Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is live for the 2026/27 season, so we’re getting team reveals from a variety of contributors ahead of Gameweek 1.

Next up, Pete A, who won the official FIFA World Cup Fantasy game this summer.

Early-Season Strategy & Team Overview

Unpredictable Landscape

The early fixtures are tough to gauge. Michael Carrick has only been in charge for three months, yet only seven returning Premier League managers have longer tenures. Combined with World Cup fatigue and fresh European commitments, reliability in Gameweek 1 will be low. 

Flexible Squad Construction

Early flexibility is crucial to navigate early variance, keeping an active eye on a potential early Wildcard or Bench Boost in Gameweek 1 strategy. 

Goalkeepers

• Senne Lammens (£5.0m): Strong early fixtures with clean-sheet upside. A great candidate for a Bench Boost strategy; he keeps squad flexibility intact without feeling forced into an early Wildcard. Robin Roefs (£5.0m) was another option here, but Lammens offered a safer longer-fixtures build.
• Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m): Proven reliability with a strong defensive finish last season. Favourable early fixture rotation and high clean-sheet potential. I like Gameweek 1 for a Bench Boost, with Aston Villa’s disrupted attack and Brighton only narrowly beaten 1-0 in their last meeting with the Villans. A value pick in the absence of £4.0m playing ‘keepers. 

Defenders

Double Arsenal Defence

Late team news/pre-season line-ups will dictate the final selection, but I want double coverage of the best defence. Arsenal had six games without Gabriel Magalhaes (£8.0m) and as many without William Saliba (£6.0m) in the Premier League last season, so I expect they will be prepared well for the latter’s absence.

• Riccardo Calafiori (£5.5m): Calafiori is my favourite. He brings so much to the attack and I am expecting that he will own that left-back spot to start the season.
• Ben White (£5.5m): White has been looking good in pre-season, chipping in with an assist, too. I do feel White/Timber could yet be the right-back/right-sided centre-back partnership. It depends on who Arsenal sign but a young right-back could open the door for that, as the key target will be not to overplay either player on their returns from injury.

Budget and Differential Picks