Gameweek 1 is edging closer, and Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers are continuing to reshape their early drafts.
Pre-season performances, new signings and the latest team news have all had an impact on player ownership since our previous update.
Below, we check in on the most popular picks across all four positions, identifying some of the notable risers and fallers along the way.
It is worth remembering that auto-pick selections can inflate the ownership of certain players, particularly at specific price points. Even so, the latest figures offer an interesting snapshot of the early FPL template.
- READ MORE: Improve your Fantasy decision making with ‘The FPL Playbook’
- READ MORE: World Cup Fantasy winner’s ‘no Bruno’ FPL 2026/27 team reveal
GOALKEEPERS
| Player | Price | Current rank | Previous rank | Current ownership | +/- ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Raya | £6.0m | 1 | 1 | 31.0% | +0.3% |
| Martin Dubravka | £4.0m | 2 | 2 | 22.7% | -1.9% |
| Senne Lammens | £5.0m | 3 | 3 | 19.8% | -0.4% |
| Antonin Kinsky | £4.5m | 4 | 4 | 19.5% | +0.8% |
| Bart Verbruggen | £4.5m | 5 | 5 | 17.9% | +1.2% |
| Gianluigi Donnarumma | £5.5m | 6 | 6 | 11.0% | -0.1% |
| Jordan Pickford | £5.5m | 7 | 7 | 8.8% | -0.2% |
| Palmer | £4.0m | 8 | 8 | 5.8% | 0.0% |
| Caoimhin Kelleher | £5.0m | 9 | 9 | 5.7% | +0.1% |
| Emiliano Martinez | — | 10 | Outside top 10 | 4.9% | — |
The notable thing here is that the order of the top nine hasn’t changed at all, despite some reasonably significant ownership movement.
David Raya remains comfortably top and has even edged upwards to 31.0%. The biggest climbers are Bart Verbruggen (+1.2%) and Antonin Kinsky (+0.8%), strengthening their positions among the most popular cheaper goalkeepers.
At the other end, Martin Dubravka has suffered the biggest fall, dropping 1.9 percentage points from 24.6% to 22.7%. Even so, he remains the second-most-owned goalkeeper.
The only change to the top 10 is Emiliano Martinez replacing Robin Roefs, who sat tenth last week at 5.3%.
DEFENDERS
| Player | Price | Current rank | Previous rank | Current ownership | +/- ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabriel Magalhaes | £8.0m | 1 | 1 | 26.8% | +0.9% |
| Luke Shaw | £4.5m | 2 | 2 | 24.3% | -0.3% |
| Pedro Porro | £5.5m | 3 | 4 | 23.3% | -0.6% |
| Marc Guehi | £6.0m | 4 | 3 | 23.0% | -1.0% |
| Nico O’Reilly | £6.5m | 5 | 5 | 22.3% | -0.6% |
| Issa Diop | £4.0m | 6 | 6 | 18.6% | -1.4% |
| Riccardo Calafiori | — | 7 | Outside top 10 | 17.5% | — |
| Virgil van Dijk | £6.5m | 8 | 10 | 16.7% | +0.5% |
| Ezri Konsa | £4.5m | 9 | 7 | 16.2% | -1.2% |
| Milan van Ewijk | £4.0m | 10 | 9 | 15.5% | -1.2% |
Gabriel has strengthened his position at the top, rising by 0.9 percentage points to 26.8% ownership. He’s the biggest riser among the players who remained in the top 10.
Pedro Porro has moved above Marc Guehi into third despite his own ownership falling slightly. Guehi has dropped a full percentage point.
Further down, Virgil van Dijk is moving in the opposite direction. His ownership has increased from 16.2% to 16.7%, taking him from tenth to eighth.
The biggest change, however, is Riccardo Calafiori entering the top 10 at 17.5%, with Cristhian Mosquera dropping out after sitting eighth at 16.9% last week.
