FPL Points System 2026/27: What Each Position Is Paid

Most managers can recite the FPL points system and still build a squad that argues with it. The table is not symmetrical. The same act is worth different points depending on where a player lines up, and that asymmetry, not the fixture ticker, is what should decide how you spend the £100m.

Here is what each position is actually paid, and what the opening two rounds already say about it.

What does the FPL points system pay for?

A goal is worth six points to a goalkeeper or defender, five to a midfielder and four to a forward.

An assist is worth three, to everyone.

A clean sheet is worth four to a goalkeeper or defender and one to a midfielder, and only if that player is on the pitch for at least 60 minutes. A forward gets nothing for it.

Defensive contribution pays two points, once per match. A defender needs ten combined clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles. A midfielder or forward needs twelve of the same actions with ball recoveries added. Twenty actions returns the same two points as ten, and nine returns nothing, which we unpacked in our defensive contribution guide.

Now count the routes rather than reading the table, and the shape of the game falls out.

A forward has one meaningful way to score heavily, and it is the one the system pays least for. A defender has three, and the biggest of them pays 50 per cent more than the striker's.

Why is a defender's goal worth more than a striker's?

Because the system is pricing scarcity, not effort. Strikers are supposed to score, so a goal is the baseline expectation and pays four. A defender scoring is an event, so it pays six.

The compounding is the part managers miss. When a defender scores, he has usually done it in a game his side is winning, which is also the game most likely to end in a clean sheet. One good afternoon can pay six for the goal and four for the sheet before bonus is even counted. A striker's good afternoon pays four.

That is also why the bonus points system, which runs separately and is explained in our bonus points breakdown, tends to reward centre backs in low-scoring wins.

The opening two rounds are already showing it

These are real returns from the first two gameweeks, taken from the official game. Gameweek 2 bonus is not confirmed until Monday, so treat the totals as provisional.

Read the last two columns together and the point lands hard.

Ben Tarkowski (£6.0m) at Everton has 18 points from an expected goal involvement of 0.16 across 180 minutes. Whatever produced those points, it was not attacking output. He is 8.9 per cent owned.

Alexander Isak (£9.0m) at Liverpool has the highest expected goal involvement on the table, 2.09, and the fewest points, 10. He has done the most and been paid the least, because his position only has the one route and it has not converted yet. He is 16.2 per cent owned.

Semi Ajayi (£4.0m) at Hull is the highest-scoring defender in the game on 20 points from 153 minutes, at the cheapest price the game allows, and 2.9 per cent of managers have him.

None of that is luck reversing. It is the scoring table doing exactly what it is written to do.

What you should actually do with this

Put the cheap end of your squad in defence and the expensive end in attack.

A £4.0m to £6.0m defender is buying three scoring routes, two of which fire without the ball ever reaching him. A £15.5m forward is buying volume on the one route, which is a real thing to buy, but you are paying a premium for a narrower way to score.

The Algorithm plans over expected points across the next several gameweeks rather than one, which is why its cheap defensive slots move around and its premium forward rarely does. As of the 28 August numbers, Josko Gvardiol (£5.6m, 15.4 per cent owned, 14 points so far) projects 4.13 for Gameweek 3. João Pedro (£7.6m, 68.5 per cent owned) projects 3.17 in the same round. Two thirds of the game own the forward. One in six own the defender who is ahead of him this week.

You can check both on the free predicted points table, which is updated daily and needs no signup.

FAQ

How many points is a clean sheet in FPL? Four for a goalkeeper or defender, one for a midfielder, nothing for a forward, and only if the player has played at least 60 minutes.

Do defenders really score more than forwards in FPL? Not more often, but more per event. A defender's goal is six points against a forward's four, and it usually arrives alongside a clean sheet worth another four.

What is the defensive contribution threshold? Ten combined clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles for a defender. Twelve of those, with ball recoveries added, for a midfielder or forward. It pays two points and it pays once.

Want a read on whether your own squad is built the way the scoring table wants? Rate My Team gives you a free score in seconds, no signup.