Fantasy Premier League (FPL) offers 13 midfielders priced at £7.5m or higher for the 2026/27 season.
Here, we assess every option, analysing their opening fixtures, underlying data, pre-season form and expected role to identify the best picks ahead of Gameweek 1.
BRUNO FERNANDES
Arguably the standout midfield option in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) this season, Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) already features in around half of all squads.
Despite a £3.0m price rise, the Manchester United playmaker still demands serious attention.
Fernandes justified that increase with a league-leading 235 points last season, with no player scoring more.
He backed up those returns with elite underlying numbers, too. In fact, no midfielder bettered his non-penalty expected goal involvement (NPxGI), underlining just how influential he remained throughout the campaign.
Fernandes also has an extremely favourable start to the season in terms of fixtures. As well as facing the likes of Everton and Fulham, Manchester United meet with two of three newly promoted sides.
Michael Carrick’s side rank second on our Fixture Ticker across the opening six Gameweeks. They also sit third for projected goals, as shown in the image above.
Fernandes ticks every box ahead of Gameweek 1. Last season’s outstanding campaign, elite underlying data, penalties and set-pieces all strengthen his appeal. Add Manchester United’s favourable opening fixtures and clear improvement under Carrick, and it’s easy to understand why so many managers continue to back him.
COLE PALMER
Cole Palmer (£9.5m) couldn’t match his outstanding 214-point haul from 2024/25 last time out, finishing the campaign with 10 goals and two assists. Injuries disrupted his season, restricting him to just 24 starts and leaving him exactly 100 points short of the previous year’s total.
Even so, Palmer still showcased his quality when fit. Despite playing at least 500 fewer minutes than the other leading goalscoring midfielders, he finished joint-fourth for goals in his position. His underlying numbers also remained among the league’s best. Among midfielders who made at least 10 appearances, Palmer ranked inside the top five for expected goal involvement (xGI) per 90 minutes:
Palmer should also benefit from a lighter schedule this season. He missed England’s World Cup squad, giving him a full summer to recover and prepare for the new campaign.
Chelsea also have no European football to contend with, reducing the risk of rotation and allowing Palmer to head into most Gameweeks fresh.
Chelsea’s opening fixtures also offer plenty of promise. They face Arsenal, Brighton and Hove Albion and Bournemouth, which looks challenging at first glance. However, Arsenal currently have key defensive injuries, while all three opponents must juggle European football. Chelsea also take on Fulham and newly promoted Hull City during that spell.
Only the meeting with Arsenal sees Chelsea projected to score fewer than 1.3 goals, further highlighting their attacking potential.
Chelsea lacked consistency last season, and Xabi Alonso still has decisions to make over his preferred system. Even so, the Blues ranked among the league’s best sides for expected goals (xG). They also avoid European football this season and strengthened the squad over the summer. Those factors could provide Palmer with the platform to deliver an outstanding FPL campaign.
ANTOINE SEMENYO
Manchester City surrendered the Premier League title to Arsenal last season, but they remained the league’s most dangerous attacking side. Pep Guardiola’s men topped the division for goals, xG and big chances created.
Antoine Semenyo (£8.5m) played a huge role in that success and comes in at a lower price than the midfielders above. The Ghana international scored 17 goals, more than any other midfielder, added six assists and finished the campaign on 202 FPL points.
There are still reasons for caution, however. Semenyo outperformed several underlying metrics by a significant margin, suggesting he benefited from some clinical finishing and good fortune. Others may simply argue that’s one of his biggest strengths, of course. His finishing certainly played a huge part in last season’s impressive returns:
There are still questions to answer under new head coach Enzo Maresca. We don’t yet know how he will set up his side or where Semenyo will feature. Pep Guardiola often gave the Ghanaian licence to drift into central areas, but Maresca may prefer to use him out wide.
Manchester City sit second for projected goals across the opening run. That should keep Semenyo firmly on the radar despite that uncertainty.
Erling Haaland (£15.5m) could also impact Semenyo’s appeal. Managers who already own the Norwegian may hesitate to double up on City’s attack so early in the season.
