For the first time ever in Fantasy Premier League, more than 90 per cent of goals are being given Fantasy assists, with 384 out of 423 so far this season.
Ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, the Fantasy assist rules were given their biggest revamp since Opta data was introduced over a decade ago.
The goal was clear: reduce subjectivity in assists and reward positive attacking play more often.
See: What's changed this season with Fantasy assists?
Across the opening 15 Gameweeks, there have been an extra 29 Fantasy assists awarded that wouldn’t have been given previously.
So, how are these awarded? Who’s making the decisions and what is the process? Here, we explain all.
How assists are awarded in Fantasy
Fantasy assists are awarded to the player from the goalscoring team who has the final touch before a goal is scored, earning three points. The final touch can be a pass, an inadvertent touch, or a shot. Assists can also be awarded for own goals and to the player who wins a successful penalty or direct free-kick.
The definition of a Fantasy assist was simplified this season to better recognise players’ contributions and to reduce subjectivity, making it easier for Fantasy managers to understand when an assist has been given.
Previously, passes or crosses into the penalty area that took a touch off a defender required judgement on whether the attacker intended to find the scorer. That element was removed, and intention is no longer assessed if the goalscorer receives the ball inside the box.
This simple change has resulted in over a four-fold increase in the number of assists awarded following a deflected pass. Indeed, all but ONE of the 29 extra assists awarded this season fall into this category.
One example is Chelsea’s third goal against Nottingham Forest. Estevao’s corner was partially cleared by Matz Sels before reaching goalscorer Reece James inside the box. Under the old rules, this assist would NOT have been given because James was not the intended target of the cross.
Watch Estevao's assist for James' goal v Forest
How matchday decisions are made
The rules are applied by a matchday team based at Stockley Park, who monitor all matches live while communicating with analysts at Opta.
When a goal is scored, it is immediately reviewed. Often, a final assist decision is made within seconds and the details are passed to our social media team, who announce the outcome across our various platforms, such as @OfficialFPL on X.
On occasion, a deeper assessment of footage is required, and when this happens a “TBC” (to be confirmed) message will be posted by the social media team.
Should the identity of the scorer or own-goal scorer be unclear, a decision will be made by the Premier League’s Goal Accreditation Panel, and the award of an assist will follow accordingly.
At other times, a "TBC" message may be used when it is difficult to determine the sequence of touches leading up to the goal. The new rules are designed to be more objective and, as such, added importance is placed upon player touches.
For instance, it was unclear from the available camera angles whether Kevin Schade’s goal against Newcastle in Gameweek 11 had received one defensive touch or two.
However, rewatching the goal frame-by-frame, Opta analysts quickly concluded that Sven Botman’s header had NOT touched Nick Pope’s outstretched arm. Michael Kayode was therefore awarded a Fantasy assist for his long throw into the box, and a confirmation message was posted on social media.
Watch Kayode's assist for Schade's goal v Newcastle
Some subjectivity remains
Intention still plays a small part. When a goalscorer receives the ball OUTSIDE the box, a Fantasy assist is only awarded after a defensive touch if the pass or cross was intended for the goalscorer.
After researching more than 1,000 goals, it was felt that this level of subjectivity was minimal because they are mostly clear decisions, governed by the direction of the pass or the run of a single intended-target player.
For example, it was easy to see that Mohammed Kudus was the intended recipient of Pedro Porro’s pass for his goal against Leeds United in Gameweek 7.
Watch Porro's assist for Kudus' goal v Leeds
Inadvertent touches are significant
Opta analysts also play a crucial role when deciding if an action is a pass, shot or an inadvertent touch. The distinction is important for Fantasy because different assist criteria are applied depending on the event type.
So while the rules allow for a single defensive touch following a pass, no such allowance is made for an inadvertent touch from an attacking player. If an event is deemed to be an inadvertent touch from an attacker, the ball must go directly to the goalscorer.
A good illustration of this was Tottenham Hotspur’s first goal against Everton in Gameweek 9. Rodrigo Bentancur attempted to head the ball back across goal towards goalscorer Micky van de Ven. However, because the ball came off the lower part of Bentancur's shoulder, rather than his head, the action was recorded as an inadvertent touch and not a pass.
