Brentford's FPL Launchpad: Key Players and Insights
Keith Andrews could hardly have asked for a kinder runway into his second season in charge. Fresh from steering Brentford to an impressive ninth-place finish, he now walks into a 2026/27 schedule that screams opportunity – for him, and for Fantasy Premier League managers.
Across the opening five Gameweeks, Brentford dodge every one of last season’s top five. Instead, they host Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland and Chelsea, with trips to Leeds United and AFC Bournemouth in between. On the Fixture Difficulty Ratings, that run carries an average of 2.8 – second only to Liverpool over the same period.
For Fantasy managers, that’s a flashing green light. Brentford assets, at both ends of the pitch, demand a closer look.
Thiago the spearhead
Igor Thiago didn’t just have a good season in 2025/26. He detonated.
Twenty-two goals, one assist, 181 points. All from a starting price of £6.0m. That bargain is gone; a price rise is inevitable. The real question is whether he’s still worth paying up for.
Nine of those 22 goals came from the spot, a detail that will make some managers twitchy. Strip away the penalties, though, and the numbers still show a forward utterly central to Brentford’s attacking plan.
Thiago racked up 41 big chances – situations where a player is expected to score – a staggering 19 more than his closest team-mate, Kevin Schade. He wasn’t just on the end of chances either. He created six big chances for others, taking his total big-chance involvements to 47. No one in this Brentford side came close. Dango Ouattara, next in line, finished 17 behind him.
That volume matters. It shows a side built around one man.
Ouattara vs Schade: the second attacker
If Thiago is the automatic pick, the puzzle lies in who joins him in your squad.
On raw big-chance involvement, Ouattara (30) and Schade (29) are almost inseparable. One more involvement across a season is a coin toss, not a verdict. The difference emerges when you add time into the equation.
Ouattara produced a big-chance involvement every 77.1 minutes. Thiago did so every 69.8. Schade lagged at 94.6. That gap is significant. When Ouattara is on the pitch, he lives near the action far more regularly than Schade.
Break it down further. Ouattara tallied 18 big chances and 12 big chances created. Schade posted 22 big chances and seven created. The profile is slightly different, but the overall weight of involvement tilts just enough towards Ouattara, especially when you factor in that stronger minutes-per-involvement figure.
Thiago remains the standout. If you’re brave enough to double up on Brentford’s attack for that early run, Ouattara looks the sharper, more efficient partner than Schade.
Kelleher’s conundrum
At the other end of the pitch, Caoimhin Kelleher quietly turned himself into a Fantasy force.
He finished as Brentford’s second-highest scorer and the second top-scoring goalkeeper overall, with 143 points from an opening price of £4.5m. That sort of return rarely goes unnoticed. A price rise is almost certain.
The catch? His clean-sheet record doesn’t match the headline total. Kelleher managed 10 shutouts, a solid number but one that five other goalkeepers bettered. He also finished nine clean sheets behind Golden Glove winner David Raya.
So where did the points come from? Penalties. Three saves from the spot gave his tally a significant lift. It’s a reminder that his 2025/26 season leaned on high-impact moments as much as defensive solidity.
That leaves managers with a decision that’s far less straightforward than Thiago’s. If Kelleher climbs in price, does he still justify the outlay when his clean-sheet base isn’t elite and penalty saves are notoriously hard to repeat?
With that early fixture run, Brentford will tempt managers all over again. The numbers say Thiago is non-negotiable. Ouattara is knocking hard on the door. Kelleher, this time, might have to fight to stay in your plans.
