Reference
FPL Glossary
50 Fantasy Premier League terms explained — from xG and xP to effective ownership, DGW, and the template. Bookmark this page and never get lost in FPL jargon again.
A
- Armband
- The captain's armband. Your captain gets 2× points (or 3× with Triple Captain chip).
- Auto-sub
- Automatic substitution that brings a benched player on if a starter doesn't play.
- Average score
- The mean score across all FPL managers for a given gameweek.
B
- BGW (Blank Gameweek)
- A gameweek where one or more clubs have no fixture, often due to rescheduled matches. See the DGW / BGW tracker.
- Bench boost
- A one-use chip that counts your four bench players' points for one gameweek.
- Bench order
- The priority order (1st sub, 2nd sub, 3rd sub, emergency GK) for auto-subs.
- Budget
- The £100m squad value limit used to build your 15-player squad.
C
- Captain
- The player who earns double points. You nominate one per gameweek. Onside's fixture tool helps you pick the best armband.
- Chip
- A one-time (or limited-use) power-up: Wildcard, Free Hit, Bench Boost, Triple Captain. Full guide at /chips.
- Clean sheet
- A goalkeeper or defender earns bonus points when their team concedes zero goals.
- Cost
- A player's price in FPL, denominated in millions (e.g., £8.0m).
D
- Defenders
- The DEF position in FPL. Clean sheets worth 6 pts, goals 6 pts. Browse all FPL defenders.
- DGW (Double Gameweek)
- A gameweek where a club plays twice, doubling the chances for points. Track all DGWs at /dgw.
- Differential
- A player owned by <10% of managers; can swing ranks significantly.
- Draft
- Alternative FPL format where managers pick from a shared player pool.
E
- Effective ownership (EO)
- Ownership % that accounts for captaincy. A player 30% owned and 20% captained has 50% EO.
- Expected assists (xA)
- The probability of a pass becoming a goal assist based on the chance quality it created.
- Expected goals (xG)
- The probability that a shot results in a goal, based on shot location and type.
- Expected goal involvement (xGI)
- xG + xA combined; a measure of attacking threat.
F
- FDR (Fixture Difficulty Rating)
- FPL's 1–5 scale for how tough a fixture is. 1 = easy, 5 = hardest. See the full fixture table.
- FPL points
- The scoring currency: goals, assists, clean sheets, saves, bonus, and deductions.
- Form
- FPL's official rolling 30-day points-per-game average. Used in Onside's engine.
- Free hit
- A chip granting unlimited free transfers for one gameweek; squad reverts after.
- Free transfer
- Your standard one free transfer per gameweek (accumulates to max 2 if unused).
G
- GK (Goalkeeper)
- Position worth 6 pts per save (per 3 saves), 6 pts clean sheet, 3 pts for 60+ mins. See all FPL goalkeepers.
- GW (Gameweek)
- One round of Premier League fixtures, typically with 10 matches.
- GWW (Gameweek without)
- Older term for BGW.
H
- Hit
- A transfer beyond your free allocation. Costs -4 pts per extra transfer.
- Hold
- Decision to keep a player rather than transfer them out.
I
- ICT Index
- FPL's composite stat (Influence, Creativity, Threat) measuring a player's attacking involvement.
- Influence
- The I in ICT; measures a player's impact on match outcome (e.g. tackles, key passes).
K
- Key player
- A player central to their team's attacking plan; often high-ownership, low-differential.
L
- Live rank
- Your rank as it updates in real time during a gameweek, before bonus points are confirmed.
- Long-term injury (LTI)
- A player marked unavailable for 10+ gameweeks. Track all injuries at /availability.
M
- Manager (FPL manager)
- Anyone playing FPL; not a football manager but a team owner.
- Midfielder
- MID position, worth 5 pts per goal, 3 pts assist, 1 pt clean sheet (if 60+ mins). See all FPL midfielders.
- Mini-league
- A private or public league within FPL where you compete against a subset of managers.
O
- Overall rank (OR)
- Your position in the global FPL rankings across all ~10M managers.
- Ownership
- The percentage of all FPL managers with a player in their squad. See ownership tracker.
P
- Points deduction
- -1 pt for a yellow card, -3 for a red card, -4 per extra hit.
- Premium player
- Typically a player priced £9.0m+ — the elite tier. See players under £9m for value alternatives.
- Price change
- Player prices rise/fall based on net transfers in/out. Min rise: +0.1m. Predict tonight's changes at /price-changes.
R
- Red card
- Deducts 3 pts from a player and removes them from the match (no auto-sub replacement).
- Rotation risk
- The probability a player is rested (rotated) by their manager.
S
- Squad value
- The combined worth of all 15 players in your team.
- Striker (Forward)
- FWD position: 4 pts per goal, 3 pts assist. Fewest players required (1–3). See all FPL forwards.
T
- Template
- The core set of players owned by the majority of top-ranked managers (typically >30% ownership).
- Triple captain
- A chip that gives your captain 3× points for one gameweek instead of 2×.
- Transfers
- Swapping players in/out; 1 free per GW, then -4 pts per additional transfer.
V
- Vice-captain
- Your backup captain; earns 2× points if your captain doesn't play.
W
- Wildcard
- A chip allowing unlimited free transfers; two available per season (one per half).
- xP (Expected points)
- A predictive score estimating how many FPL points a player will return next GW. Used heavily by Onside's engine — see player xP rankings.
Frequently asked questions
What does xG mean in FPL?
xG stands for expected goals. It is the probability that a shot results in a goal, based on shot location, body part used, and the type of pass that created it. In FPL, xG helps identify players who are creating high-quality chances and are likely to score more in future gameweeks, even if the goals have not yet come.
What is effective ownership in FPL?
Effective ownership (EO) accounts for captaincy on top of squad ownership. If a player is owned by 30% of managers and captained by 20% of managers, their effective ownership is 50%. This matters because if that player hauls, every manager who captained them gets 2× points while non-owners get nothing — making EO the true measure of exposure to a player.
What is a DGW in FPL?
A Double Gameweek (DGW) is when a Premier League club plays twice in a single FPL gameweek, usually because a previously postponed fixture has been rescheduled. Players from clubs with a DGW have two chances to score points, making them highly valuable. The opposite is a Blank Gameweek (BGW), where a club has no fixture at all.