The opening weekend of the Premier League season is almost here, which means the final decisions are being made for the FanTeam EPL 2026/27 Season Game.

FanTeam’s pricing creates some interesting differences compared with other fantasy football games. There are areas where managers can spend considerably less without necessarily sacrificing many points, while a handful of more expensive players may be difficult to justify until their roles become clearer.

That matters particularly in a season-long format. FanTeam managers receive one free transfer each Gameweek, with unused transfers carrying over until the next Wildcard is activated. Starting with a well-balanced squad can therefore reduce the need for early corrective transfers.

The main £20 FanTeam EPL Season Game has a minimum guaranteed £65,000 prize pool. Managers select 15 players with a £100m budget, can choose no more than three players from any Premier League club and may enter up to 25 teams. Two Wildcards are available during the season.

With the first deadline approaching, here are several areas of the player list that look particularly interesting.

There may be little reason to spend heavily on goalkeepers

Goalkeeper looks like an obvious position in which to save some budget.

FanTeam’s scoring gives goalkeepers an additional point for every two saves. As a result, cheaper keepers can remain useful even when playing for sides that concede more chances.

With a number of possible starters priced around £4.5m, managers have plenty of alternatives to the premium options.

Carl Rushworth at £4.0m is perhaps the clearest example. If he establishes himself as a regular starter, having an active goalkeeper available at the minimum price provides considerable flexibility.

He could be used primarily as a low-cost second goalkeeper, while still offering the possibility of coming into the starting XI during favourable fixture runs.

Rather than spending another £1m or £1.5m in goal, that money could potentially produce a much larger improvement in midfield or attack.

Pascal Groß – £5.0m

Pascal Groß at £5.0m is one of the midfielders who looks inexpensive for what he could offer.

At that price, managers are not relying on Groß to produce the numbers of an £8m or £9m midfielder. Regular starts and involvement in dead-ball situations could already make him a useful option.

Set pieces are particularly relevant when assessing lower-priced midfielders because they create additional opportunities for goals and assists without the player needing to be the focal point of his team’s attack.

The bigger attraction may be what the selection does to the rest of a squad. Finding a reliable £5.0m midfielder can make it considerably easier to accommodate two or three premium attacking players elsewhere.

Marco Palestra – £5.0m

Marco Palestra at £5.0m represents a different type of selection.

His appeal is based much more on potential attacking involvement than security.

If Palestra earns regular minutes in an advanced wing-back position, his classification as a defender could make him very useful for fantasy purposes. Players operating high up the pitch while receiving defensive points can be extremely valuable when their price remains relatively low.

The question is whether he plays often enough.

Chelsea have considerable depth, so this is not the sort of selection managers should make without considering the possibility of rotation.

However, if the early team selections suggest that Palestra has secured a significant role, he becomes one of the more interesting £5.0m defenders in the game.

Gonzalo García – £6.0m

Fulham forward Gonzalo García is priced at £6.0m, which makes his early-season role worth watching closely.

The important factors here are straightforward: starts, position and penalties.

If García becomes Fulham’s regular central striker and also has involvement from the penalty spot, the potential return available at £6.0m changes considerably.

His attacking numbers in Spain were encouraging, with approximately 0.50 expected goal involvements per 90 minutes.

There is no requirement for a £6.0m forward to challenge the league’s elite attackers. A steady supply of starts, goals and occasional assists would already make him a useful fantasy asset at this price.

Managers who are not completely convinced before Gameweek 1 can keep him on the watchlist and reassess once Fulham’s attacking hierarchy becomes clearer.

Leeds defenders – £4.5m

Leeds could provide another useful source of budget defenders.

Their likely starters are available at around £4.5m, giving managers several routes into the same defence without paying a premium.

At this price point, expectations should remain realistic. Leeds do not need to record clean sheets every other week for their defenders to become viable.

Regular starts combined with a reasonable defensive record would already make them competitive against other options in the same price bracket.

If one of their defenders also demonstrates consistent attacking involvement, there may be an opportunity to obtain both clean-sheet potential and occasional attacking returns for a relatively small investment.

Cole Palmer – £8.5m

Not every value selection needs to be cheap.

Cole Palmer at £8.5m stands out because the price appears relatively modest compared with his potential output.

When fully fit, Palmer has demonstrated the underlying numbers of a premium fantasy player. During his last uninterrupted campaign, he recorded approximately 0.75 expected goal involvements per 90 minutes.

He has also had the benefit of a full pre-season, something that could be important after fitness issues affected his previous campaign.

Chelsea’s strength in attack means there will always be competition for involvement, but Palmer has already shown that he is capable of producing both goals and assists at a very high rate.

If he starts the season in that sort of form, £8.5m could prove to be an important price point when managers are trying to combine several expensive players in the same squad.

