The 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League season is finally here, and Gameweek 1 presents plenty of opportunities for managers willing to look beyond the obvious names.
Yes, some premium players are almost impossible to ignore. But building a strong opening-week team isn’t simply about filling your squad with Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United players.
There are excellent FPL options across the league, including several players from teams outside the traditional elite who have favorable opening fixtures, secure roles and plenty of attacking potential.
That’s exactly what we’ve tried to capture with our FPL Gameweek 1 Scout Picks.
Rather than loading the team with big-six assets, we’ve built a genuine cross-section of Premier League clubs, combining proven stars with mid-priced options and a couple of calculated picks.
Starting XI — 3-4-3GK: Antonín Kinský — Tottenham (£4.5m)
DEF: Riccardo Calafiori — Arsenal (£5.5m)
DEF: Luke Shaw — Manchester United (£4.5m)
DEF: Tyrick Mitchell — Crystal Palace (£4.5m)
MID: Bruno Fernandes — Manchester United (£12.0m)
MID: Antoine Semenyo — Manchester City (£8.5m)
MID: Morgan Rogers — Chelsea (£7.5m)
MID: Christos Tzolis — Arsenal (£6.5m)
FWD: Erling Haaland — Manchester City (£15.5m) (C)
FWD: João Pedro — Chelsea (£7.5m)
FWD: Brian Brobbey — Sunderland (£6.0m)
Bench
GK: Martin Dúbravka — Tottenham (£4.0m)
DEF: Bobby Thomas — Coventry City (£4.0m)
DEF: Charlie Hughes — Ipswich Town (£4.0m)
MID: Pascal Groß — Brighton (£5.5m)
Total squad cost: £100.0m
Clubs represented: 10
Maximum players from one club: 2
Goalkeeper: Antonín Kinský — TottenhamWe’re deliberately avoiding a £6.0m route in goal because the £100m budget becomes extremely tight once Haaland and Bruno are included. Kinský at £4.5m provides a much more efficient way into a Tottenham defense that has been significantly strengthened this summer.
Spurs have added Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Andy Robertson to a defensive unit that should look very different from the one that struggled last season. Kinský is expected to begin the campaign as Roberto De Zerbi’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Tottenham travel to Brentford, so a clean sheet isn’t guaranteed, but Kinský has save potential if the Bees create chances.
- GW1 fixture: Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur
Calafiori is one of our favorite selections in the entire squad. At £5.5m, he gives us access to an Arsenal defense without having to break the bank.
More importantly, Calafiori has already given us a glimpse of his attacking potential. He scored in Arsenal’s Community Shield victory over Manchester City and has impressed during preseason. With William Saliba and Jurrien Timber unavailable, there is also greater opportunity for Calafiori to secure his place in the starting XI.
Arsenal then open against Coventry at the Emirates.
- GW1 fixture: Arsenal vs Coventry City
Shaw is one of the biggest beneficiaries of Manchester United’s current injury situation.
United have significant defensive absences ahead of their opener, including Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martínez, but Shaw is expected to be involved as Michael Carrick prepares his side for the trip to Hull.
The fixture is the real attraction. Hull are newly promoted, while United finished third last season and enter the campaign with one of the best opening schedules in the league. Their first two matches are Hull away and Ipswich at home.
At £4.5m, Shaw doesn’t need attacking returns to justify his place. A clean sheet and defensive-contribution points would already represent an excellent return on the investment.
- GW1 fixture: Hull City vs Manchester United
This is our first genuine one-week differential. Crystal Palace travel to Everton, so Mitchell doesn’t have the obvious fixture appeal of Calafiori or Shaw. But at £4.5m, he gives us a defender with a proven FPL record and a potentially useful attacking role.
Mitchell scored 135 FPL points last season, the highest total among defenders priced below £5.0m for 2026/27. His value is particularly attractive if new Palace manager Pierre Sage continues using a system that allows his full-backs to get forward.
We’re not picking him because we’re desperate to own Palace for the next few weeks. We’re picking him because, if this is a one-week contest, Mitchell has enough routes to a return to justify the gamble.
- GW1 fixture: Everton vs Crystal Palace
Bruno is the midfielder we simply don’t want to enter Gameweek 1 without. Yes, £12.0m is a huge amount of money. But Manchester United’s fixture is one of the best of the weekend, and Bruno is the player most likely to benefit from it.
He finished last season with a remarkable 21 assists, while his penalty and set-piece responsibilities give him several routes to FPL points. The latest team news also points toward Bruno retaining his creative role, with Mbeumo expected to operate centrally in the absence of Benjamin Sesko.
Hull away is exactly the type of fixture in which we want Manchester United’s main creator.
- GW1 fixture: Hull City vs Manchester United
Semenyo is our favorite midfield pick outside the two obvious premiums. The former Bournemouth attacker enjoyed a superb 2025/26 season, finishing with 202 FPL points, and his move to Manchester City only increases his appeal. He joined City midway through last season and still finished as their highest-scoring FPL player after the transfer, recording seven goals and an assist.
Now he faces his former club. Manchester City host Bournemouth at the Etihad, and while the arrival of Enzo Maresca introduces some tactical uncertainty, City’s attacking potential remains enormous.
Semenyo also offers something important for this squad: he gives us exposure to City’s attack without requiring a second £10m-plus midfielder.
- GW1 fixture: Manchester City vs Bournemouth
Rogers gets the nod over several other £7m-£8m midfielders because his attacking role gives him an excellent combination of ceiling and value.
Chelsea travel to Fulham on Monday, and the Blues begin the new campaign under Xabi Alonso. There are obvious uncertainties with a new manager, but Rogers has already established himself as a high-impact attacking player, and Chelsea’s investment in him underlines how important he is expected to be.
