As we enter the long international break, let’s check out the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players of all 20 top-flight teams.

MANCHESTER CITY [WWWWW]

Contrary to pundits’ expectations that Arsenal will easily retain their title, Enzo Maresca’s team will likely win the title if Erling Haaland stays fit. Players are showing signs of understanding and buying into the Italian’s style of play.

Despite his two goals and assist in Gameweek 5, Antoine Semenyo is effectively taped onto the touchline. Cutting into the box to score tends to favour Rayan Cherki or Phil Foden in the ‘number ten’ role, closer to goal. Iliman Ndiaye provides strong cover, with Jeremy Doku now back.

At the back, Josko Gvardiol is the standout, combining clean sheets with one goal and three assists.

• BUY: Haaland, Cherki, Gvardiol
• HOLD: Semenyo
• SELL/AVOID: Foden, O’Reilly

ARSENAL [WWWWL]

Despite claims of having the best squad, I don’t think Arsenal will retain their title. They’ll start to concede more, making the overpriced Gabriel Magalhaes avoidable. Perhaps get David Raya or Riccardo Calafiori instead.

The Gunners were battered in their 3-0 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion. Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard could end up frustrating managers with their inconsistency, so creative force Christos Tzolis arguably remains their best midfielder to own.

Over £1 billion has been spent under Mikel Arteta, yet they’re still lacking a world-class forward. Viktor Gyokeres mostly scores against weaker teams, and Arteta seemingly prefers both Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino.

• BUY: Raya, Calafiori, Havertz
• HOLD: Tzolis, Rice, Bruno G, Konsa
• SELL/AVOID: Saka, Odegaard, Gabriel, White

LIVERPOOL [DDWDW]

In pre-season, I warned people to avoid Florian Wirtz, and he remains a bad FPL player not worth persisting with. He is destabilising the whole team.

Instead, the Swedish express train is about to leave the platform. Alexander Isak has four goals in five games and is slowly starting to cook as he regains fitness. Once Andoni Iraola drops Wirtz and moves Dominik Szoboszlai higher up, Liverpool will take off.

With three consecutive clean sheets, Jeremy Jacquet is the truth, and Ronald Araujo is legit.

• BUY: Isak, Jacquet, Araujo
• HOLD: Szoboszlai, van Dijk, Gakpo
• SELL/AVOID: Wirtz

BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION [WLDWW]

The Seagulls have good-looking fixtures between Gameweeks 6 and 18 (except a couple versus Liverpool and Man City). Once again a surprise package, they beat Arsenal without Kaoru Mitoma, Yankuba Minteh and Jack Hinshelwood.

• BUY: Gross, Kostoulas
• HOLD: De Cuyper, Verbruggen
• SELL/AVOID: Gomez

CHELSEA [WWLDL]

I’m not convinced by the Xabi Alonso hype. His inability to get a regular tune out of players like Levi Colwill, Maxence Lacroix, Reece James and Cole Palmer is concerning.

In fact, until you see several back-to-back good games, avoid Palmer at all costs. Morgan Rogers is the cheaper and better option. Short-term fixtures look good, but they’re not in form so avoid going in too heavy.

• BUY: None
• HOLD: Rogers, Joao Pedro, Hato, Lacroix
• SELL/AVOID: Palmer

MANCHESTER UNITED [LWDLD]

A defeat at Hull City. Throwing away a 2-0 EFL Cup lead over Brighton. Scraping a lucky draw at Fulham. The Michael Carrick honeymoon is very much over, and he may have already lost members of his squad.

Fixtures soon look horrendous, and they probably won’t improve much until they’re out of all other competitions and can focus on just one game per week. All their FPL assets are poor, apart from maybe Bruno Fernandes but he’s barely worth holding at that high price. Then again, other premiums like Saka and Palmer are being similarly poor, so there’s no rush to sell.

• BUY: None
• HOLD: Fernandes
• SELL/AVOID: Shaw, Maguire, Lammens

ASTON VILLA [LLDLW]

Saturday’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur was labelled a relegation six-pointer, such has been their bad start to 2026/27.

However, Unai Emery is an elite manager, and Aston Villa were always bound to return to form once all their key injured players returned. Johan Manzambi inspired the win at Spurs, for example. Once fixtures improve around Gameweek 8, consider bringing in their players.

• BUY: Manzambi, Jackson
• HOLD: McGinn, Buendia, Cash
• SELL/AVOID: Suzuki

BRENTFORD [WDDDW]

Keith Andrews’ side just keeps performing. Igor Thiago finally has a goal to his name, while Kevin Schade has three strikes and two assists.

Alternatively, Mamadou Sangare possibly fooled us all, as he already has a benching and half-time removal to his name. For now, only pursue Schade and Thiago until fixtures turn in Gameweek 15.

• BUY: Thiago, Schuster
• HOLD: Schade
• SELL/AVOID: Sangare, Ajer

LEEDS UNITED [WDDWD]

Another positive, unbeaten start belongs to Leeds. However, their schedule suddenly looks tough until Gameweek 13, so it’s worth ditching their assets.

If one has to be played, Jayden Bogle is outscoring Tarik Muharemovic. He and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are the only names worth considering. As for Anton Stach and Harry Wilson, better players exist elsewhere at their price point.

• BUY: Justin, Bogle
• HOLD: Calvert-Lewin
• SELL/AVOID: Wilson, Muharemovic

EVERTON [WDDDW]

David Moyes is experiencing a good run, too. His solid defence and promising attack showed up in Saturday’s home win over Ipswich Town, when James Tarkowski‘s shot went in off Thierno Barry‘s chest.

