his spell at Dortmund. Squad rotation is probably the key concern for FPL managers when considering him.
At the back, the likes of Rodon and Esteve might well prove very good value for money given the new scoring system. Both Leeds and Burnley are going to need to do plenty of defending and these 2 players will be racking up lots of defensive contributions as a result.
Reinaldo comes in as a new left-back for promoted Sunderland. He has pedigree from his time at Atletico Madrid and Lille, can he adapt to the Premier League?
De Cuyper is another left-sided defender whose attacking returns in his native Belgium are insane! He has recorded 55 goal involvements from 144 matches as a left-back in his career to date. The step up to the Premier League will surely impact those stats but if he can chip in with goals and assists he'll be a very decent signing at £4.5mil.
Another defender who likes a goal is Spurs teenage centre-back Vuskovic who scored 1 and created 1 on his friendly debut against Reading. He's scored 10 goals in 50 games out on loan so far. It might be that that he heads out on loan again but with Spurs recent injury record in central defence, he is one to keep an eye on for the next few weeks.
Back in Midfield and both Reijinders and Cherki started for City in their only pre-season match yesterday with the Dutchman bagging a brace. Given Rodri's lack of fitness and speculation over the futures of a couple of City's other midfield options, he feels like one of the few players in Pep's squad who is very likely to start the early season games.
Another key player for a side competing towards the top of the table could be Zubimendi. The Spain international came close to joining Liverpool last season but is now an Arsenal man. With only 16 goal contributions in 180 La Liga appearances he's perhaps not the best FPL signing around.
Upfront, we've already seen Ekiteke's goal scoring abilities during the Community Shield on Sunday. Clearly, the potential arrival of Isak may influence both his game time and/or position.
The 1.95m tall Thierno Barry is just the kind of player who could prove a real handful in a David Moyes side. The attacker is coming off the back of 11 goals for Villareal in La Liga last season having scored 14 in the Turkish top flight the season before. It might be worth seeing who out of him and Beto establishes themselves as first choice but both are looking like decent value options.
Last and probably least is Burnley's Aaron Ramsey. His inclusion in this list is purely down to the fact that 12.1% of teams have selected him. I can only assume that this is because managers have mistaken him for his name sake, the former Arsenal, Juventus and Wales midfielder who now plays in Mexico!
The English Aaron Ramsey is in fact the brother of Villa's Jacob Ramsey and while also undoubtedly talented has had his career disrupted by a serious injury. In fact, he played just 1 game in the Championship for Burnley last season and has played just 65mins of pre-season so far...
Update on Hive FPL participation
Here's who have fully joined the Hive FPL for the 25/26 season. Congratulations to you all and looking forward to seeing you in the new season.
We have a handful of players who have not joined both leagues. You've got 4 days to get yourself into both before the season starts.
| FPL Team | Hive Account | Joined Classic League | Joined H2H League |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steve World Champion |  | No | Yes |
| Cunha Do Sum' 4 Mee |  | No | Yes |
| nonzy fc |  | No | Yes |
| Vickoly FC |  | No | Yes |
| samostically |  | No | Yes |
| Jungle squad |  | No | Yes |
| fpl Simcard |  | Yes | No |
We have 1 player who has joined but hasn't linked their Hive account. If you want the rewards better let us know who you are!
| FPL Team | Hive Account | Joined Classic League | Joined H2H League |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corner | ? | Yes | Yes |
We then have a number of former participants who are yet to join either league. Again, the clock is ticking. GW1 starts 6:30pm (BST) this Friday!
Details on how to join are here
And a few potential new players - you've all posted using the football tag in the last week. Are you interested in joining the Hive FPL?
