The new Premier League season is almost here, which means it is time to lock in our FISO squad for FanTeam’s 2026/27 EPL Season Game.

The headline £20 Season Game has a minimum guaranteed prize pool of £65,000, with £13,000 guaranteed to first place. There is no late registration, so teams need to be entered before Arsenal v Coventry gets the season underway on Friday. We have spent £99.5m of the £100m budget and are starting Gameweek 1 in a 3-5-2.

Goalkeepers

Jordan Pickford (£5.0m) starts for us, with Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m) providing cover.

We like Pickford as a dependable long-term option and Everton’s home meeting with Crystal Palace is enough to give him the nod in GW1 with Everton having a softer run of opening fixtures.

Defence

Our back three is:

Gabriel (£6.5m) – Neco Williams (£5.0m) – Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.5m)

Gabriel is the premium pick and looks particularly attractive at his FanTeam price. Arsenal begin at home to Coventry, while his threat from set pieces gives him routes to points at both ends of the pitch.

Williams offers a little more attacking potential, while Branthwaite gives us a reasonably priced route into the Everton defence.

Maxence Lacroix (£4.5m) and Adrien Truffert (£5.0m) complete the defensive unit on the bench.

Midfield

This is where we have invested heavily.

Bruno Fernandes (£10.5m) is one of our favourite FanTeam picks and takes the vice-captaincy for Gameweek 1.

Alongside him are Cole Palmer (£8.5m), Bruno Guimarães (£7.0m), Ismaïla Sarr (£6.5m) and Emi Buendía (£6.0m).

Palmer and Fernandes provide the premium attacking threat, while the other three allow us to field a strong five-man midfield without compromising the rest of the squad.

Forwards

There was never much doubt over our first forward.

Erling Haaland (£12.5m) leads the line and gets the captain’s armband for Manchester City’s home fixture against Bournemouth.

Alongside him is Igor Thiago (£8.0m), who begins with Brentford at home to Spurs.

Will Osula (£5.5m) is our third forward and starts the campaign on the bench.

There are certainly a few positions we will be watching closely over the opening weeks, but we are happy with the balance: a strong premium core, plenty invested in midfield and enough value picks to leave £0.5m in the bank.

FanTeam managers receive one free transfer per Gameweek, with unused transfers able to be carried forward, so there is no need to chase every early bandwagon immediately. The game also includes two Wildcards across the season.

With £65,000 guaranteed in the main £20 contest, now is the time to get your squad entered and see if you can beat the FISO team over the course of the season. FanTeam’s EPL Season Game is available to players aged 18 and over. T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. For more discussion visit FISO’s FanTeam forum.