However, outside of facing Hull City and Coventry City, the Toffees have tough fixtures for a spell, so don’t rush towards purchasing.

Tarkowski is possibly fixture-proof due to his attacking threat and defensive contributions (DefCon), with Jarrad Branthwaite a cheaper way into their backline. Main striker Barry gets chances every game.

• BUY: None
• HOLD: Tarkowski, Barry, Dewsbury-Hall
• SELL/AVOID: Grealish, Pickford

BOURNEMOUTH [LDDDL]

Although in the relegation zone, Bournemouth are scoring goals and about to experience good fixtures. They should soon start climbing the table.

Marcus Tavernier nearly added an assist to his three goals, setting up a saved Evanilson header. He should also be on penalties, should Justin Kluivert‘s injury mean a spell on the sidelines. Last season’s solid defence is missing former player Marcos Senesi, making James Hill overpriced.

• BUY: Tavernier
• HOLD: Scott, Petrovic
• SELL/AVOID: Kluivert

NEWCASTLE UNITED [DWDLW]

Despite a missed penalty from Yoane Wissa, the Magpies overcame Hull thanks to two Harvey Barnes assists and a goal from defender Lewis Hall. The latter is now on two double-digit hauls.

Tough fixtures from Gameweek 7 onwards probably mean their players should be left alone, in FPL terms. But the least bad options are Barnes, Hall and Amar Dedic, who should keep his place even when (if) Tino Livramento is fit. Whereas Wissa has several alternatives at his price point.

• BUY: Hall
• HOLD: Barnes, Dedic
• SELL/AVOID: Wissa

SUNDERLAND [LWDLL]

Was Gameweek 5’s high-scoring 5-3 defeat to Man City about brilliant football or calamitous defending?

Brian Brobbey bagged a hat-trick to shaft his many recent sellers, but still ended up on the losing side. His strength gave the centre-backs a torrid time, just like Arsenal’s in Gameweek 4. Chief creator Enzo Le Fee takes penalties, while Kevin Danso and Dan Ballard are good defenders.

However, Trai Hume is one to sell, having lost his starting spot. It’s worth holding their players for the next four fixtures before ditching between Gameweeks 10 and 21.

• BUY: None
• HOLD: Le Fee, Brobbey, Danso, Ballard
• SELL/AVOID: Hume

NOTTINGHAM FOREST [LDDWL]

It’s still unknown why Oliver Glasner preferred Forest to Crystal Palace, and an even greater mystery why people recently rushed to buy Morgan Gibbs-White, Liam Delap and Daniel Muñoz.

As expected, the curse of the most-bought struck again during the shock home defeat to Coventry. Up next is the ‘Glasner Derby’ before a mixed bag of fixtures. Avoid them for now.

• BUY: None
• HOLD: Munoz, Jesus
• SELL/AVOID: Gibbs-White, Williams, Delap

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR [LLDDL]

Bottom of the table during this international break, Mateus Fernandes could get relegated for the third successive year.

Hundreds of millions were spent over the summer, but these players cannot play as a team under Roberto De Zerbi. They’ve only just remembered how to score a goal.

James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Mohammed Kudus (who had a goal ruled offside) have recently returned from injury, ensuring that Savio and Omar Marmoush will eventually start producing. But until that happens, Spurs have to be avoided. Keep Antonin Kinsky on the bench.

• BUY: None
• HOLD: Kinsky
• SELL/AVOID: van Hecke, Porro

HULL CITY [WWDDL]

The playoff winners’ excellent start to the season has brought some unexpected wins and lots of resilience at the back. This won’t last forever, but expect enough wins to avoid relegation.

Mohamed Belloumi seems to be their standout attacker, with goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis a good bench option. If you’re seeking a fifth defender, John Egan and Nobel Mendy are recommended over Coventry’s Bobby Thomas.

• BUY: Tzolakis, Belloumi
• HOLD: Egan, Mendy, Slater
• SELL/AVOID: McBurnie

CRYSTAL PALACE [LLWLD]

On paper, Palace’s squad should avoid relegation, but the combination of a bad start and upcoming Europa League commitments is concerning. Avoid ALL of them, including Jaydee Canvot, Chris Richards, Tyrick Mitchell and Jorgen Strand Larsen.

• BUY: None
• HOLD: None

IPSWICH TOWN [WLLWL]

I’m avoiding the Issa Diop DefCon trap and only suggest Leif Davis as a low-priced defender for their easier fixtures. On two goals and two assists, he missed an absolute sitter against Everton.

Decent fixtures fall between Gameweeks 8 and 17, making Emersonn a potential one-week punt.  

• BUY: Davis
• SELL/AVOID: Diop

FULHAM [LLLDD]

A Spanish contingent arrived during the summer, involving winger Cesar Palacios, striker Gonzalo Garcia, and former Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa.

To avoid relegation, you need to score, and Fulham will get goals, but they concede far more.

The Cottagers now get to follow draws against Liverpool and Man United by facing Ipswich, Hull and Coventry consecutively. Ideal for Gonzalo, Josh King, Alex Iwobi and Bernd Leno.

• BUY: King, Gonzalo
• HOLD: Iwobi
• SELL/AVOID: Leno, Castagne

COVENTRY CITY [LLLLW]

Finally, Frank Lampard’s side stormed to the Championship title but are generally finding the top-flight tough. Conceding goals and not scoring goals is not a great recipe for survival.

That win at Forest ended their losing streak, though. Bobby Thomas, provider of attacking threat and DefCons, is possibly the only one worth considering.

• BUY: None
• HOLD: None
• SELL/AVOID: Thomas