Deep into this interminable international break, we’re reflecting on the biggest Fantasy Premier League (FPL) flops of 2026/27 so far.

• READ MORE: 10 things we’ve learned from FPL Gameweeks 1-5
• READ MORE: FPL’s blank-less wonders – The most consistent players of 2026/27

Our rather unscientific approach evaluates factors such as overall score and points per match, in addition to cost and reputation/expectations coming into the campaign.

Let us know what you think in the comments. Are there any glaring omissions, or have we included anyone unfairly?

EARLY FPL FLOPS OF 2026/27

GOALKEEPERS

• Emiliano Martinez (£5.0m, Chelsea)
• Senne Lammens (£4.9m, Manchester United)

Although not hugely owned, Emiliano Martinez hasn’t been able to fix a Chelsea backline that keeps conceding at least twice. The team is without a clean sheet in 21 matches, stretching back to mid-January.

Man United are also lacking a shut-out in 2026/27, after Senne Lammens let in six goals versus Hull City, Ipswich Town and Everton. The Red Devils are 12th in the table, struggling to find rhythm.

DEFENDERS

• Nico O’Reilly (£6.3m, Manchester City)
• Reece James (£5.4m, Chelsea)
• Harry Maguire (£4.8m, Manchester United)
• Joachim Andersen (£5.0m, Fulham)
• Milan van Ewijk (£4.0m, Coventry City)

An easy pick for this analysis is Nico O’Reilly, who ended last season brilliantly. From Gameweek 26, there were four goals and 73 points from 10 matches, alongside an EFL Cup final brace.

Featuring in approximately two million squads, he made Man City’s first three lineups, despite returning late from the World Cup, before injury struck in Gameweek 3’s warm-up. Since that withdrawal, O’Reilly has been limited to cameos, meaning a tiny tally of six points.

Back to Chelsea, Maxence Lacroix (£5.9m) was benched in Gameweek 4, but has provided an assist and multiple defensive contribution (DefCon) triumphs.

Averaging three points across the four starts isn’t great, but teammate Reece James – with a bigger initial ownership – only has three of them in total. Pushed into midfield for his trio of starts, James was rotated in Gameweek 2 and absent through injury in Gameweek 5.

We won’t quite pile in on Man United either, but Harry Maguire edges Luke Shaw (£4.3m) as he costs more and brought hope of some attacking threat. The centre-back’s six shots add up to just 0.21 expected goals (xG), and Shaw matches his one assist.

• READ MORE: How should FPL managers invest in Fulham?

Elsewhere, Joachim Andersen was a 2025/26 DefCon machine at Fulham. The third-best defender at it succeeded in 60.6% of his appearances. Yet, soon after returning from a carried-over Gameweek 1 ban, the Dane played twice under new head coach Alvaro Arbeloa, before seemingly losing his place to David Affengruber (£4.5m).

Completing this position, 1.25 million FPL managers began with Coventry’s attack-minded Milan van Ewijk. He wasn’t just bench fodder; many had him lined up for Gameweek 2’s meeting with Hull. Naturally, he blanked that day, and later missed their clean sheet at Nottingham Forest because of a hamstring injury.

A dishonourable mention goes to Trai Hume (£4.3m), who soon fell from grace as an ‘OOP’ pre-season bandwagon and is now watching from the sidelines as a 35-year-old Belgian gallivants up Sunderland’s right flank instead.

MIDFIELDERS

• Florian Wirtz (£7.3m, Liverpool)
• Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m, Liverpool)
• Phil Foden (£6.9m, Manchester City)
• Christos Tzolis (£6.3m, Arsenal)
• Dango Ouattara (£6.3m, Brentford)

Before diving into these five, some will claim Bruno Fernandes (£11.9m) as a disappointment. However, his three goals, one assist and 31 points are very good across five matches – it’s simply the order in which it happened: one massive haul, surrounded by four blanks. Stay tuned for an article debating whether the Man United captain is worth such a premium price.

Arguably, Liverpool have bigger let-downs. Dominik Szoboszlai is highly owned and initially showed his all-round qualities by scoring an opening-day penalty and grabbing some Gameweek 2 DefCon, while taking almost all set pieces.

But that spot kick is the Hungarian’s sole attacking return and only shot from inside the box. Watching him duly score in Champions League and EFL Cup outings added to the torment.

There was even a pre-season thought that teammate Florian Wirtz would now be fully adapted to Premier League football, ready to shine under new boss Andoni Iraola. Well, he’s set up a couple, but still lacks either a goal or a big chance. An understandable early FPL differential, but one that backfired.

Another to both assist and drop price on two occasions is Arsenal’s Christos Tzolis. He feels like less of a disaster, but Gameweek 2’s half-time removal brought zero points, swiftly quieting the hype. Perhaps the reaction was too strong, considering he keeps starting for the champions. But a match average of 3.2 points reads poorly.

Meanwhile, Phil Foden‘s two assists came in Gameweek 2, but preceded a benching versus Coventry and a red card against Man United. He’s also the league’s worst finisher when looking at the quality of all shots (Shooting Goals Added/SGA, -1.61).

As for midfielder number five, there are quite a few candidates. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£6.6m) hasn’t produced since Gameweek 1 but ranks fourth for shots (18) and joint-second for chance involvement (29). He’s on both the Goals and Assists Imminent tables.

Harry Wilson (£6.2m) experienced a great goodbye year at Fulham – 10 goals, nine assists and 168 points – but his initial Leeds United start has been followed by three cameos and a Gameweek 5 quad injury.

In early 2026, Bournemouth’s Rayan (£6.3m) announced his mid-season arrival with five goals in 15. But nothing yet, apart from three big misses.

Let’s go for Dango Ouattara, another to blank each time. Due to Kevin Schade’s (£6.2m) form, he’s the one reluctantly rotating out for Jaidon Anthony (£5.9m), restricting him to just one appearance lasting over 45 minutes.

FORWARDS

• Igor Thiago (£7.8m, Brentford)
• Viktor Gyokeres (£7.1m, Arsenal)
• Omar Marmoush (£7.0m, Tottenham Hotspur)

Sticking with the Bees, Igor Thiago – one of last season’s FPL sensations – missed his first four big chances of this campaign, including a Gameweek 1 penalty, but netted the fifth. Although eventually off the mark, xG data says he should be on 2.13 more goals.

Viktor Gyokeres began in over 800,000 squads but simply isn’t starting, instead limited to 41 total minutes. Let’s see if Kai Havertz’s (£7.6m) international injury opens up an opportunity.

Finally, Omar Marmoush (£7.0m), whose early Tottenham Hotspur career consists of four straight blanks and just one shot on target.

FLOPS XV