FPL 2025/26: Two Sets of Chips Changes Everything – Double the Power, Double the Headaches?
The FPL revolution continues. Hot on the heels of defensive contributions, Fantasy Premier League has dropped another bombshell: two sets of chips for the 2025/26 season. That’s right – you’re getting double the firepower, with eight chips total instead of the usual four.
But with great power comes great responsibility. Are you ready to handle twice the tactical complexity?
The New Chip System: What You’re Getting
Here’s the breakdown:
First Half (GW1-19):
- 1x Wildcard
- 1x Free Hit
- 1x Triple Captain
- 1x Bench Boost
Second Half (GW20-38):
- 1x Wildcard
- 1x Free Hit
- 1x Triple Captain
- 1x Bench Boost
Key Rules:
- Use your first set before the GW19 deadline (30 December, 18:30 GMT)
- No carrying over to the second half
- No Assistant Manager chip this season
- Can’t use Free Hit in both GW19 and GW20
The Strategic Revolution: Why This Changes Everything
Traditional FPL Strategy:
- Hoard chips for Double/Blank Gameweeks
- First half = Wildcard only
- Second half = chip fest
New Reality:
- Early season becomes tactically crucial
- Must identify chip opportunities in “quiet” periods
- Balance between early gains and later flexibility
This isn’t just about having more chips – it’s about fundamentally rethinking when and how you use them.
Early Season Chip Strategy: The New Opportunities
Triple Captain in the First Half
The Promoted Club Massacre: Erling Haaland has home fixtures versus ALL THREE promoted clubs during the first half of 2025/26: Burnley in GW6, Leeds United in GW13, and Sunderland in GW15.
Other Premium Options:
- Salah: Home vs Sunderland (GW14) and Leeds (GW19)
- Saka: vs Leeds (GW2)
- Palmer: vs Sunderland (GW9)
- Isak: Home vs Burnley (GW15)
The Strategy: Target your Triple Captain on premium attackers facing newly-promoted sides at home. Historically, these fixtures have been point goldmines.
Bench Boost: The Early Bird Gets the Points
GW1 Strategy: Using the Bench Boost chip in Gameweek 1 allows you to follow form and teamsheets over summer friendlies to make a strong start, while negating mid-season complexity.
Benefits:
- All 15 players guaranteed to start fresh
- No injury concerns or rotation headaches
- Focus purely on your starting XI afterwards
- Defensive contribution points make budget bench players more valuable
Free Hit: The Tactical Wildcard
Head-to-Head Dilemmas: When premium players face each other (like Salah vs Haaland in GW11 when Liverpool visit Man City), the Free Hit lets you temporarily sidestep the dilemma.
The Sweet Spot:
- GW11: Multiple premiums facing promoted clubs while your assets clash
- Target fixtures like West Ham vs Burnley, Forest vs Leeds, Arsenal vs Sunderland
The Potential Upsides: More Fun, More Points
1. Early Season Engagement No more boring first half waiting for chips to matter. Every gameweek becomes tactically interesting.
2. Risk-Taking Rewards Bold early moves with chips could set you apart from cautious managers still thinking the old way.
3. Squad Building Freedom Using Bench Boost early means you can build a lean, efficient squad for the rest of the first half.
4. Mini-League Chaos More chip usage = more dramatic swings = more engaging leagues for everyone.
The Potential Downsides: Double-Edged Sword
1. Decision Fatigue Eight chip decisions instead of four. Are we making the game too complex?
2. Early Mistakes Amplified Mistime your early chips and you’ve wasted half your ammunition before the season gets going.
3. Information Overload Tracking optimal chip usage across 38 gameweeks just got exponentially harder.
4. The Rich Get Richer Active, analytical managers gain a bigger advantage over casual players who struggle with increased complexity.
What This Means for Your Mini-League
Chairman’s Gold: This is content creation paradise. Double the chip drama, double the storylines. Your weekly reports will be packed with tactical masterstrokes and spectacular failures.
New League Dynamics:
- Early season becomes crucial, not just a warm-up
- Managers will differentiate themselves much earlier
- Late-season comebacks get harder if you’ve wasted early chips
Strategy Splits: Expect to see two distinct approaches:
- Aggressive early chippers going all-in on GW1-19 opportunities
- Conservative savers still hoarding for traditional Double Gameweeks
The Bottom Line: Evolution or Complication?
This is FPL’s biggest structural change in years. Eight chips fundamentally alter the game’s rhythm and strategy requirements.
The Winners: Tactical managers who embrace early-season chip usage and can identify non-obvious opportunities.
The Losers: Set-and-forget players and anyone who can’t adapt to the new tempo.
Your Move: Start planning your first-half chip strategy now. Identify those promoted club fixtures, plan your early Bench Boost, and prepare for a season where every gameweek demands tactical thinking.
The question isn’t whether you’ll use more chips – it’s whether you’ll use them better than your mini-league rivals.
Managing eight chips across a season sounds complicated? FPL Pro Leagues tracks all the tactical moves in your mini-league, celebrates the chip successes, and roasts the failures. From automated weekly reports to chip usage analysis, we make sure every strategic decision becomes part of your league’s story.
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