How FPL Points Work: The Complete Scoring System Explained
Published 8 July 2026
Every Fantasy Premier League (FPL) decision — transfers, captaincy, chips — ultimately comes down to one question: how many points will this player score? To answer it well, you need to know exactly how the FPL scoring system works. Here's the complete breakdown of every way players earn (and lose) points, including the defensive contribution points added in 2025/26.
The FPL Points Table
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Playing up to 60 minutes | 1 |
| Playing 60 minutes or more | 2 |
| Goal scored by a goalkeeper | 10 |
| Goal scored by a defender | 6 |
| Goal scored by a midfielder | 5 |
| Goal scored by a forward | 4 |
| Assist | 3 |
| Clean sheet (goalkeeper or defender) | 4 |
| Clean sheet (midfielder) | 1 |
| Every 3 saves (goalkeeper) | 1 |
| Penalty save | 5 |
| Defensive contributions (see below) | 2 |
| Bonus points (top 3 BPS performers per match) | 1-3 |
Note that clean sheets require a player to be on the pitch for at least 60 minutes, and forwards get no clean sheet points at all.
How You Lose FPL Points
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Every 2 goals conceded (goalkeeper or defender) | -1 |
| Penalty miss | -2 |
| Own goal | -2 |
| Yellow card | -1 |
| Red card | -3 |
Defensive Contribution Points
Introduced in the 2025/26 season, defensive contribution points reward the ball-winners who previously went unrewarded:
- Defenders earn 2 points for reaching 10 combined clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles (CBIT) in a match.
- Midfielders and forwards earn 2 points for reaching 12 defensive contributions, with ball recoveries also counting for them (CBIRT).
- The reward is capped at 2 points per match — 20 clearances score the same as 10.
This makes defensive midfielders and busy centre-backs genuinely viable FPL picks even when they rarely score or assist. You can compare every player's total output in the player statistics table.
Bonus Points
After every match, up to six extra points are shared between the standout performers: 3, 2 and 1 bonus points for the three highest scorers in the Bonus Points System (BPS), a separate index built from dozens of match actions. It's the most misunderstood part of FPL scoring, so we've written a full guide to how FPL bonus points work — and you can watch provisional bonus being awarded in real time on the live bonus points tracker.
Captaincy Doubles Everything
Whatever your captain scores is doubled (or tripled with the Triple Captain chip). That multiplier is why captaincy is the single most important weekly decision in Fantasy Premier League — our guide to picking the perfect FPL captain covers how to get it right more often than your rivals.
Using the Scoring System to Pick Players
Understanding the points table changes how you value players:
- Goalscoring defenders are gold. A defender's goal (6) plus a clean sheet (4) plus bonus can out-score almost anything a forward does.
- Midfielders have the highest ceiling. They score 5 per goal, get a clean sheet point, and now earn defensive contribution points too.
- Saves add up. A busy goalkeeper behind a weak defence can match a clean-sheet keeper through save points alone.
- Minutes are everything. A brilliant player who plays 55 minutes loses a point and usually the clean sheet — target nailed starters, and check minutes in the players table before you buy.
- Fixtures drive all of it. Goals, clean sheets and bonus all flow from favorable matchups — plan ahead with the fixture difficulty planner.
Conclusion
The FPL scoring system rewards attacking returns above all, but the margins — bonus points, defensive contributions, save points, avoiding cards — decide tight Gameweeks and tight mini-leagues. Learn the table, target players who score through multiple routes, and every transfer and captaincy call gets easier. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide to Fantasy Premier League.