Norwegian top-flight football is back this weekend – and Eliteserien Fantasy 2026 gets underway, too.

In this article, we’ve compiled all of The Mentaculus’ excellent team previews into one place.

If you want to know how to play Eliteserien Fantasy, check out this beginner’s guide here.

Bodø/Glimt

Easily the most settled side in the league. No transfers during the break (except Brynhildsen‘s loan ending, so Helmersen is once again the Høgh deputy). A clear first 11, with Evjen/Auklend the only slight question mark:

PREDICTED XI

(4-3-3)
Haikin
Sjøvold Bjørtuft Gundersen Bjørkan
Evjen Berg Fet
Blomberg Høgh Hauge

2026 PROSPECTS + BEST PLAYERS

Doesn’t look like Saltnes is going to regain the place he lost to Fet during his injury.

Glimt will be strong favourites to recapture the title, with the only major question being how they handle competing on multiple fronts, especially if they continue to progress in the Champions League. Ordinarily, starting with at least two of Høgh, Hauge, Blomberg, Berg, Bjørkan or Sjøvold would be a given for most teams. But the big issue here is obviously the initial schedule.

The Gameweek 1 fixture v Sarpsborg is postponed (no current date). Gameweek 2 is in doubt due to the scheduling of the Norwegian Cup. Gameweek 3 is set to take place only 1-2 days before a potential UCL quarter-final first leg, while Gameweek 4 could be sandwiched in between quarter-final ties against Arsenal. So, the first leg result against Sporting on Wednesday could still have a significant impact on Fantasy strategy, particularly whether it’s worth parking one (maybe two) players on your bench or whether to risk an entirely Glimt-free starting squad, perhaps with money in the bank or an early Wildcard plan.

Viking

• Transfers out: Kristoffer Klaesson (Aalesund), Sander Svendsen, Nic D’Agostino
• Transfers in: Lubomir Belko

Belko is likely to take over as first-choice goalkeeper. Otherwise, Viking come into the new season with a settled squad, if not quite as obvious a first 11 as Glimt. We will actually get their Gameweek 1 lineup – not to mention 10 minutes of the match! – before deadline, but I’ll have a go at predicting it anyway:

PREDICTED XI

(4-3-3)
Belko
Bjørshol Stensness Falchener Auklend
Askildsen Bell Kvia
Fuglestad Mikaelsson Tripic

2026 PROSPECTS + BEST PLAYERS

The central midfield spots alongside Bell are far from set in stone and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hansen or Alte. Fuglestad and Mikaelsson are likely to deputise for the injured Austbø (with Tripic moving to the left wing) and Christiansen; ditto Stensness (or perhaps Bærtelsen) for Roseth.

I’d expect Viking to make a decent title challenge again and probably finish a comfortable second. Falchener looks to be highly owned despite a big price hike. The injuries to Christiansen & Austbø mean it’s the Tripic show in attack, as much as ever, plus a bunch of lucrative short-term mid-priced punts like Mikaelsson/Fuglestad/Kvia, who could easily get flocked to if they nab a goal before the first deadline.

Brann

• Transfers out: Emil Kornvig, Eivind Helland, Japhet Sery Larsen, Mads Hansen
• Transfers in: Jon Thorsteinsson, Kristall Ingason, Simen Vidtun Nilsen

An overhaul at centre-back looks slightly concerning, with Helland and Sery Larsen both departing. It looks like Boakye will have to step up to partner Pallesen. Injuries to Castro and Magnusson have prompted the loan signing of Thorsteinsson from Hertha Berlin, who looks set to start on the left wing. Ingason replaces Kornvig in central midfield. Vidtun Nilsen looks like back-up to Dyngeland.

