Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 1 Review: Shocking Results and New Stars
The opening weekend of the 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League season did not tiptoe in. It kicked the door down.
Manchester United imploded, Cole Palmer came alive under Xabi Alonso, Dominik Szoboszlai grabbed Liverpool’s penalties, and a £5.5m Brentford destroyer suddenly looks like the early-season cheat code. Gameweek 1 has already ripped up thousands of carefully crafted drafts.
Here’s where the landscape really shifted.
Panic at Old Trafford – and why it might be premature
A home banker, they said. Triple Manchester United, they said.
Then Hull City walked into Old Trafford and left with a 2-0 win, sending Fantasy managers scrambling for the transfer button. Many had loaded up on United assets for the opening double against promoted sides, but patience is already evaporating.
Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) are being shipped out in droves, with over 110,000 and 105,000 sales respectively ahead of Gameweek 2. That’s despite United hosting Ipswich Town next.
The logic for holding is obvious. Fernandes was a home monster last season, hitting eight double-figure returns in 17 matches. On paper, he is still one of the standout captaincy options for this weekend.
The problem lies just beyond Ipswich. United then travel to Everton before hosting Manchester City in Gameweeks 3 and 4. A lot of managers had already pencilled in a Gameweek 3 Wildcard, and Sunday’s defeat has only hardened that plan.
United now walk into Gameweek 2 under pressure not just to win, but to convince their own Fantasy backers not to abandon ship.
Palmer unleashed by Alonso – but there’s a catch
Cole Palmer (£9.5m) looked like a different player at Craven Cottage.
Freed up by Xabi Alonso in a central role in Chelsea’s 3-4-2-1, Palmer ran the show in the 3-2 win over Fulham, coming away with a goal, an assist and 13 points. He only topped that once in the entirety of last season.
This is exactly what Fantasy managers wanted to see: a talented creator moved inside, trusted to dictate, and on the scoresheet. At £9.5m, he suddenly looks like a very tempting escape route for those bailing on Fernandes.
There is a warning sign. Palmer is a slight injury doubt ahead of Gameweek 2, and Chelsea then travel to champions Arsenal in Gameweek 3. The sweet spot may actually be Gameweek 4, when Hull City visit Stamford Bridge.
Even so, anyone who jumps on early could be rewarded immediately if Palmer is passed fit for Brighton & Hove Albion at home this weekend. Under Alonso, he looks like the heartbeat of this Chelsea attack.
Arsenal’s full-backs strike – but Konsa muddies the water
Plenty of managers dodged the premium Gabriel (£8.0m) and instead backed his cheaper Arsenal team-mates Riccardo Calafiori and Ben White (both £5.5m). They were paid back instantly.
In the 3-0 win over Coventry City, Gabriel managed just five points, his clean sheet dented by a yellow card. Calafiori and White went one better. Both full-backs grabbed assists, with White returning 11 points and Calafiori nine.
It looked like a vindication of the “go cheaper, go wider” approach in Arsenal’s defence.
Then came the Ezri Konsa (£4.5m) signing.
The former Aston Villa man brings versatility, and that’s exactly what worries Fantasy managers. Konsa can operate at right-back or centre-back, and until Mikel Arteta shows his hand, there’s an element of uncertainty over how stable those full-back spots really are.
For now, Gabriel still feels the safest route into the Arsenal back line. The others might offer value, but they come with selection risk attached.
Szoboszlai steps into Salah’s shadow
Liverpool’s penalty-taker debate might already be over.
Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) converted a late spot-kick against Newcastle United, a moment that could reshape the mid-price midfield market. With Mohamed Salah gone, there was a vacancy from 12 yards. Szoboszlai appears to have claimed it.
The Hungarian was already highly owned – over 42 per cent of squads – thanks to his expected dominance of set pieces under new head coach Andoni Iraola. Add penalties to that package and his ceiling rises sharply.
Crucially, Liverpool’s schedule gives him a platform to explode. In the next three Gameweeks they host Nottingham Forest and Fulham and travel to Ipswich Town. With Alexander Isak (£9.0m) seemingly behind him in the penalty queue, Szoboszlai looks set to be one of the most aggressively bought assets of the early season.
Sangare: the £5.5m monster
Every season needs a budget midfielder who breaks the game open. Mamadou Sangare (£5.5m) is making an early bid to be that man.