Ezri Konsa – £5.0m

Ezri Konsa at £5.0m is a slightly different case because his appeal could change significantly depending on developments away from the pitch.

Konsa is currently an Aston Villa player, but there has been transfer interest involving Arsenal.

There is little reason to select him purely on the assumption that a transfer will happen. At Villa, he should instead be assessed on the merits of Villa’s defence and fixtures.

Should his situation change, however, his £5.0m FanTeam price would remain unchanged.

A move that resulted in regular starts for one of the league’s stronger defensive sides could therefore make him considerably more attractive.

He is best treated as a player whose circumstances are worth following rather than someone managers need to force into their Gameweek 1 teams.

Which expensive players carry more risk?

Value is not only about identifying cheap players.

Avoiding an expensive selection who fails to justify his price can be equally important, particularly when that player occupies a large proportion of the £100m budget.

Several players currently come with enough uncertainty to warrant some additional thought.

Bukayo Saka – £10.0m

Bukayo Saka costs £10.0m, putting him firmly into premium territory.

Saka’s ability is not in question. The consideration is whether managers need to commit that amount of budget immediately.

His workload and fitness have been managed during pre-season, and uncertainty surrounding early minutes reduces the appeal slightly when compared with other expensive players who appear guaranteed to start.

At £10.0m, managers ideally want both a secure place in the team and a major share of their club’s attacking returns.

Arsenal also generate goals from a variety of sources, particularly from set pieces, so there may be periods where paying such a large amount for one attacker is difficult to justify.

That could change very quickly once Saka is starting consistently and producing again.

For Gameweek 1, though, there is a reasonable argument for waiting.

Benjamin Sesko – £7.5m

The main concern with Benjamin Sesko at £7.5m is not ability but certainty.

Manchester United have several attacking combinations available, and managers paying £7.5m would ideally want confidence that Sesko will be on the pitch regularly enough to justify the investment.

That certainty is not yet completely established.

Bryan Mbeumo at £9.0m offers an interesting alternative within the same attack. He is more expensive, but he also brings Premier League pedigree and produced approximately 0.59 non-penalty expected goal involvements per 90 minutes.

If Mbeumo spends periods operating centrally, the additional £1.5m could be worthwhile.

Sesko may ultimately become an excellent option, but there is no urgency to select him before his role becomes more predictable.

Matheus Nunes – £6.5m

Matheus Nunes at £6.5m is another player whose price requires a fairly significant return.

His appearances in defence last season naturally attracted fantasy interest because of his ability to contribute further up the pitch.

The difficulty this year is determining exactly how regularly he will play (including implications of an injury in the warm up to yesterday’s match with Arsenal leading to his withdrawal from the bench) and what his role will look like under the current tactical setup.

Manchester City have several alternatives in defensive positions, so rotation remains a possibility.

At £6.5m, managers are also paying considerably more than they would for the large group of £4.5m and £5.0m defenders available elsewhere.

For that additional expenditure to make sense, Nunes would probably need a combination of reliable starts, clean sheets and attacking contributions.

Until there is stronger evidence that those ingredients are present, the money may be better allocated elsewhere.

Building a balanced FanTeam squad

One of the more appealing aspects of FanTeam’s 2026/27 pricing is the number of different squad structures available.

Managers who save money at goalkeeper and defence can potentially devote a much larger proportion of the budget to attacking players.

Alternatively, selecting one or two mid-priced players who look capable of outperforming their price can create enough room for several premiums without leaving the rest of the squad too weak.

Rushworth could provide a route to a very cheap goalkeeper pairing, while Groß and Leeds defenders offer possible savings further up the team.

García is worth monitoring if his position as Fulham’s first-choice striker becomes established, while Palmer could potentially provide premium-level attacking numbers without carrying one of the very highest prices in the game.

Palestra is a higher-risk option, but an advanced role would make his £5.0m price considerably more attractive.

At the same time, there is no need to spend every available million simply because a player has a big reputation.

Saka, Sesko and Nunes could all become excellent FanTeam picks during the season. The question ahead of Gameweek 1 is whether there is currently enough certainty to justify their respective prices.

With transfers relatively limited compared with some fantasy formats, beginning the season with players who have clear roles could be just as important as chasing the highest possible ceiling.

FanTeam EPL Season Game

The FanTeam EPL 2026/27 Season Game begins with the opening Premier League fixture on Friday 21 August.

The headline contest costs £20 to enter and has a minimum guaranteed £65,000 prize pool.

Managers receive a £100m budget to select 15 players, with a maximum of three players from each Premier League club. There is one free transfer available per Gameweek, unused transfers can be carried forward until the next Wildcard, and managers receive two Wildcards across the season.

There is no late registration, so teams need to be entered before the opening Premier League match kicks off.

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.