What is FDR in FPL? Fixture Difficulty Rating explained

FDR stands for Fixture Difficulty Rating. It's a 1–5 score published by the official Fantasy Premier League API that tells you how hard a team's upcoming match is expected to be — 1 or 2 is easy, 4 or 5 is tough. Every fixture in the FPL game carries an FDR value, and this site uses those values to help you find the best transfer targets at a glance.

What the FDR scale means

The five-point scale works like a traffic light system:

• 1–2 (green) — easy fixture against a weaker or struggling side
• 3 (yellow) — a mid-table opponent, could go either way
• 4–5 (red) — a tough fixture against one of the stronger sides

On the fixture difficulty table, each cell is colour-coded using this scale so you can scan an entire season at a glance.

How FDR is calculated

The FPL team doesn't publish the exact formula, but FDR broadly reflects a combination of the opponent's league position and recent form. Ratings are updated throughout the season as team performances change — so a side that starts the season weakly may see its FDR improve as it drops down the table.

Because FDR is calculated by the official FPL system, it can occasionally lag behind obvious form shifts. A newly promoted side might carry an easier FDR for weeks even after a run of strong results. This is one reason some managers prefer to cross-reference with alternative strength metrics.

Home and away FDR

FPL assigns separate difficulty ratings for home and away fixtures, since teams generally perform better at home. You'll see an H (home) or A (away) label on each fixture chip. All else being equal, a rating of 2 at home is a more comfortable pick than a rating of 2 away from home.

Double and blank gameweeks

Some teams play twice in the same gameweek — a double gameweek (DGW) — which shows as two chips in the same column on this table. Others have no fixture at all — a blank gameweek (BGW) — shown as a dash (—). When using the Score column to compare teams, blanks count as zero contribution to the total, so check the individual cells rather than just the headline number.

Attack and defence FDR

The table also offers separate Attack and Defence difficulty views. Attack difficulty shows how hard it is for a team's forwards and midfielders to score against the opponent's defence. Defence difficulty shows how hard it is for defenders and goalkeepers to keep a clean sheet. A team might have an easy attacking fixture but a tough defensive one against the same opponent — useful when deciding between a striker and a defender from the same side.

Using FDR to plan transfers

The most practical use of FDR is picking a target gameweek range and finding which teams have the easiest run over those weeks. Use the slider on the fixture table to set your range, then sort by Score descending — the teams at the top have the most favourable fixtures over that period. Their players are your strongest transfer targets.

For captaincy picks, look for premium forwards or midfielders from teams with a 1 or 2 at home in the target gameweek. Ownership percentage (shown when you expand a team row) can also guide you towards differentials — players with low ownership but easy fixtures who could boost your rank if they deliver.