PREDICTED XI

(4-3-3)
Dyngeland
De Roeve Pallesen Boakye Soltvedt
Ingason Sørensen Horn Myrhe
Mathisen Noah Thorsteinsson

2026 PROSPECTS + BEST PLAYERS

New season, same old Soltvedt dilemma… will it be Dragsnes for defensive solidity in the tougher fixtures, permanent rotation, or will Soltvedt get a good run in Brann’s appealing opening four fixtures? The rest of the 11 looks fairly straightforward, at least until Magnusson and Gudmundsson return to fitness, although Finne will be pushing for a spot in any of the front three positions.

Generally, I’d expect Brann to be around the top three/four once again, although probably falling some way short of Glimt and Viking. They haven’t really spent any of the €10m raked in through sales yet, so maybe a big signing or two could give them a boost.

Magnusson made an instant impact last year and would surely have been a popular pick if fit. The same can’t really be said of Noah Holm, although Brann’s early fixtures and a shortage of forward options to start (especially with Høgh & Karlsbakk blanking, Christiansen injured) put him somewhat on the radar. Thorsteinsson has a few pre-season goals (including a penalty) and could be an interesting punt. Horn Myhre has recently broken into the national team and will be a key part of their midfield, even if his Fantasy returns haven’t quite been prolific or consistent enough to compete with, for example, an in-form Magnusson. Soltvedt and De Roeve offer plenty of attacking threat to justify their premium prices.

Tromsø

• Transfers out: Vegard Erlien, Ieltsin Camões
• Transfers in: Lars Olden Larsen, Mathias Tønnessen (KFUM), Troy Nyhammer (Haugesund), Victor Ekblom, Jesper Grundt

Two huge blows to their attack, with last season’s most-used forward partnership wiped out. Erlien did seem to be drifting out of favour, but the loss of top scorer Camões could be massively detrimental (perhaps not surprising that he might have wanted to move to a bigger club, but technically it is a loan deal to Al Ahly, albeit with an option to buy, which I don’t really get…).

Olden Larsen joined at the tail-end of last season and seems to have inherited Erlien’s second striker role (with Nyhammer for competition). Like his predecessor, he is classified as a midfielder. Ekblom will be competing for Camões’ place, although youngster Daniel Braut has mainly been playing there in pre-season. Tønnessen adds depth at centre-back but may not be a regular starter; ditto Grundt in central midfield.

PREDICTED XI

(3-5-2)
Rønning Haugaard
Vådebu Guddal Kinteh
Cornic Edvardsson Y.Jensen Hjertø-Dahl Warneryd
Olden Larsen Braut

2026 PROSPECTS + BEST PLAYERS

Last season’s third-place finish will be tough to replicate with the loss of Camões and the more demanding schedule of Conference League Thursdays (assuming they make it through the qualifying rounds), and I imagine they could well slide back down towards mid-table.

The recruitment in attacking positions doesn’t seem to have inspired Tromsø fans, who are already busy plotting Camões’ return (apparently out of favour at Al Ahly already). Hjertø-Dahl, Olden Larsen and perhaps Braut could be decent mid-priced options. But it’s primarily the defence that looks as ripe for investment as ever, with some very highly-rated young centre-halves (particularly Kinteh), as well as the attacking threat of wing-backs Cornic and Warneryd. Double Gameweeks in rounds 4 and 6 present early opportunities to load up and deploy Park the Bus.

Sandefjord

• Transfers out: Stefan Ingi Sigurdarson, Christopher Cheng, Loris Mettler (HamKam)
• Transfers in: Nikolaj Möller, Xander Lambrix, Jakob Vester

Another major blow to our forward pool with Sigurdarson off to Eredivisie. But an intriguing addition too, with Möller scoring in every one of his four pre-season appearances so far. Lambrix looks set to slot in alongside Smajlovic.

