Fantasy Premier League: Top Four Gameweek 1 Picks
The deadline is looming at 18:30 BST on Friday, and the first big decision of the 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League season is here. Chips are intact, mini-leagues are level, and every transfer feels full of possibility.
Four names stand out for managers hunting an early edge.
Alexander Isak (Liverpool) £9.0m
A cut-price gamble with elite upside
Twelve months ago, Alexander Isak was a £10.5m forward at Newcastle United and one of the most explosive strikers in the game. Now he walks into Gameweek 1 at £9.0m, wearing Liverpool red and carrying the weight of expectation.
His 2025/26 campaign never really got going. Injuries restricted him to just eight Premier League starts. The numbers from his last fully fit season, though, are impossible to ignore: 23 goals, six assists, 211 FPL points for Newcastle. That’s premium-forward territory at a non‑premium price.
This summer has reset the narrative. Isak has World Cup minutes in his legs, a full pre-season behind him, and he’s already shown a glimpse of sharpness with a goal and an assist in a friendly against Monaco. He looks ready.
The context at Liverpool only strengthens his appeal. Mohamed Salah has gone, leaving a vacancy on penalties. Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) deputised last season and could stake his claim again, but Isak is firmly in that conversation. Even without spot-kicks, his path to minutes is clear. Hugo Ekitike (£7.5m) faces a long spell out, and there is little genuine competition for the central striker role.
Then there’s the schedule. None of Liverpool’s first five fixtures rates higher than three on the Fixture Difficulty Ratings. It’s a soft landing for a new-look attack.
Gameweek 1 brings a twist of irony: Isak returns to face Newcastle, a club in transition after the departure of Eddie Howe and several key players. It’s the kind of unstable backdrop that can be ruthlessly exposed by a confident, fully fit centre-forward.
At £9.0m, he doesn’t just look tempting. He looks like a potential season-shaping pick.
Bryan Mbeumo (Man Utd) £8.0m
A midfielder playing up front, with promoted sides in his sights
If there’s one phrase that makes FPL managers sit up, it’s “out of position”. Bryan Mbeumo has spent most of Manchester United’s summer operating as a striker, and that changes everything.
With Benjamin Sesko (£7.0m) still recovering from injury and missing the entire pre-season, United turned to Mbeumo to lead the line. He responded with three goals and an assist in his last three friendly starts. Those aren’t just warm-up numbers; they’re a reminder of how dangerous he can be when pushed closer to goal.
Crucially, Mbeumo has enjoyed a proper rest. Cameroon’s failure to qualify for the World Cup kept him out of the summer chaos and allowed him a full pre-season programme. That stability should translate into strong minutes from Gameweek 1.
The fixtures are almost tailor-made for an aggressive early punt. United open against Hull City and then face Ipswich Town – two of the Premier League’s new arrivals – in their first two matches. Hull’s defensive record in the Championship tells its own story: 66 goals conceded, with only three teams faring worse. That kind of fragility is exactly what attacking assets target.
With Mbeumo listed as a midfielder but deployed as a forward, every goal is worth an extra point and every clean sheet offers a bonus. For managers willing to back United’s attack from the start, he looks like the central piece.
Christos Tzolis (Arsenal) £6.5m
Arsenal’s new creator steps straight into the spotlight
Some new signings need time. Christos Tzolis hasn’t asked for any.
Arsenal’s recruit from Club Brugge has walked into north London and immediately started producing. One goal and six assists in pre-season tell their own story; no Arsenal player matched his seven attacking returns. Every friendly seemed to feature his name on the scoresheet or the team sheet.
Timing has helped him. While many of Arsenal’s internationals returned late from the FIFA World Cup and face managed minutes, Tzolis has been with Mikel Arteta’s squad since July. He featured in all six pre-season matches, including the FA Community Shield, where he supplied an assist in a 3-0 win. Every time he’s started for the Premier League champions, he has delivered.
His record in Belgium underlines that this isn’t a fluke. Last season in the Belgian top flight he produced 17 goals and 23 assists – outrageous numbers for a wide player, and exactly the sort of profile that can explode in FPL if it translates.
The opening fixture helps. Promoted Coventry City visit the Emirates in Gameweek 1, a daunting assignment for any newcomer. For Tzolis, it’s an ideal platform to carry his summer form into competitive action.
At £6.5m, he offers a route into the Arsenal attack without the premium price tag. If his pre-season form holds, that price won’t stay under the radar for long.
Dan Ballard (Sunderland) £5.0m
The defensive pick built for the long haul
Gameweek 1 Bench Boosters will have noticed Luke O’Nien (£4.0m) as the perfect enabler in Sunderland’s backline. The problem is what happens after the opening weekend.
Omar Alderete (£5.0m) and Nordi Mukiele (£5.5m) are expected back from injury soon, and that clouds O’Nien’s long-term minutes. For managers who prefer stability over short-term punts, Dan Ballard offers a very different proposition.
Ballard’s numbers from last season scream reliability. He averaged 10.9 defensive contributions per 90 minutes in 2025/26, hitting the required threshold in 58 per cent of his starts. That kind of volume is gold for bonus-point potential and underlines how involved he is in Sunderland’s defensive work.
He isn’t just a blocker, either. Ballard chipped in with four attacking returns and ranked seventh among defenders for shots in the box with 25. Set pieces clearly bring him into play.
The immediate fixture is kind. Sunderland face promoted Ipswich Town in Gameweek 1, a match that offers a realistic shot at a clean sheet to go with his underlying numbers.
There is a wrinkle: Gameweeks 4 and 5 throw up trickier tests for Sunderland. Managers who can rotate him – perhaps with a Leeds United defender, with two home fixtures in that spell – will be well placed to ride out the rough patches.
Look past the opening day Bench Boost temptation, and Ballard shapes up as a “set-and-forget” option through to at least Gameweek 9. In a season where every transfer will be precious, that kind of reliability could prove just as valuable as any big-name haul.