MIDFIELDERS
| Player | Price | Current rank | Previous rank | Current ownership | +/- ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruno Fernandes | £12.0m | 1 | 1 | 48.3% | -0.3% |
| Dominik Szoboszlai | £7.0m | 2 | 2 | 44.0% | -3.6% |
| Morgan Rogers | £7.5m | 3 | 3 | 27.1% | -3.7% |
| Antoine Semenyo | £8.5m | 4 | 5 | 26.2% | +4.2% |
| Bryan Mbeumo | £8.0m | 5 | 7 | 23.8% | +7.1% |
| Declan Rice | £7.5m | 6 | 4 | 22.0% | -0.3% |
| Iliman Ndiaye | £6.0m | 7 | 6 | 15.1% | -1.9% |
| Florian Wirtz | £7.5m | 8 | Outside top 10 | 14.3% | — |
| Enzo Le Fée | £6.0m | 9 | 10 | 12.8% | +0.5% |
| Matheus Cunha | £8.0m | 10 | 8 | 12.7% | -1.8% |
There are some much bigger ownership swings in midfield, with several pre-season developments seemingly influencing FPL managers.
The standout is Bryan Mbeumo, whose ownership has surged from 16.7% to 23.8%, a rise of 7.1 percentage points. His excellent pre-season form could explain that jump, with Mbeumo regularly starting up front and making a strong case for inclusion in early drafts.
Antoine Semenyo is another significant riser, climbing from 22.0% to 26.2% and moving into fourth.
At the other end, Morgan Rogers has fallen by 3.7 percentage points. The midfielder has only recently started training with Chelsea, so his delayed return may have contributed to managers looking elsewhere.
Iliman Ndiaye has also slipped, from 17.0% to 15.1%. However, with it now confirmed that he won’t be leaving Everton, that uncertainty has at least been removed ahead of Gameweek 1. He’s also seemingly back on penalties after Wednesday’s friendly!
Meanwhile, Florian Wirtz has entered the top 10 at 14.3%, while Cole Palmer drops out.
FORWARDS
| Player | Price | Current rank | Previous rank | Current ownership | +/- ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erling Haaland | £15.5m | 1 | 1 | 73.7% | -1.3% |
| Joao Pedro | £7.5m | 2 | 2 | 55.7% | +1.0% |
| Dominic Calvert-Lewin | £6.0m | 3 | 3 | 25.0% | +3.7% |
| Brian Brobbey | £6.0m | 4 | 4 | 17.3% | -3.5% |
| Igor Thiago | £8.0m | 5 | 5 | 16.0% | +0.2% |
| Alexander Isak | £9.0m | 6 | 8 | 13.2% | +1.9% |
| Viktor Gyokeres | £7.5m | 7 | 6 | 13.1% | +0.1% |
| Ollie Watkins | £8.0m | 8 | 7 | 12.7% | +0.3% |
| Jonah Kusi-Asare | £4.5m | 9 | 9 | 7.6% | -0.7% |
| Jean-Philippe Mateta | £6.5m | 10 | 10 | 6.6% | -0.4% |
The forward rankings remain relatively settled, although a few pre-season performances appear to be influencing FPL managers.
Erling Haaland remains comfortably out in front, sitting in almost three-quarters of squads despite a slight drop in ownership. Joao Pedro, meanwhile, has risen to 55.7% after an excellent pre-season in which he registered five goals and one assist.
The biggest riser is Dominic Calvert-Lewin, climbing 3.7 percentage points to 25.0% ownership. His recent form could be driving that increase, having scored three goals across his last two pre-season matches.
Brian Brobbey has experienced the biggest fall, dropping from 20.8% to 17.3%, although he remains the fourth-most-owned forward.
Igor Thiago has edged upwards to 16.0% after marking his return to Brentford following the World Cup with a goal.
There is also growing interest in Alexander Isak, whose ownership has risen from 11.3% to 13.2%. That moves him from eighth to sixth, above both Viktor Gyokeres and Ollie Watkins.