PREDICTED XI

(4-3-3)
Hadaya
Carson Smajlovic Lambrix Walle-Egeli
Sundbø-Pettersen Risan-Mork Vester
Patoulidis Möller Dunsby

2026 PROSPECTS + BEST PLAYERS

Last season’s fifth place was a significant overachievement (and I think their highest ever finish), largely built on their superb home record. Maintaining that level without Sigurdarson will be challenging but I don’t see them regressing all that much. Their recent recruitment has been excellent and the early signs for Möller are encouraging. This still looks like quite an exciting attacking side to me, with Patoulidis and Dunsby among the league’s stand-out wingers and some promising young midfielders. Defensive solidity is the main question, although 42 goals conceded last year was only bettered by four other sides, so they could potentially offer some value at 4.5m almost across the board. The one exception is Smajlovic, whose set-piece threat justifiably sees him priced 0.5m more.

Våleranga

• Transfers out: Vinicius Noguiera (end of loan)
• Transfers in: Ole Sæter (Rosenborg), Magnus Westergaard

PREDICTED XI

(4-4-2)
Hedvall
Sjåtil K.Olsen Näsberg Finnsson
Thorvaldsen Westergaard Lange Sørensen
Bjørdal Grundetjern

Ambina is suspended in Gameweek 1 but will come back in for Lange. Bjørdal has been ‘out of position’ (OOP) as a second striker in pre-season. Grundetjern looks likely to start ahead of Sæter for now. A long-term injury for Ofkir should give Thorvaldsen and Sørensen free rein on the wings.

2026 PROSPECTS + BEST PLAYERS

After a turbulent start to their Eliteserien return, Våleranga played some electric attacking football in the second half of the season and wound up in sixth. If they continue to play like that, they could even find themselves in contention for European qualification this year.

Bjørdal’s OOP shift could see him rival the Fantasy appeal of last season’s top scorer, Elias Sørensen, while the pace and direct running of Thorvaldsen could easily be overlooked among such attacking riches. Although probably not an option to start with, I think Sæter could be an excellent signing, particularly if restored to a more classic #9 role.

Rosenborg

• Transfers out: Ole Sæter (Våleranga), Ulrik Yttergård Jensen (Lillestrøm), Erlend Dahl Reitan (Start), Sander Tangvik
• Transfers in: Amin Chiakha, Mads Bomholt, Jonas Svensson, Leopold Walhstedt, Johan Bakke

A typically busy transfer window for Rosenborg. Wahlstedt will replace Tangvik in goal. Veteran full-back Svensson returns to his old club; capable of playing on both sides, he has been filling in on the left with Pereira largely absent from pre-season. Bomholdt looks likely to start in central midfield, at least until Bolkan Nordli returns to fitness. The big name signing is Amin Chiakha, evidence of Rosenborg’s considerable pull in the market as they saw off the likes of Sevilla, Rennes, and Borussia Mönchengladbach.

PREDICTED XI

(4-3-3)
Wahlstedt
Witry M.Ceïde Singsdal Volden Svensson
Bomholdt Fossum Chiakha
Duris Islamovic E.Ceïde

Nemcik misses the start of the season with a knee injury but should replace Singsdal Volden when fit.

2026 PROSPECTS + BEST PLAYERS

A truly bizarre 2025 season. Unbeaten in the first seven, with just two goals conceded, Rosenborg seemed to be flirting with a title challenge until the 4-0 defeat to Glimt began a quite spectacular derailing that peaked with 4-1 defeats to Kristiansund and KFUM and a 4-0 humbling at HamKam. The one bright spot in the second half of their season was Dino Islamovic finally clicking with 13 goals in the latter 16 games.

It’s very difficult to gauge expectations for the coming season. Certainly, the individual quality is there to furnish some exciting Fantasy options, but an iffy pre-season, culminating in a 4-2 cup defeat to Bryne on Sunday, suggests a ‘wait and see’ approach might be prudent. The most obvious target, Islamovic, has played 587 minutes in pre-season without an attacking return, but Chiakha fans might be encouraged by three goals in his last four.

Molde

• Transfers out: Magnus Wolff Eikrem (KFUM), Alwande Roaldsøy, Jacob Karlstrøm
• Transfers in: Trent Kone-Doherty, Victor Bender, Mads Kikkenborg, Sivert Sira Hansen, Fredrik Kristensen Dahl (Strømsgodset)

Kikkenborg replaces Karlstrøm in goal. Dahl will compete with Kabini. Sira Hansen joins the centre-back ranks, among whom there’s plenty of uncertainty as to who will start as the preferred pair. Right-back also looks a little unclear.

