FPL pre-season friendlies 2025/26

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DEFCON Data: Rodon(6), Gudmundsson(3), Stach (9)

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DEFCON Data: Tarkowski(14), Branthwaite(11), Ndiaye(10), Gana(9), KDH(4)

Tarkowski got 10 DEFCON in just 66' minutes

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-119rXpfkg

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[Pirlo's Beard]

July 23rd - Arsenal 1 Milan 0 (5-6 on penalties) - Highlights
July 27th - Arsenal 3 Newcastle 2 - Highlights
July 31st - Arsenal 0 Tottenham 1 - Highlights
August 6th - Arsenal 2 Villarreal 3 (3-4 on penalties) - Highlights
August 9th - Arsenal 3 Athletic Bilbao 0 - Highlights

Goals: Saka (2), Ødegaard (2), Gyökeres (1), Havertz (1), Merino (1), Nørgaard (1)

Victor Gyökeres (£9.0m FWD) was the headline signing of a busy summer of transfer activity for Arsenal, who have been splashing the cash in a bid to finally secure that elusive Premier League title. Gyökeres started both of Arsenal's final two friendlies and scored a headed goal in the win over Athletic Bilbao. Kai Havertz (£7.5m FWD) started the first three friendlies but will likely play a back-up role to Gyökeres, whose 97 goals in 102 appearances for Sporting have made him a popular FPL asset already, with his ownership currently sitting at just over 25%. In addition to Gyökeres, long-time target Martín Zubimendi (£5.5m MID) has arrived from Real Sociedad, and will probably be first-choice in that defensive midfield role. The alternative to Zubimendi would be Christian Nørgaard (£5.5m MID), who arrives after spending six years at Brentford and has the advantage of already having Premier League experience. Meanwhile, Arsenal have spent big money to sign the talented but inconsistent Noni Madueke (£7.0m MID) from Chelsea. Madueke could threaten Gabriel Martinelli (£7.0m MID) for a place on the left of Arsenal's front three.

The only real blot on Arsenal's pre-season copybook was a defeat to rivals Tottenham in Hong Kong, where a robust defensive performance from Spurs frustrated Arsenal and brought the kind of typically measured online reaction you'd expect from some of Arsenal's more rabid fans. I guess for some of those fans, it was hard seeing their lifelong dreams of winning the Herbalgy Trophy dashed (yes, Spurs did an actual trophy lift and everything). All's well that ends well though, as Arsenal got their hands on the Emirates Cup with a 3-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao in their final friendly. Arsenal have been linked with a move for Eberechi Eze but apparently are not willing to pay Crystal Palace's asking price.






July 16th - Walsall 1 Aston Villa 0 - Highlights
July 19th - Hansa Rostock 3 Aston Villa 1 - Highlights
July 26th - Eintracht Frankfurt 2 Aston Villa 2 - Highlights
July 30th - St. Louis City 1 Aston Villa 2 - Highlights
August 2nd - Nashville 2 Aston Villa 2 - Highlights
August 6th - Aston Villa 4 Roma 0
August 9th - Marseille 3 Aston Villa 1 - Highlights
August 10th - Villarreal 0 Aston Villa 2 - Highlights

Goals: Watkins (5), Buendía (2), Malen (2), Ramsey (2), Rogers (2), McGinn (1)

A busy pre-season schedule for Villa saw them play a total of eight friendlies. Their annual friendly against Walsall was followed by a trip to Germany where they lost to Hansa Rostock, before they headed to the US for a three-game tour which found Ollie Watkins (£9.0m FWD) in good goalscoring form. Watkins ended pre-season with a total of five goals. Donyell Malen (£5.5m MID) had a good pre-season too, with two goals and three assists. He was mostly used as an alternative to Ollie Watkins up front in pre-season, but may compete with Leon Bailey (£5.5m MID) for a spot on the wing. A 4-0 thrashing of Roma saw Malen and Watkins on the scoresheet again, in addition to goals from Emiliano Buendía (£5.5m MID) and Jacob Ramsey (£5.5m MID) (who also scored against Rostock). Villa rounded off pre-season with a couple of friendlies on the continent: A largely second-string starting line-up fell to a 3-1 defeat against Marseille in France on Saturday, while a stronger-looking line-up started the 2-0 win against Villarreal in Spain on Sunday.