Others could take the opposite view. If Haaland attracts huge effective ownership, pairing him with Semenyo offers another route into one of the league’s strongest attacks and the potential to benefit from even more City goals.
Overall, Semenyo looks like a strong option. He enjoyed an outstanding 2025/26 campaign and remains a key figure in Manchester City’s attack. However, a new manager, a possible change in role and last season’s overperformance perhaps make him more of a wait-and-see option for many managers.
BRYAN MBEUMO/MATHEUS CUNHA
Revisiting Manchester United, we should probably dive further into their attack, and how impressive it was last season.
In fact, only Arsenal and Man City racked up more goals than the Red Devils last campaign. As we can see, as well besting every other Premier League side for attempts on goal, they also ranked first for total shots on target – highlighting how dangerous they were:
Many managers will feel that Bruno Fernandes provides enough attacking coverage from Manchester United. Others may see doubling up on their attack so early in the season as an unnecessary risk. However, Manchester United’s excellent opening fixtures, strong attacking numbers from last season and continued improvement under Michael Carrick all strengthen the case for investing in two of their attackers.
Both Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) and Matheus Cunha (£8.0m) look like excellent options heading into Gameweek 1. Of the two, though, Mbeumo’s underlying numbers stand out.
Among all FPL midfielders, only Fernandes recorded a higher NPxGI than Mbeumo last season. It would be easy to assume those numbers came largely from creativity and set-pieces, but that wasn’t the case. Mbeumo actually ranked above both Fernandes and Cunha for xG, underlining just how dangerous he was inside the box.
Despite those impressive numbers, Mbeumo finished 87 points behind Fernandes. That gap perhaps flatters the Portuguese international, though. Fernandes outperformed his underlying data, while Mbeumo underperformed his, suggesting the difference between the pair could have been smaller.
The biggest question for FPL managers is whether Mbeumo or Cunha can effectively cover Fernandes, or whether the Manchester United double-up offers even greater upside.
There is no definitive answer. However, starting with last season’s highest-scoring midfielder usually feels like the safest approach, especially during the opening weeks.
The double-up also isn’t easy to squeeze into an FPL squad. Budget constraints make it difficult alongside premium options elsewhere. If you can make it work, though, there is a compelling case. Manchester United boast one of the league’s best fixture runs, Mbeumo’s underlying numbers are among the strongest in the game, and Carrick’s side head into the new season with plenty of attacking momentum.
MORGAN GIBBS-WHITE
Nottingham Forest couldn’t build on their outstanding 2024/25 campaign, when they finished seventh. Instead, they found themselves battling towards the bottom of the table for much of last season.
There is fresh optimism ahead of 2026/27, though. The appointment of Oliver Glasner has given Forest a new direction. The Austrian transformed Crystal Palace during his previous spell in England, and many will hope he can have a similar impact at the City Ground.
One factor that also boosts Forest’s appeal is the absence of European football. Without the demands of midweek fixtures, Glasner should have fewer reasons to rotate his squad. That could reduce fatigue, limit injuries and make Nottingham Forest assets far more reliable options for FPL managers.
Nottingham Forest still have plenty of room for improvement. They ranked outside the top 10 sides for most key attacking metrics last season and created the fifth-fewest big chances in the league (see image above). Those numbers hardly inspire confidence when assessing their attacking assets.
Despite that, Morgan Gibbs-White (£8.0m) still stands out as Forest’s best FPL pick. The England international finished third among all midfielders for FPL points, an outstanding achievement considering the team he played in.
Gibbs-White reached 188 points thanks to 15 goals and four assists. While many associate him with creativity, he actually carried significant goal threat throughout the campaign. His 15 strikes ranked joint-fourth among all midfielders, matching João Pedro‘s (£7.5m) tally.
Set-pieces only strengthen his appeal. However, there is one note of caution. Gibbs-White ranked among the league’s biggest overperformers against his underlying numbers, posting a NPxGI delta of +5.03. That suggests he may find it difficult to match last season’s output unless Forest improve considerably as an attacking side.
