What Is the Premier League Team of the Season?

The Premier League Team of the Season is a points-based selection, not a team that lines up on matchday. The clearest version of it is built from the same numbers the Premier League uses to run the table: wins, draws, goals, clean sheets and saves. In fantasy scoring, those events have fixed values, so a defender can be compared directly with a forward.

That is the right way to judge a season team, because reputation is slow to change and the table is not. A club that wins 1-0 and a club that wins 4-3 both collect three points. The individual scoring system should be just as unsentimental.

The mechanism: how a season team is built

A Premier League season gives every club the same test. There are 20 clubs, each plays 38 matches, one home and one away against the other 19, which makes 380 matches. That consistent sample is what allows a Team of the Season to mean anything.

In fantasy scoring, every action carries a fixed point value. A goal is worth 6 points for a goalkeeper or defender, 5 for a midfielder, and 4 for a forward. An assist is 3 points for every position. A clean sheet is worth 4 points to a goalkeeper or defender and 1 to a midfielder. A forward does not earn clean sheet points.

Action	Goalkeeper/Defender	Midfielder	Forward
Goal	6	5	4
Assist	3	3	3
Clean sheet	4	1	0
60+ minutes played	2	2	2
Under 60 minutes played	1	1	1

The system is weighted toward events that change matches. A defender scoring a goal is rarer than a forward scoring one, so it is worth two more points. A midfielder who keeps a clean sheet gets a smaller reward because the defensive contribution is indirect. This is a deliberate trade-off, not a bug.

There are other scoring layers. Bonus points go 3, 2, 1 to the top three BPS scorers in each match. A goalkeeper gets 1 point for every 3 saves and 5 for saving a penalty. Yellow cards cost 1 point, red cards cost 3, an own goal costs 2, and a missed penalty costs 2. Goalkeepers and defenders lose 1 point for every two goals they concede. These small numbers add up over 38 matches and often separate one midfielder from another. That is where a player page can show whether a season was built on a few big moments or a stack of steady ones.

A fantasy team of the season is not an unlimited collection of stars. It must fit a 15-player squad with 11 starters, a £100.0m budget, and a maximum of 3 players from a single club. The captain's points are doubled. A transfer beyond the free allowance costs 4 points. Those constraints are why the best individual players do not always form the best fantasy team.

History: from 22 clubs to the 20-team league

The league that produces this team did not always look like it does now. The Premier League was founded on 20 February 1992 as the FA Premier League, when First Division clubs broke away to negotiate their own broadcast deals. The first season in 1992/93 had 22 clubs. In 1995/96 that was reduced to 20, where it has stayed.

The switch to 20 clubs changed the shape of the season. Each club now plays 38 matches, for a total of 380, and every team faces the other 19 home and away. The same 38-match sample applies to whichever Premier League club you follow. A club page might show how those matches line up, but the rules do not change from one side to the next.

Relegation is part of that league structure. The bottom three clubs drop to the Championship, and three clubs come up, two automatically and one through the play-off. A win is worth three points and a draw is worth one, and that base is the same for every club. It is also the base any Team of the Season discussion has to work from.

Clarity from the league table

The league table itself is a lesson in how to order a season. If teams finish level on points, the next tiebreaker is goal difference, then goals scored, then head-to-head. If the position involves the title, relegation or European qualification and teams are still level, a play-off at a neutral venue may be used.

This hierarchy is useful when people argue about a Team of the Season. The points total is the starting point, but it is not the only metric. Goal difference and goals scored are the league's own separation tools, and an individual version should respect the same logic. A player who scores in a 4-3 defeat produced something for his own numbers, but his club collects zero league points. That is the unsentimental standard.

Edge cases and common confusions

A real Premier League squad and a fantasy team of the season are two different animals. A real club's over-21 squad list has 25 players. At least 8 of those players must be homegrown, meaning trained in England or Wales for three years before turning 21. Players under 21 do not count against the 25.

A fantasy team of the season has a 15-player squad, 11 starters, £100.0m to spend, and no more than 3 players from the same club. It is defined by those limits, not by homegrown quotas. Confusing the two is the most common mistake when reading an online team of the season.

Substitutions cause another mix-up. In real matches, teams can make five substitutions, in a maximum of three windows plus half-time. In fantasy scoring, substitution windows do not matter. What matters is whether a player reaches 60 minutes: 2 points for 60 or more, 1 point for under 60. That is why a club page can be useful for checking lineups while a player page is better for checking points.

European qualification is also separate. The top four clubs qualify for the Champions League league phase. Fifth place and the FA Cup winner qualify for the Europa League. The League Cup winner goes into the Conference League play-off. If a cup winner has already qualified through league position, the place passes down. A Team of the Season selection changes none of that. It is an honor based on numbers across 38 matches, not a route into Europe.

FAQ

How is the Premier League Team of the Season decided?

It is a points-based selection, not a matchday team. The standard way to compare players is through points: 6 for a goalkeeper or defender goal, 5 for a midfielder goal, 4 for a forward goal, 3 for an assist, and clean sheet points of 4 for goalkeepers and defenders and 1 for midfielders.

How many matches are in a Premier League season?

Twenty clubs play 38 matches each, home and away, for 380 matches in total.

What is a homegrown player?

A player trained in England or Wales for three years before turning 21. A real club over-21 squad list can have 25 players, of which at least 8 must be homegrown, and under-21s do not count against the limit.

Do forward players get clean sheet points?

No. Clean sheet points go only to goalkeepers and defenders, who get 4, and midfielders, who get 1.

Key takeaways

• The Premier League Team of the Season is a points-based selection judged over a 38-match sample with 20 clubs and 380 total matches.
• FPL scoring values are fixed: defender goals are 6, midfielder goals 5, forward goals 4, and assists are 3 for every position.
• The Premier League was founded on 20 February 1992 with 22 clubs, then moved to 20 clubs in 1995/96.
• Real club squads are limited to 25 over-21 players with at least 8 homegrown, while a fantasy season team uses 15 players, £100.0m, and a 3-player-per-club cap.
• League table tiebreakers run points, goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head, and a possible neutral play-off for deciding positions.