Have you ever fancied bringing Pep Guardiola or Mikel Arteta (both £1.5m) into your Fantasy Premier League squad?
Well, the new Assistant Manager chip - previously known as the Mystery Chip - allows you to do just that, giving you the chance to earn points from one of the 20 actual Premier League managers based on their wins, draws, goals and clean sheets.
The chip is available NOW and can be played at any point over the rest of the season.
Fantasy Managers who use the FPL app should check they have the latest version of the app - released last Saturday - or download the latest version, to ensure they can use the chip.
When you activate the chip and choose your Assistant Manager, you will score points for their club's results for THREE Gameweeks in a row.
Once the chip is activated, choosing your Assistant Manager does not cost a “free transfer”. But if you want to change your manager during this three-Gameweek period it will cost a transfer in exactly the same way as players.
Remember, you can only play one chip in a Gameweek. So if you activate the Assistant Manager chip in Gameweek 25, you won't be able to use another chip until Gameweek 28.
If a manager leaves their club, Fantasy managers who own or bring in that Assistant Manager will still score based on the original club’s performance.
How to score points
The chip earns points based on your chosen manager’s club performance. They earn points from a number of metrics, but you CANNOT captain them.
- Team win = 6 points
- Team draws = 3 points
- Goal scored by team = 1 point per goal
- Clean sheet from team = 2 points
- Table bonus: If your chosen manager faces a club ranked at least five places higher in the Premier League table at the start of the Gameweek, you get an EXTRA 10 points for a win, so 16 in total, or an additional five points for a draw, so eight in total.
You therefore have a choice.
You could pick your Assistant Manager from one of the top clubs, backing someone like Liverpool's Arne Slot (£1.5m) to rack up the points for victories, goals and clean sheets over a kind run of fixtures.
Alternatively, you could opt for higher risk and higher reward by backing a manager who faces clubs who are ranked at least five places higher.
The enticing opportunity to earn these "table bonus points" is one of the big early takeaways here.
For example, you would get at least 16 Fantasy points (a win PLUS a table-bonus win) if you pick a team in 12th place and they beat the side sat in seventh spot.
AFC Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola (£1.1m) has been the main beneficiary of the table-bonus element so far this season, having overseen victories over higher-ranked opponents such as Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur earlier in 2024/25.
While this may lend weight to the tactic of playing the chip early to take advantage of the condensed league table, the Assistant Manager chip could also offer an alternative approach for Double Gameweeks (DGWs).
In a DGW, Premier League clubs play twice in one Fantasy Gameweek. So with the Assistant Manager chip, you could earn points from FOUR matches over a three-Gameweek spell.
It’s worth bearing in mind, though, that the Assistant Manager chip falls within the three-players-per-club quota. If you already own Mohamed Salah (£13.7m) and you bring in Slot, you would only have room for one more Liverpool asset for those three Gameweeks.
You'll have to PAY for your manager
Each Assistant Manager will have a set price that will not fluctuate throughout the season. You can see the full price list in the table below.
You will need to pay for your Assistant Manager out of your existing budget, finding the funds by making compromises in your playing squad.
After three Gameweeks, when the chip ceases to be active, the money you have spent on your Assistant Manager will become available again for you to spend on your playing squad.
