Fantasy Football Tips: FPL Gameweek 8 Guide and Captain Pick

Q: How many chips do FPL managers get?

FPL managers get eight chips across a season, two each of Wildcard, Free Hit, Bench Boost and Triple Captain. The first set must be used before the Gameweek 19 deadline in early January, after which any unused chips from that set expire and a fresh set becomes available for the second half.

Q: When is the Gameweek deadline?

The Gameweek deadline falls 90 minutes before the first match of that gameweek kicks off. Once it passes, your squad locks completely, so any transfers, captaincy changes or chip plays made after that point simply won't count for the gameweek ahead. This is especially important to know when there are Friday night games.

By Mark Fordham

Oct 20th, 2026 9:19 AM EDT

Fact Checked By Oliver Lines

Manchester City are seven from seven, and Erling Haaland has eight league goals, but the FPL captaincy call is harder this week. City visit Aston Villa with Haaland leaving the game late against Ipswich and Antoine Semenyo out for around eight weeks with a knee injury. Our Haaland betting odds page tracks his prices for every game.

Liverpool lost Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong to hamstring injuries. Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez is out with a broken jaw, and Brentford are without Vitaly Janelt and Yehor Yarmoliuk through suspension.

The deadline is 6:30pm on Friday 23rd October because Ipswich host Nottingham Forest Friday evening. European games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday add rotation risk, so check the progress of teams who are involved this midweek.

Chelsea vs Tottenham, Arsenal vs Everton and Hull vs Brentford are just three of the fixtures to study. There’s plenty else worth planning around across the weekend too, and not just at football betting sites.

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Three Players to Target This Gameweek

Leif Davis - £4m vs Nottingham Forest, Friday 23rd October 8pm

There might not be many times this season where it’s a good idea to put an Ipswich defender in your lineup, but this may be one of them. Ipswich host Nottingham Forest, who have scored just five Premier League goals this season, on Friday night.

At £4m, Leif Davis is the kind of bargain that will allow you to bring in other, fancier names. He’s chipped in with two goals this season too, which is a massive bonus. The fact that Hull await after this weekend’s match is the cherry on top.

You can back Ipswich to keep a clean sheet against Nottingham Forest at 10/3 with Spreadex.

Brandon Thomas-Asante - £5m vs Fulham, Saturday 24th October 3pm

It took Coventry quite a while to get going in the Premier League but have won two of their last three and certainly didn’t disgrace themselves in their loss against Tottenham. A few attackers have stood out in that time, and it’s Brandon Thomas-Asante who gets the nod after picking up an assist in each of his last two.

He’s yet to score but has had six shots in his last three games and could finally get off the mark against a Fulham side that’s struggled at the back this season.

You can back Brandon Thomas-Asante to score or assist against Fulham at 6/4 with Betfred.

Harvey Barnes - £6.1m vs Crystal Palace, Sunday 25th October 2pm

Picking a player from Newcastle, losers of three of their last four, may not seem like the perfect idea, but the matchup is too good to pass up. No team in the league has conceded more than Crystal Palace’s 17, including five - and three in the first 10 minutes - against Brighton at the weekend. Harvey Barnes has been a mainstay of the Newcastle team this season and provided two assist and a goal. It stands to reason that if the Magpies are to advantage of Palace’s friendliness at the back, he will be at the centre of things.

Back Harvey Barnes to score or assist against Crystal Palace at 6/5 with bet365.

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Captaincy Pick of the Week

Evanilson - £6.1m vs Manchester United, Sunday 25th October 2pm

The last thing Manchester United need is a visit from an in-form striker, especially after what will be a tough midweek excursion to Como. Evanilson has three goals and an assist to his name in his last three games in all competitions, and he will feel like he can extend that run against one of league’s leakiest defences.

The Red Devils haven’t kept a clean sheet in the Premier League this season and are already in double figures for goals conceded. Bournemouth’s number nine should get plenty of chances on Sunday.

You can get 5/2 with BetMGM on Evanilson to score vs Crystal Palace.

Chip Strategy Watch

The chip clock still isn’t ticking loudly. Your first Wildcard, Free Hit, Bench Boost and Triple Captain all need using before the Gameweek 19 deadline in early January, so there is plenty of time to wait for the right week.

Triple Captain needs a second look. Haaland at Aston Villa is a harder fixture than Ipswich at home, and with a late knock and Champions League football on Tuesday, anyone tempted by the chip should wait for team news. Chelsea’s home game with Tottenham looks the kinder fixture on paper.

The Wildcard is the other talking point. Liverpool have lost Szoboszlai and Frimpong. Manchester City will be without Semenyo for around eight weeks, and Brentford’s two suspensions hit their owners. Squads with several of those players may need more than one transfer, which is when a Wildcard starts to make sense.

Whatever you don’t use by the Gameweek 19 deadline vanishes, so plan around it rather than being surprised in December.

New Rules for 2026/27

A few changes have landed for this season, and you’ll want to be in the know about them rather than half-remembering from a headline.