Villa have been fairly quiet in the transfer market this summer, with the only major signing of note being Ivory Coast forward Evann Guessand (£6.5m MID), who has signed from Nice for a fee of around £30m. Guessand is a centre-forward who can also play out wide. Philippe Coutinho has left the club and joined Vasco da Gama in Brazil, and yes, I had completely forgotten he was still at Villa too. Emiliano Martínez (£5.0m GKP) is suspended for GW1 after his red card against Man Utd in the final game of last season. Villa have an attractive set of opening fixtures and are attracting plenty of FPL interest as a result, with Ezri Konsa (£4.5m DEF) and Morgan Rogers (£7.0m MID) both currently sitting in over 20% of FPL teams (although Rogers is a doubt for GW1 with an ankle injury).






July 15th - Bournemouth 2 Hibernian 1
July 19th - Bournemouth 6 Bristol City 2
July 26th - Everton 0 Bournemouth 3 - Highlights
July 30th - Manchester United 4 Bournemouth 1 - Highlights
August 3rd - Bournemouth 0 West Ham 2 - Highlights
August 9th - Bournemouth 1 Real Sociedad 1
August 9th - Bournemouth 0 Real Sociedad 0 - Highlights

Goals: Billing (2), Evanilson (2), Ouattara (2), Truffert (2), Adu-Adjei (1), Faivre (1), Semenyo (1), Tavernier (1)

Bournemouth kicked off their pre-season campaign with a couple of behind-closed-doors friendlies, before jetting off to the US to take part in the Premier League Summer Series. The series started well for them, with a 3-0 hammering of Everton, but they followed that up with a poor performance against Man Utd where they lost heavily, before ending the series with a 2-0 defeat to West Ham. Back in England at the weekend, they played a couple of friendlies against Real Sociedad where they sent out two different line-ups. Both games ended in draws. Illia Zabarnyi took part in Bournemouth's US tour but has since agreed a deal to join PSG. Bournemouth wasted no time in lining up his replacement, French centre-back Bafodé Diakité, whose £35m transfer from Lille is expected to be confirmed in the coming days.

Justin Kluivert (£7.0m MID) missed most of pre-season after picking up a calf injury in the behind-closed-doors win against Hibernian. His recovery is taking longer than expected, according to Andoni Iraola. Also absent in pre-season through injury were midfielders Ryan Christie (£5.0m MID) and Luis Sinisterra (£5.0m MID), although Iraola expects to have both of them back in training this week. Dango Ouattara (£6.0m MID) scored a couple of goals in pre-season but has since been linked with a move to Brentford. French left-back Adrien Truffert (£4.5m DEF) has been signed from Rennes to replace Milos Kerkez. Truffert conceded a penalty in the scoreless draw against Real Sociedad, which was saved by fellow new signing Đorđe Petrović (£4.5m GKP). Enes Ünal (£5.5m FWD) remains absent with an ACL injury sustained in January.






July 25th - Gil Vicente 1 Brentford 1 - Highlights
August 2nd - QPR 0 Brentford 1 - Highlights
August 8th - Brentford 2 Borussia Mönchengladbach 2 - Highlights
August 9th - Brentford 1 Borussia Mönchengladbach 2

Goals: Carvalho (1), Collins (1), Damsgaard (1), Donovan (1), Igor Thiago (1)

Brentford concluded their four-game pre-season campaign with a pair of friendlies against Borussia Mönchengladbach at the weekend, the second of which was played behind closed doors. New signing Caoimhin Kelleher (£4.5m GKP), the most second-most popular goalkeeper in FPL (with just under 25% current ownership), missed the final two friendlies with a knock. His absence is not thought to have been anything more than a precautionary measure however. Last season's top scorer Yoane Wissa (£7.5m FWD) played no part in pre-season. He is seeking a move away from the club and relations between club and player are described as "strained." In his absence, Igor Thiago (£6.0m FWD) led the line in pre-season. Thiago was originally signed in anticipation of being Ivan Toney's replacement, but injuries limited him to just eight appearances in the league last season following his £30m move from Club Brugge. Michael Kayode's (£4.5m DEF) loan move from Fiorentina has been made permanent, while veteran midfielder Jordan Henderson (£5.0m MID) has been brought in to fill the void left by Christian Nørgaard's departure.

Brentford have promoted set piece coach Keith Andrews to the role of head coach following the departure of club legend Thomas Frank. As an Ireland fan who spent years watching this guy plodding around our midfield alongside the equally hapless Paul Green, before going on to do TV punditry after he retired and revealing himself to be a complete charisma vacuum in the process, and then finally rocking up as assistant to Stephen Kenny as he presided over some of the worst results in our international history, I can only say to Brentford fans: God help you all.