At £7.5m, he also allows us to maintain the Haaland-Bruno-Semenyo core without completely stripping the squad elsewhere.
- GW1 fixture: Fulham vs Chelsea
Tzolis is the calculated gamble. At £6.5m, the Arsenal winger is one of the most exciting mid-priced options available, particularly after his excellent preseason.
His numbers at Club Brugge last season were outstanding, with 17 goals and 23 assists in the Belgian Pro League, and he has carried that attacking momentum into his first preseason with Arsenal.
The big question is minutes. But the latest preseason evidence points toward Tzolis being in serious contention for a starting role on the left. If he starts against Coventry, his combination of Arsenal’s attacking dominance, individual creativity and £6.5m price makes him an extremely attractive Gameweek 1 pick.
- GW1 fixture: Arsenal vs Coventry City
This is where the bulk of our budget goes. Haaland costs a record £15.5m, but we’re comfortable paying it. The Norwegian is the most explosive forward in FPL, and Manchester City’s opening fixture is exactly the type of matchup in which that explosiveness matters.
City host Bournemouth at the Etihad, and Haaland has an exceptional early-season record. He has finished as the highest-scoring FPL player after the first six Gameweeks in each of his first four Manchester City seasons.
Yes, there’s a new manager. Yes, City have undergone significant changes. But Haaland remains City’s premier goalscoring outlet.
- GW1 fixture: Manchester City vs Bournemouth
Captain: Erling Haaland
Forward: João Pedro — ChelseaJoão Pedro is one of the easiest £7.5m forward picks to justify. The Chelsea striker is already among the most-owned players in FPL, and there’s good reason for that. His price makes him compatible with Haaland, while his attacking role gives him the potential to score heavily when Chelsea’s attack clicks.
Chelsea’s opening fixture is away to Fulham, which is not quite as attractive as City’s matchup with Bournemouth or United’s trip to Hull. But João Pedro doesn’t need a perfect fixture to be worth £7.5m. His attacking involvement gives him a high enough ceiling to justify inclusion in this squad.
- GW1 fixture: Fulham vs Chelsea
Brobbey is the selection that makes the rest of this squad work. The Sunderland striker costs just £6.0m, giving us enough budget to carry Haaland, Bruno and Semenyo while still maintaining quality across the rest of the XI.
Sunderland face Ipswich in Gameweek 1, and that’s a much more appealing matchup than many people may initially realize. Both clubs are promoted sides, meaning this could be one of the exciting games of the weekend.
- GW1 fixture: Ipswich Town vs Sunderland
A proper Scout Picks article can’t ignore the substitutes. We have deliberately kept the bench inexpensive because every pound spent there is a pound that can’t be used on the starting XI.
Goalkeeper: Martin Dúbravka — Tottenham (£4.0m)Dúbravka is Kinský’s backup, so this isn’t a player we’re expecting to start. He’s here because he provides the cheapest possible goalkeeper cover while allowing us to spend elsewhere. Dúbravka’s £4.0m price makes him useful as a budget second goalkeeper when paired with a starting keeper.
Defender: Bobby Thomas — Coventry (£4.0m)Thomas is exactly what we want from a fourth or fifth defender: cheap, available and capable of picking up defensive-contribution points. The promoted clubs provide many of the best £4.0m defensive enablers this season, and Thomas has been highlighted as one of the better options in that price bracket.
He isn’t expected to start ahead of our three preferred defenders in Gameweek 1. But he gives us a legitimate route into the team if injuries or rotation strike.
Defender: Semi Ajayi — Hull City (£4.0m)Ajayi is another budget defender who makes sense purely because of his price. At £4.0m, He allows us to preserve funds for premium attackers while still having a potentially playable defender on the bench. He has also been highlighted as a strong defensive-action option among the promoted defenders.
Midfielder: Pascal Groß — Brighton (£5.5m)Groß is our luxury substitute. At £5.5m, he costs more than a conventional bench midfielder, but that’s intentional. If Tzolis doesn’t start, or if one of our other midfielders is ruled out, Groß becomes a perfectly credible replacement.
His set-piece involvement and creative quality give him genuine FPL upside, even though Brighton face Aston Villa in Gameweek 1.
Who Is Our Gameweek 1 Captain?
Erling HaalandBruno Fernandes is the obvious alternative. United’s trip to Hull is arguably the cleanest fixture for an attacking midfielder, and Bruno’s penalty and set-piece responsibilities make him a genuine captaincy option.
But Haaland gets the armband. Manchester City are at home against Bournemouth, and Haaland’s goalscoring ceiling is simply too high to ignore.
- Captain: Erling Haaland
- Vice-captain: Bruno Fernandes
In summary, Haaland is our captain, Bruno is our vice-captain, and Semenyo gives us another route into City’s attack. Tzolis and Calafiori provide Arsenal exposure without exceeding the three-player club limit, while Shaw gives us a cheap route into Manchester United’s defense.
João Pedro and Rogers cover Chelsea, while Brobbey gives us an affordable third forward. And crucially, the squad comes in at exactly £100.0m and complies with the FPL squad rules.
There are risks. Tzolis’ starting place needs to be confirmed, Tottenham’s goalkeeper situation requires attention, and Brobbey is obviously a much bigger gamble than Haaland or João Pedro.
We’re taking the obvious premium points where they make sense, finding value where we need it, and taking a few calculated risks in the areas where the upside is worth chasing.
The season is here. Haaland has the armband. Now let’s see what Gameweek 1 brings.
Leave a Comment