Gameweek lockdown moved later: Scores used to become final an hour after the last match of a gameweek finished. Now that happens at 9am the following morning instead. It sounds like a small tweak but it gives Opta enough time to finalise bonus points and defensive contribution data, so don’t be hitting refresh on your FPL on the same night unless you want to be disappointed.

The Bonus Points System rebalanced: Full-backs and defensively minded attackers should see a bit more love from the algorithm this season. Be aware, though, Defensive Contributions themselves, the CBIT and CBIRT thresholds, haven't changed. That's a separate system and is staying exactly as it was.

A Price Change Predictor now exists officially: FPL will show you how close a player is to a price rise or fall based on transfer activity, rather than leaving you to guess from third-party sites like everyone's had to do for years.

There's a squad building assistant too: Answer a few quick questions about favourite club, how you like to split your budget, attack or defence, and it'll build you a starting squad. This is handy for anyone starting out, but seasoned managers will probably still want full control.

How to Play Fantasy Premier League

Starting from scratch isn't as difficult as it might seem once you know the shape of it. You get £100m to build a 15-player squad, split as two goalkeepers, five defenders, five midfielders and three forwards. The biggest thing to be aware of is that you can't have more than three players from any single club.

Each gameweek you pick a starting XI from that squad of 15, in a valid formation (4-4-2, 3-5-2 or 3-4-3) and name a captain whose points double for the week. Whoever you don't start sits on your bench as backup, only cashed in if you play the Bench Boost chip, or if one of your starters doesn’t play.

You get one free transfer every gameweek, and if you don't use it, it rolls over, up to a maximum of five banked at once. Anything beyond your free allowance costs four points each, so think carefully before making three panic transfers the week after a bad result.

Deadlines matter more than anything else in this game. Your squad locks 90 minutes before the first match of each gameweek kicks off, and once it's locked, that's it, no late changes, no exceptions for a shock injury news alert five minutes after the whistle. Build the habit of checking your team the night before rather than relying on a lunchtime scramble.

FPL Scoring System Explained

Every action on the pitch translates into points, and the value of that action often depends on which position your player plays. For instance, a defender scoring is going to be worth more points than a striker because of how less likely that is to happen. Here's the full breakdown.

Action	Points
Playing up to 60 minutes	1
Playing 60 minutes or more (excluding stoppage time)	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
Goal assist	3
Clean sheet by a goalkeeper or defender	4
Clean sheet by a midfielder	1
Every 3 shot saves by a goalkeeper	1
10 or more CBIT (defenders)	2
12 or more CBIRT (midfielders and forwards)	2
Penalty save	5
Penalty miss	-2
Bonus points for the best players in a match	1 to 3
Every 2 goals conceded by a goalkeeper or defender	-1
Yellow card	-1
Red card	-3
Own goal	-2

A goalkeeper scoring is worth more than any other position precisely because it happens so rarely. It's the game rewarding a real rarity rather than a typo. CBIT stands for clearances, blocked shots, interceptions and tackles. This is the defenders' route to a defensive contribution point. CBIRT adds recoveries into that mix for midfielders and forwards, since defensive work matters less to their usual job. Therefore, the bar sits slightly higher to compensate.

Your captain's points double automatically, and your vice-captain steps in and inherits that double if your actual captain doesn't play at all that gameweek. Bonus points come from an underlying algorithm weighing up everything a player did in a match. It is based on the player(s) who did best in a given game, no matter whether they scored a goal or not.

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Chips Explained

You get four chips, two of each across the season for a total of eight. Each one does something different to the others, so choose wisely when you plan on using them across the season.

Wildcard: Make unlimited transfers for that gameweek at no points cost. This is a full squad rebuild you'll get without burning through your bank of free transfers one at a time.
Free Hit: Also unlimited transfers, but only for a single gameweek. Once that gameweek's done, your squad snaps straight back to whatever it looked like before you played the chip. This is perfect for a blank gameweek where half your usual squad has no fixture at all or if there's a double gameweek you want to take advantage of.
Bench Boost: Every point scored by your bench that gameweek counts toward your total on top of your starting 11. It is only worth playing when your whole 15 has a decent chance of getting minutes and returning points.
Triple Captain: Your captain's points triple instead of double. Save it for your most explosive player in his single best fixture of the season, not just a random Tuesday because it felt like time to use it.

Fantasy Football Tips FAQs

What is Defensive Contribution scoring?

Defensive Contributions award two points when a defender reaches 10 or more combined clearances, blocked shots, interceptions and tackles in a match, known as CBIT. Midfielders and forwards need 12 or more of the same actions plus recoveries, known as CBIRT, since defensive work is less central to their usual role.

How many chips do FPL managers get?

When is the Gameweek deadline?

About the Author

Mark Fordham

More About Mark

Mark spent over a decade as a sports reporter and editor with Goal.com and Bleacher Report. He is now a Content Manager at Bookies.com covering all manner of sports from the Premier League and cricket to the NBA and NFL. Mark also has years of experience working in the online casino industry and knows how to rate a good one over a bad one.