PREDICTED XI

(4-2-3-1)
Kikkenborg
Stenevik Sira Hansen Risa Kabini
Christensen Møller-Dæhli
Eriksen Breivik Zady Sery
Gulbrandsen

2026 PROSPECTS + BEST PLAYERS

Molde’s transition from their classic 3-5-2 set-up has been long and gruelling, but perhaps they are finally starting to find glimpses of form in the current 4-2-3-1. Interim manager Martin Falk is, however, scheduled to be replaced in May by Sindre Tjelmeland, which could bring further disruption.

Kristian Eriksen still hasn’t really gelled in their new system, but Emil Breivik put himself back on the Fantasy radar with his performances as a 10. Caleb Zady Sery also looks quite a threat on the left wing, where he should be fairly nailed until the return to fitness of highly-rated 18-year-old Oskar Spiten-Nysæter.

Fredrikstad

• Transfers out: Maxwell Woledzi, Johannes Bjartalid
• Transfers in: Samuel Leach Holm, Fredrik Holmé, Max Nilsson, Aleksander Andresen

Allsvenskan afficionados should recognise Leach Holm, who looks like he’ll slot straight into the midfield.

PREDICTED XI

(4-3-3)
Børsheim
Owusu Fredriksen Holmé
Eid Leach Holm Shein Sørløkk
Øhlenschlæger Skogvold Laghzaoui

A couple of positional changes from the end of last season – Owusu moves into the back three, while Sørløkk is now established as the left wing-back. Laghzaoui‘s spot looks the most uncertain at the moment. Nuñez could play there, or centre-forward, depending on Skogvold‘s form, but has had limited opportunities in preseason.

2026 PROSPECTS + BEST PLAYERS

Although their status as a defensive powerhouse probably peaked a couple of seasons ago under Fischer & co, Fredrikstad’s defenders retain some of the old allure. In the wing-back roles, expect more of the same from long-throw specialist Eid, while right-footed workhorse and shot-machine Sørløkk will still have abundant goal threat from the left. A moderately successful debut season for Øhlenschlæger saw him established as the go-to attacking option. Skogvold has had an outstanding preseason and will hope to finally translate that into consistent output in the league.

KFUM Oslo

• Transfers out: Sverre Sandal, Mathias Tønnessen (Tromsø), Momodou Lion Njie (Sarpsborg, loan)
• Transfers in: Magnus Wolff Eikrem (Molde), Rasmus Eggen Vinge, Eirik Saunes (Bryne), Krzysztof Bakowski, Tore Andre Sørås, Martin Tangen Vinjor, Magnus Grødem.

PREDICTED XI

Some extensive squad building, largely drawn from the First Division, plus the headline name of Eikrem, who is yet to be involved in their pre-season. This is probably the most difficult line-up to predict with so many new faces, orange flags and a lot of positional tinkering in their friendlies.

(3-4-3)
Bakowski
Schneider Berglie Saunes
Sjökvist Hestnes Vinjor Hjørth
Eggen Vinge Haltvik Kristensen

Hjørth missed the cup game with a knock and is a doubt, so Hoseth/Nouri may start there. 5m mid Haltvik is enjoying a run up front and scored two against Tromsø in the cup.

2026 PROSPECTS + BEST PLAYERS

A well-organised side without much obvious star quality, KFUM’s attack has been heavily reliant on Nuñez for the last few seasons and will be looking to their recruits for a new spark. Punts galore here if you like your attackers cheap and dubiously nailed.

Left wing-back Hjørth showed some attacking promise last season, while our friend Eytexi is bullish on Sjökvist’s creative numbers in the First Division.

This season could be quite challenging for them and I’m not sure they can hope for much more than avoiding a relegation battle.