July 12th - Brighton 6 Wycombe 1 - Highlights
July 16th - Brighton 3 Stoke 1 - Highlights
July 21st - Brighton 2 Las Palmas 0 - Highlights
July 26th - Brighton 2 Coventry 0 - Highlights
August 2nd - Southampton 0 Brighton 1
August 2nd - Southampton 2 Brighton 2 - Highlights
August 9th - Brighton 2 VfL Wolfsburg 0
August 9th - Brighton 2 VfL Wolfsburg 1 - Highlights

Goals: Welbeck (4), Ayari (2), Minteh (2), Rutter (2), Sarmiento (2), Buonanotte (1), Coppola (1), Mitoma (1), O'Riley (1), De Cuyper (1), Gruda (1), Sima (1), Tasker (1)

Brighton kicked off their pre-season campaign with a 6-1 thrashing of Wycombe Wanderers behind closed doors, a game that featured a four-goal haul from Danny Welbeck (£6.5m FWD). Welbeck might have expected to nail down the centre forward position this season following João Pedro's move to Chelsea, but in Brighton's final friendly match (a 2-1 win against Wolfsburg), it was Georginio Rutter (£6.0m MID) who was given the nod up front in what otherwise looked to be a first-choice line-up. Welbeck now has additional competition from Greek strikers Charalampos Kostoulas (£5.0m FWD) (a £30m signing from Olympiacos) and Stefanos Tzimas (£5.5m FWD) (who was signed from Nürnberg in February but loaned back to the German club for the remainder of last season). The Wolfsburg match also featured a goal from new signing Maxim De Cuyper (£4.5m DEF), an attack-minded left-back who has been signed to replace Pervis Estupiñán, who has joined Milan.

Carlos Baleba (£5.0m MID) missed Brighton's final few friendlies after picking up a knee injury in training. The midfielder has been linked with a move to Man Utd. Simon Adingra has been sold to Sunderland, and Evan Ferguson has joined Roma on a season-long loan. Brighton have signed a couple of centre-backs who could threaten Lewis Dunk's (£4.5m DEF) place in the team: Olivier Boscagli (£4.5m DEF), who has joined on a free from PSV; and Diego Coppola (£4.5m DEF), who has been signed from Hellas Verona for a fee of £9.4m. Adam Webster (£4.5m DEF) is set to "miss a large part of the season" after suffering a knee ligament injury during the training camp in Marbella.






July 12th - Burnley 1 Fleetwood Town 0
July 19th - Burnley 1 Wolves 1
July 26th - Huddersfield 0 Burnley 2 - Highlights
July 26th - Shrewsbury 2 Burnley 2
August 2nd - Stoke 1 Burnley 0 - Highlights
August 9th - Burnley 0 Lazio 1 - Highlights

Goals: Edwards (3), Bruun Larsen (1), McDermott (1), Westley (1)

Burnley return to the Premier League after a one-year absence on the back of record-breaking defensive numbers in the Championship. They conceded just 16 goals last season, keeping clean sheets in 30 of their 46 games. They also became the first team in English football history to hit a century of points without winning the title (unlucks, Burnley ), and will begin the season looking to extend a club-record 33-game unbeaten streak. Scott Parker has been busy strengthening his squad to give them a chance of survival: Kyle Walker (£4.5m DEF) brings vast Premier League experience after his £5m transfer from Man City, while striker Armando Broja (not yet listed in FPL) and midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu (£5.0m MID) have both been signed from Chelsea. Jacob Bruun Larsen (£5.5m MID) returns to the club on a permanent deal having played for Burnley on loan two seasons ago, while Jaidon Anthony's (£5.5m MID) loan move from Bournemouth has been made permanent. Axel Tuanzebe (£4.0m DEF) has joined on a free from Ipswich.

There are some potential FPL bargains in the Burnley defence this season. Centre-back Maxime Estève (£4.0m DEF) was a key figure for Burnley last season and offers FPL managers a base-price option, as does new signing Quilindschy Hartman (£4.0m DEF), an £8m arrival from Feyenoord who will play at left-back. Estève's partner at centre-back last season, CJ Egan-Riley, has joined Marseille, so Estève will likely be partnered by Swedish defender Hjalmar Ekdal (£4.0m DEF). Martin Dúbravka (£4.0m GKP) has joined on a one-year deal from Newcastle, but has apparently been struggling with a shoulder issue and didn't feature in Burnley's final friendly, which means fellow new arrival Max Weiß (£4.5m GKP) may start the season in goal. Midfielder Josh Laurent (£5.0m MID) was sent off in the friendly defeat to Stoke by referee Steve Martin (what a jerk!).