Brentford’s summer signing produced an all-action display against Tottenham Hotspur, immediately validating the pre-season whispers that he could be this year’s Elliot Anderson (£6.5m). Over 204,000 managers have already moved for him ahead of Gameweek 2 – more than any other midfielder or forward.
Initially, his appeal centred on defensive contribution (DC) points in the sub-£6.0m bracket. He delivered on that front with two DC points.
He didn’t stop there. Sangare also laid on two assists, racking up a huge 14-point haul. At £5.5m, with DC upside and attacking output, he already looks like a “set-and-forget” starter rather than a bench option.
If that level of involvement continues, his ownership will not stay low for long.
Leeds’ hidden gems: Stach and Bijol
Leeds United slipped under the radar in many pre-season drafts. That might not last.
Their 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest kicks off a favourable stretch in which they play three of the next four Gameweeks at Elland Road, hosting Brentford, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace.
Anton Stach (£6.0m) seized his chance to impress. The midfielder delivered a double-figure haul at the weekend and, given his multiple routes to points, looks underpriced. He offers more than just the occasional shot or key pass.
At the back, the numbers point towards Jaka Bijol (£5.0m). Leeds kept six of their eight clean sheets at home last season, and Bijol’s profile suggests strong potential for DC points on top of shut-outs.
The ownership tells the story. Stach sits in just 1.4 per cent of squads, Bijol in 0.6 per cent. Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m), by contrast, is in 29.9 per cent. For managers chasing early differentials, Leeds offer exactly that.
Trust in Moyes’ Everton
Price rises put many off Everton this summer. That already looks like a mistake.
Under David Moyes, Everton opened with a solid win over Crystal Palace, and two of their key Fantasy assets reminded managers why they were popular in the first place.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£6.5m), owned by just four per cent, struck the opening goal and walked away with 11 points. His role in this Everton side screams value if he maintains that attacking involvement.
James Tarkowski (£6.0m) did what premium defenders are supposed to do: he delivered a clean sheet. On top of that, he made nine defensive contributions – one short of the 10 needed for DC points. He was inches away from an even bigger return.
If Everton continue to look organised and physical under Moyes, these two will not stay under-owned for long.
Maresca’s Man City: Haaland… and who else?
Enzo Maresca’s first Premier League line-up for Manchester City raised eyebrows everywhere.
Marc Guehi (£6.0m), a centre-back by trade, started in central midfield. Nico O’Reilly (£6.5m), a left-back, was pushed into an advanced central role behind Erling Haaland (£15.5m). It looked experimental. It played that way too.
City needed a spark. Rayan Cherki (£7.5m) provided it.
Off the bench, the Frenchman flipped the game, supplying assists for both Guehi and Josko Gvardiol (£5.5m) in a 2-1 comeback win over Bournemouth. He was the one City attacker, Haaland aside, who truly caught the Fantasy eye.
Haaland remains the obvious captaincy choice. His ownership is enormous and his role is unquestioned. The rest of City’s options, though, feel like a puzzle still being assembled. Until Maresca settles on a shape and a core, many managers will think twice before doubling up.
Promoted centre-backs and the DC goldmine
The promoted clubs have thrown a curveball into the budget defender market. Every one of their defenders is priced at £4.0m, and some are already piling up defensive contributions.
Hull City’s John Egan leads the way with 21 DCs against Manchester United, a massive total that underlines how busy he was in that shock 2-0 win. Ipswich Town’s Dara O’Shea is next on 18.
Even in defeat, there was value. Coventry City’s Bobby Thomas made 10 defensive contributions against Arsenal, earning two DC points and finishing with three points overall despite the 3-0 loss.
For managers hunting for £4.0m defenders who actually score points, these names will be hard to ignore.
Villa exposed and vulnerable
Aston Villa’s summer exodus has left scars, and Brighton & Hove Albion ripped them open.
Unai Emery’s side were thrashed 4-0, a result that laid bare just how thin their squad now looks at both ends of the pitch. Key departures have stripped away depth and quality, and Villa struggled to cope.
The situation could deteriorate further. With Ollie Watkins (£8.0m) recently linked with a move away, the prospect of Villa losing their main goal threat looms over the early weeks of the campaign.
Until the club reinvests decisively in the remaining transfer window, Fantasy managers may start to view Villa less as a source of assets and more as a fixture to target – a team to attack for goals and clean sheets.
Gameweek 1 has drawn some harsh lines. The question now is simple: who adapts fastest, the clubs on the pitch or the managers picking their teams?