Sarpsborg

• Transfers out: Harald Nilsen Tangen
• Transfers in: Sigurd Rosted, Claus Niyukuri, Noa Williams

PREDICTED XI

(4-2-3-1)
Ndiaye
Wichne Utvik Rosted Hiim
Nibe Sher
Sørli Berget Halvorsen
Karlsbakk

Sarpsborg are likely to alternate between 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3, with Berget (now reclassified as a midfielder) sacrificed in the latter set-up. The left-wing spot is still being contested by multiple players following the sale of Sondre Ørjasæter.

2026 PROSPECTS + BEST PLAYERS

A solid start to last season saw the 4m-priced Ndiaye quickly established as a popular pick, but his hike to 5m and the loss of Tebo toward the end of last season render their defence a distinctly less appealing proposition this time around.

Further forward, the mid-season signing of Sondre Sørli from Glimt has gone some way toward addressing the void of creativity left by Ørjasæter‘s departure. But the main draw here is undoubtedly last season’s Golden Boot winner Daniel Karlsbakk. As long as they can keep hold of him, Sarpsborg should continue sailing comfortably into another mid-table finish.

Lillestrøm

PREDICTED XI

(4-3-3)
Dahlberg
Ranger Moen Foss Garnås Ottesen
Karlbakk Ibrahimaj E.Kitolano
Va Lehne Olsen Drammeh

Gabrielsen (CB) and Paintsil (LB) will miss the start of the season through injury. New signing Yttergård Jensen (from Rosenborg) might be thrown straight in at LB. Lehne Olsen should start if fit but was benched for the cup game at the weekend following limited pre-season minutes. If he doesn’t start, expect Va up front and Jebara on the right.

2026 PROSPECTS + BEST PLAYERS

Following their surprise relegation in 2024, Lillestrøm’s sensational unbeaten season in the First Division surpassed even the dominance of Våleranga the prior year. They averaged 2.9 goals per game with four players registering 20+ goal involvements (Lehne Olsen, Kitolano, Drammeh and Markus Karlsbakk). A fortunate opening schedule, with a Double Gameweek and fixtures against the other two promoted sides all within the first four rounds, will see them draw plenty of Fantasy interest. This is, however, now complicated by a blank in Gameweek 2.

The big question mark is how their defence will navigate the transition to Eliteserien level, especially for those eyeing up Park the Bus in Double Gameweek 4, although fans have been encouraged by new keeper Dahlberg‘s pre-season performances.

Among the attacking options, veteran talisman Lehne Olsen currently stands as the second-highest-owned forward, but it remains to be seen if his fitness will hold up, or if younger players like Va or Arierhi may find themselves with more opportunities to lead the line. Creative responsibility will rest primarily upon Eric Kitolano, while Drammeh’s stellar 2025 season and Va’s ‘OOP’ potential make them well worth a look.

HamKam
Kristiansund
Start
Aalesund

I’m going to round this up with a much briefer look at the remaining four teams who head up the odds for relegation and are unlikely to generate much Fantasy interest at this point.

HamKam and Kristiansund both have horrendous opening fixtures. Kristian Lien would have been worthy of mention for the former after his 11 goals last season, but has now departed for Djurgården. With no replacement signed, Udahl and Gonstad look set to start up front. Goalkeeper Sandberg has fared well for save and bonus points but at 5m looks slightly overpriced.

Sander Kilen showed glimpses of quality for Kristiansund last season but starts the season flagged. If anyone is to emerge as a Fantasy prospect here, it’s likely to be him or fellow joint top-scorer Mustapha Isah (both with five).

Start’s Håkon Loretzen could be a better budget forward pick, if pre-season returns are to be trusted. But their promotion took most by surprise and the odds point to a bottom-placed finish. Anyone seeking a 4m defender could chance Jebali, though, who looks the likeliest starter at that price.

Play-off winners Aalesund had the second-best defensive record in the First Division last year, but achieved promotion without any individuals featuring prominently on the goal or assist charts.