August 8th - Chelsea 2 Bayer Leverkusen 0 - Highlights
August 10th - Chelsea 4 Milan 1 - Highlights

Goals: Delap (2), João Pedro (2), Estêvão (1)

Chelsea opted to play just two friendlies this summer after their exploits at the Club World Cup, which ended in resounding victory but meant they were playing competitive football until the middle of July. With players subsequently being given three weeks off, it meant that most of their first-team squad returned to training just days before a double-header of matches at Stamford Bridge this weekend, which saw them beat Leverkusen 2-0 on Friday before demolishing Milan 4-1 on Sunday. New signing Estêvão (£6.5m MID) (who played against Chelsea for Palmeiras at the Club World Cup) scored the opening goal against Leverkusen, with the second added by João Pedro (£7.5m FWD), who scored three goals for Chelsea at the Club World Cup after joining them mid-tournament. They took the lead against Milan when Andrei Coubiș put through his own net, and a bad day got worse for Coubiș when he was sent off 13 minutes later. João Pedro added a second, and Liam Delap (£6.5m FWD) came off the bench to score a brace of goals, one of them a penalty. João Pedro currently sits in over half of FPL teams, but Delap could prove a serious threat to his minutes this season.

Levi Colwill (£5.0m DEF) picked up an ACL injury in training last week and is set to miss most of the season. Nicolas Jackson (£6.5m FWD) is suspended for GW1 after his red card idiocy last season, and now finds himself third in the pecking order for the striker spot. He has been linked with a move to Newcastle. Winger Jamie Gittens (£6.5m MID) has joined from Dortmund for a fee of nearly £50m and is likely to start on the left wing, with Pedro Neto (£7.0m MID) the most likely to start on the right. When asked about Chelsea's truncated pre-season schedule, manager Enzo Maresca said: "It's strange, it's different, Palace started when we were in USA, we had three weeks off, started two days ago with two friendlies in 48 hours, we will see game-by-game, day-by-day about how we are."






July 12th - Crystal Palace 1 Millwall 0 - Highlights
July 25th - Crawley 0 Crystal Palace 3 - Highlights
July 29th - Mainz 1 Crystal Palace 1 - Highlights
July 29th - Mainz 3 Crystal Palace 2 - Highlights
August 1st - Augsburg 1 Crystal Palace 3 - Highlights
August 1st - Augsburg 1 Crystal Palace 0 - Highlights
August 10th - Crystal Palace 2 Liverpool 2 (3-2 on penalties) - Highlights

Goals: Mateta (5), Eze (2), Esse (1), Lacroix (1), Muñoz (1), Rak-Sakyi (1), Sarr (1)

Crystal Palace rounded off their pre-season preparations with victory over Liverpool in the Community Shield. It's the second trophy in the space of three months for the previously-trophyless Palace, who are set to play in the UEFA Conference League this season after an unsuccessful appeal against their demotion from the Europa League for allegedly breaking UEFA's multi-club ownership rules. Their pre-season campaign involved a couple of friendlies on home soil against lower-league opposition, before a trip to Austria to play a couple of double-headers against German opposition. Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m FWD) was in good form, scoring a brace against Augsburg and further goals against Crawley and Mainz, before finding himself on the scoresheet again at Wembley on Sunday when he scored a penalty.

The South London club have so far managed to retain all of their key players, despite interest in Eberechi Eze (£7.5m MID) from the likes of Arsenal and Spurs. They've had a fairly quiet summer in the transfer market themselves, with just a couple of signings: Argentine goalkeeper Walter Benítez (£4.0m GKP) has joined on a free from PSV (although Dean Henderson's (£5.0m GKP) place should be safe, particularly after his penalty shootout heroics on Sunday), and Croatian full-back Borna Sosa (£5.0m DEF) has been signed from Ajax to provide competition for Tyrick Mitchell (£5.0m DEF). Daichi Kamada (£5.0m MID) went off injured against Liverpool and is a doubt for Palace's Premier League opener. Cheick Doucouré (£5.0m MID) is sidelined with a knee injury, and Eddie Nketiah (£5.5m FWD) has a hamstring injury that will keep him out until the end of October.