Therefore, the Fantasy assist was only awarded because the ball went directly to Van de Ven.
Watch Bentancur's assist for Van de Ven's goal v Everton
A contrasting example arrived in Gameweek 8 when Antoine Semenyo was NOT given an assist for AFC Bournemouth’s opening goal against Crystal Palace.
Like Bentancur, Semenyo went up to meet a corner with his head, and, like Bentancur, he failed to connect with his head. Instead, the ball came off Semenyo’s back before diverting towards Junior Kroupi via a defensive touch from Maxence Lacroix.
That touch from Lacroix proved decisive because it meant that the ball did not go directly to the goalscorer. So in this instance, Semenyo’s inadvertent touch did NOT result in a Fantasy assist.
Watch Junior Kroupi's goal v Palace
How assists are awarded when a shot rebounds
Defensive touches also play a part when awarding Fantasy assists for shots on goal that rebound.
For an assist to be awarded, a goal must result DIRECTLY from the rebound.
As the rules state: “If a goal is scored directly following a save, block or a shot rebounding off the woodwork, an assist is awarded.”
So any defensive touch that comes AFTER a rebound and before the ball arrives at the goalscorer would rule out an assist for the initial shot.
However, defensive touches BEFORE the rebound are ok. As the rules say: “Deflections on a shot before the save, block or rebound do not cancel out the assist if the shot was and remains on target."
What’s the difference between a block and a deflection?
Put simply, if a defensive touch diverts a shot off target, outside the frame of the goal, it’s a BLOCK. If it doesn’t, it’s a DEFLECTION.
To illustrate this, the following two examples both feature two defensive touches after the initial shot. One results in a Fantasy assist, and the other doesn't.
Nathan Collins WAS awarded a Fantasy assist for Yoane Wissa’s goal against Crystal Palace last season. His shot hit Daniel Munoz before an attempted save from Dean Henderson only pushed the ball as far as Wissa.
The touch from Munoz counted as a deflection rather than a block because the ball remained on target. The "rebound event" was therefore the save from Henderson and, without a further defensive touch to follow, an assist WAS awarded.
Watch: Collins' assist for Wissa's goal v Palace
Compare that with Bukayo Saka’s goal at Brighton & Hove Albion on New Year’s Eve 2022. Gabriel Martinelli’s shot also received two defensive touches but the first, by Lewis Dunk, was recorded as a block because it diverted the ball outside the frame of the goal.
It follows, then, that the subsequent touch from Levi Colwill was after the "rebound", and for this reason, there was NO assist for Martinelli.
Watch: No assist for Saka's goal v Brighton
Saves and rebounds
When attempting to save a shot, a goalkeeper may end up having several touches as they try to keep the ball out of the net. From Opta’s point of view, all those touches are counted as one save.
Only a defensive touch AFTER the save would result in no assist.
In Manchester United’s win over Burnley, Altay Bayindir had TWO touches of the ball when saving Loum Tchaouna’s shot, leading to Jaidon Anthony’s goal. The ball struck Bayindir’s hand and then his knee. Tchaouna WAS awarded a Fantasy assist because Anthony scored directly following the save.
Watch: Tchaouna's assist for Anthony's goal v Man Utd
Following this logic, you may wonder why Jarrod Bowen wasn’t awarded a Fantasy assist for Tomas Soucek’s goal against Newcastle in Gameweek 10.
Goalkeeper Nick Pope had multiple touches while making the save from Bowen’s initial shot - but that wasn't the reason why no assist was given.
The actual reason was that Soucek's initial attempt was saved by Pope, before the ball rebounded back off the West Ham midfielder and into the goal. In FPL, if a player scores after their OWN initial shot is saved, no assist is awarded.
Watch: No assist for Soucek's goal v Newcastle
This detail was only visible thanks to specific camera angles and slow motion.
It all shows how complex it can be to assess the order and classification of touches.
Fantasy assists are now more frequent, reward more positive actions and are based on clearer, more consistent criteria than ever before. But the complexity and occasional chaos of Premier League football will always present moments that challenge and surprise.