Fantasy Premier League 2026/27: Top 4 Gameweek 1 Picks

The new Fantasy Premier League season starts on Friday at 18:30 BST, and the margins already feel tight. Mini-leagues will be shaped in these early weeks, and a few bold calls now could echo all the way into May.

Here are four players carrying form, fixtures and opportunity into Gameweek 1.

Alexander Isak (Liverpool) £9.0m

A fit Alexander Isak at £9.0m is the kind of price that makes managers rip up drafts.

Last season never really got going for him. Injuries restricted the Swedish forward to just eight Premier League starts in 2025/26, a stop-start campaign that never reflected his talent. Now he arrives at Liverpool with a full summer behind him – World Cup minutes, pre-season rhythm, and, crucially, a clean bill of health.

The signs are already there. In his penultimate pre-season outing, Isak produced a goal and an assist against Monaco, a reminder of the penalty-box composure and movement that once terrorised defences in black and white.

That last full campaign with Newcastle United still looms large: 23 goals, six assists, 211 FPL points. Those are premium forward numbers, and his starting price has dropped from £10.5m to £9.0m. For a player with that ceiling, “underpriced” doesn’t feel too strong.

Then there’s the changing landscape at Liverpool. Mohamed Salah has gone, and with him the automatic claim on penalties. Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) was last season’s deputy and will argue his case, but the vacancy alone adds another layer of intrigue to Isak’s appeal. Even without spot-kicks, he faces little competition for the central role, with Hugo Ekitike (£7.5m) sidelined by a long-term injury.

The fixture list only sharpens the attraction. None of Liverpool’s first five opponents rate higher than three on the Fixture Difficulty Ratings scale. Gameweek 1 brings Newcastle, a club in transition after Eddie Howe’s departure and the exit of several key players. For Isak, it’s a narrative-rich opener and a genuine platform for a flying start.

Bryan Mbeumo (Man Utd) £8.0m

Bryan Mbeumo is listed as a midfielder. He’s been playing as a forward. That combination alone should make FPL managers sit up.

With Benjamin Sesko (£7.0m) still recovering from injury and missing Manchester United’s entire pre-season, Mbeumo has spent the summer leading the line. He hasn’t wasted the chance. Three goals and an assist in his last three friendly starts underline how comfortable he looks operating at the tip of the attack.

A full pre-season has helped. Cameroon’s failure to qualify for the World Cup meant Mbeumo avoided the fatigue and late returns that have disrupted so many others. He’s been in the building, working, bedding into roles and patterns, and that continuity points towards strong minutes from the opening whistle of Gameweek 1.

The schedule hands him a soft landing. United face two promoted sides in their first two matches: Hull City and Ipswich Town. Hull’s defensive record last season in the Championship was shaky at best – 66 goals conceded, with only three clubs letting in more. That kind of openness often gets punished at the next level.

United’s attackers should sense blood. If Mbeumo keeps his central role, he offers the holy grail of FPL: a midfielder playing up front, with favourable fixtures and form already in the bank.

Christos Tzolis (Arsenal) £6.5m

Some pre-season stories fade once the real football starts. Christos Tzolis is threatening to be the opposite.

Arsenal’s summer signing from Club Brugge has exploded into life in north London. Across pre-season, he delivered one goal and six assists – seven attacking returns that no team-mate could match. Every time he has started, he has contributed.

Timing has worked in his favour. While many of Arsenal’s internationals arrived back late from the FIFA World Cup, casting doubt over their Gameweek 1 minutes, Tzolis has been with Mikel Arteta’s squad since July. He featured in all six of their pre-season matches, including the FA Community Shield. In that 3-0 win, he added another assist and kept his run of returns going.

This isn’t a one-summer wonder either. In the Belgian top flight last season, Tzolis put up staggering numbers: 17 goals and 23 assists. Those figures demand attention, even with the step up in league quality.

Now he steps into a title-winning side that opens the defence of its crown against promoted Coventry City. The champions will dominate the ball, the territory and likely the chances. At £6.5m, with form, fitness and a settled pre-season role, Tzolis looks tailor-made for managers hunting a mid-price midfielder with explosive potential.

Dan Ballard (Sunderland) £5.0m

Bench Boost in Gameweek 1 always tempts managers towards the cheapest options. Sunderland’s Luke O'Nien (£4.0m) fits that profile perfectly as a fifth defender. The problem? His minutes may not last.

With Omar Alderete (£5.0m) and Nordi Mukiele (£5.5m) expected back from injury soon, O'Nien’s longer-term place in the XI is far from secure. For anyone thinking beyond the opening weekend, that’s a red flag.

Dan Ballard offers a different proposition. He’s priced higher at £5.0m, but he looks like a set-and-forget option in this Sunderland backline. Last season he averaged 10.9 defensive contributions per 90 minutes, hitting the required threshold in 58 per cent of his starts. Those underlying numbers speak to reliability – the kind managers can build around rather than constantly replace.

He brings more than just clearances and blocks, too. Ballard delivered four attacking returns last season and ranked seventh among defenders for shots in the box, with 25. That penalty-area presence adds another scoring route beyond clean sheets.

Gameweek 1 hands Sunderland a home tie against promoted Ipswich Town, a fixture that offers immediate clean-sheet potential. From there, the run to Gameweek 9 looks manageable if planned properly. Sunderland do hit tricky fixtures in Gameweeks 4 and 5, but that can be covered with rotation – for instance, pairing Ballard with a Leeds United defender, as Leeds enjoy two home matches in that spell.

For managers looking past the first whistle and into the early months of the campaign, Ballard feels less like a punt and more like a quiet, long-term investment.