At £8.0m, managers will naturally expect a favourable opening run of fixtures. Nottingham Forest don’t quite offer that. They sit around the middle of the league for projected goals.
There is still plenty to like. Gibbs-White enjoyed an outstanding 2025/26 campaign, Forest have no European football to contend with and Glasner has already shown he can improve a Premier League side.
FLORIAN WIRTZ
After winning the 2024/25 Premier League title so convincingly, expectations were understandably high at Liverpool heading into last season. Things didn’t go to plan, though. The Reds finished fifth and only just secured UEFA Champions League football.
That disappointing campaign ultimately brought Arne Slot’s spell to an end. It also paved the way for Andoni Iraola, who arrived after transforming Bournemouth into European qualifiers and establishing himself as one of the Premier League’s most highly regarded coaches.
Whether Iraola can return Liverpool to the top remains to be seen, but he certainly has the talent at his disposal. One player he will hope to unlock is Florian Wirtz (£7.5m).
The German endured a frustrating first season at Anfield. He managed just five goals and four assists from 27 Premier League starts, finishing behind several of Liverpool’s other attacking players for returns. His tally even fell below central midfielder Ryan Gravenberch‘s (£6.0m), highlighting just how difficult the campaign proved.
The underlying numbers also leave room for improvement. Wirtz ranked outside the top 15 midfielders for NPxGI per 90 minutes.
His role also deserves plenty of context. Slot regularly moved Wirtz across the front line, using him on both wings as well as in the No 10 position. That lack of consistency rarely helps any attacking player settle into a rhythm.
There are already signs that Iraola has a clearer plan. The new Liverpool boss recently outlined exactly where he sees Wirtz fitting into his system:
“I see him more probably in that position behind the striker.” – Andoni Iraola on Florian Wirtz
His upcoming fixtures carry real appeal, too:
Overall, Iraola’s arrival looks like a positive for Liverpool. He has already outlined where he wants to use Wirtz, and the Reds still rank among the league’s strongest sides for projected goals.
THE OTHERS
While the players we’ve already discussed arguably make the strongest early cases, several other midfielders could emerge as excellent FPL options over the course of the season.
Leaving Bukayo Saka (£9.5m) and Declan Rice (£7.5m) out of our standout picks may seem surprising. However, both players dealt with fitness issues during England’s recent World Cup campaign. That makes it difficult to place them ahead of the midfielders we’ve already covered.
Patience may prove the best approach. Arsenal were the league’s strongest side last season, while both Saka and Rice offer multiple routes to points through open play, set-pieces and, in Saka’s case, penalties. Once they return to full fitness, both should firmly enter the conversation.
It is also worth keeping an eye on Rayan Cherki (£7.5m) and Jérémy Doku (£7.5m). Most managers will understandably prioritise Haaland and Semenyo when investing in Manchester City’s attack. However, City possess enough attacking quality to make Cherki and Doku genuine alternatives if they secure regular minutes.
Doku finished last season strongly. Cherki, meanwhile, ranked among the league’s most effective attacking players on a per-90-minute basis. As the table above shows, Cherki finished inside the top three players in the division for xGI. That highlights his huge attacking potential.
Chelsea also enter the new season with plenty of question marks. A disappointing 2025/26 campaign, combined with the arrival of a new manager, creates some uncertainty.
That doesn’t mean Morgan Rogers (£7.5m) lacks appeal. The former Aston Villa midfielder registered 16 attacking returns last season and clearly has the quality to make an impact. This represents a completely different challenge, though. Monitoring his role and minutes could be important.
The only other midfielder in this price bracket we haven’t covered is Eli Junior Kroupi (£7.5m). His reclassification from a forward to a midfielder generated plenty of excitement among FPL managers.
Unfortunately, that excitement faded quickly after Kroupi underwent surgery that is expected to keep him sidelined for three to four months. That injury rules him out of the early part of the campaign, but it certainly doesn’t end his FPL appeal. His performances during 2025/26 showed exactly what he can offer. Once he returns to full fitness, he should quickly re-enter the conversation.
