Fantasy Premier League (FPL) has launched for the 2026/27 season, so let the first-draft team reveals begin!
This time, we here from Dan Wright, who you can find here on X. Dan has five top 10k finishes, which means he ranks 30th in our Career Hall of Fame.
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- READ MORE: FPL 2026/27: 9 first impressions of the player prices
FIRST DRAFT TEAM REVEAL
My first draft includes both Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) and Erling Haaland (£15.5m), and I can’t see either leaving before the Gameweek 1 deadline.
Haaland remains the best captaincy option in the game and still stands out among the forwards. Fernandes is also difficult to ignore because of Manchester United’s excellent opening fixtures. I do expect him to become expendable at certain points during the season, though, more so than last year.
GOALKEEPERS
In goal, Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m) and Antonín Kinský (£4.5m) both look kindly priced, although Kinský just gets the nod for me. With no playing £4.0m goalkeeper available at the start of the season, I’ve gone with Oliver Dovin (£4.0m) as my bench option.
Martin Dúbravka’s (£4.0m) 21.4% ownership at the time of writing looks like a price drop waiting to happen, and I’d rather not use a valuable Spurs spot on a backup goalkeeper.
DEFENDERS
In defence, Cristhian Mosquera (£5.5m) gives me Arsenal cover for now. Jurriën Timber (£6.5m) is the obvious alternative if he is fit for Gameweek 1. At £8.0m, Gabriel Magalhães is too expensive to fit alongside Fernandes and Haaland. I’d have to make too many sacrifices elsewhere.
Neco Williams (£5.0m) has looked very advanced throughout pre-season and has also taken a share of set pieces. That makes him an easy pick in my current draft. The rest of my defence is made up of £4.5m enablers. Luke Shaw has the same favourable opening fixtures as Fernandes, while Jaydee Canvot offers strong defensive value. Joško Gvardiol also interests me at £5.5m. However, bringing him in would mean downgrading Matty Cash (£4.5m) to a £4.0m defender and leaving my bench too weak.
MIDFIELDERS
In midfield, Fernandes joins Cole Palmer (£9.5m), Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m), Ismaïla Sarr (£6.5m) and Iliman Ndiaye (£6.0m). Palmer is an excellent FPL option. He also improves my squad structure by making it easier to move funds around with fewer transfers. He should keep penalty-taking duties under Xabi Alonso.
Ndiaye and Szoboszlai give me four midfield penalty takers. Alexander Isak (£9.0m) could still move ahead of Szoboszlai in Liverpool’s penalty order. Sarr is unlikely to take penalties for Crystal Palace, but he still looks excellent value at £6.5m. Palace also have an appealing fixture run after the Manchester City game in Gameweek 2.
FORWARDS
Up front, Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m) looks like another excellent value pick if he keeps penalty duties for Leeds United. Forwards also look much better priced this season. That leaves me happy to use my final spot as a budget enabler.
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