July 15th - Accrington Stanley 1 Everton 1 - Highlights
July 19th - Blackburn 1 Everton 0 - Highlights
July 22nd - Everton 2 Port Vale 1
July 26th - Everton 0 Bournemouth 3 - Highlights
July 30th - West Ham 2 Everton 1 - Highlights
August 3rd - Manchester United 2 Everton 2 - Highlights
August 9th - Everton 0 Roma 1 - Highlights

Goals: Alcaraz (1), Beto (1), Garner (1), Gueye (1), Ndiaye (1)

Everton rounded off pre-season with a narrow defeat to Roma at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium in a match which saw the first capacity crowd at the stadium. Earlier in pre-season they had beaten Port Vale at their new home, but that match was played behind closed doors (and featured a stunning free kick from James Garner). In between those two home games, they travelled to the US to take part in the Premier League Summer Series, where they were soundly beaten by Bournemouth before a narrow defeat to West Ham and an entertaining 2-2 draw with Man Utd. David Moyes experimented with a back three during the US tour, but reverted to a back four for the final two friendlies.

After a worringly quiet summer in the transfer market, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.0m MID) was signed last week from Chelsea for a fee of around £28m. He started in the no.10 role in Everton's final friendly (behind fellow new signing Thierno Barry (£6.0m FWD)) and won praise for his performance. In a 60-minute appearance, he played four key passes and took several corners. At just £5.0m, he could turn out to be an underpriced FPL asset this season. Vitalii Mykolenko (£5.0m DEF) went off injured early on against Roma and could miss GW1. Fellow defender Nathan Patterson (£4.5m DEF) missed the latter part of pre-season with a hernia. Several senior players left the club at the end of their contracts this summer, including Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucouré, and Ashley Young.






July 19th - Fulham 4 Aberdeen 1
July 22nd - Fulham 1 West Brom 0
July 26th - Fulham 3 Nottingham Forest 1 - Highlights
July 30th - Fulham 4 Al-Ittihad 2 - Highlights
August 9th - Fulham 1 Eintracht Frankfurt 0 - Highlights

Goals: Wilson (5), King (2), Smith Rowe (2), Cuenca (1), Jiménez (1), Muniz (1), Pereira (1)

Harry Wilson (£5.5m MID) was the star of Fulham's pre-season campaign, scoring five goals, including a brace in a behind-closed-doors game against Aberdeen, and another against Nottingham Forest in Portugal. Meanwhile, 18 year-old midfielder Josh King (£4.5m MID) has emerged as a potential base-price midfield option after he started in each of Fulham's final three friendlies (and scored in the win over Al-Ittihad). Raúl Jiménez (£6.5m FWD) made his first appearance of pre-season in Fulham's final friendly and scored a magnificent free kick. Jiménez had a busy summer as he was part of the Mexico squad at this year's Gold Cup. Mexico won the tournament and Jiménez scored three goals, including one in the final.

Antonee Robinson (£5.0m DEF) missed pre-season with a knee injury and will not be fit for the start of the season, according to Marco Silva. Silva has troubles at left-back, as Ryan Sessegnon (£5.5m MID) went off injured in the first half of Fulham's final friendly. At least this means my chances of repeating the mistake I made last year are slim, when I accidentally picked Sessegnon in my FPL squad despite meaning to select Robinson. Fulham have made just a single singing so far this summer: French goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte (£4.0m GKP) has joined from Montpellier for half a million pounds. They have been linked with a permanent move for Arsenal midfielder Reiss Nelson (£5.0m MID), who spent last season on loan at Fulham but saw his season ended by a hamstring injury in December.

[Pirlo's Beard]

July 19th - Manchester United 0 Leeds 0 - Highlights
July 22nd - SC Verl 1 Leeds 4 - Highlights
July 26th - SC Paderborn 2 Leeds 3 - Highlights
August 2nd - Leeds 1 Villarreal 1 - Highlights
August 9th - Leeds 1 Milan 1 - Highlights

Goals: Piroe (4), Gnonto (2), Nmecha (2), Stach (1)

Leeds returned to the Premier League under the guidance of Daniel Farke having accumulated a combined total of 190 points over their two seasons in the Championship. Farke favours a measured, possession-based style of football, an aversion to risk-taking which is notably different from the gung-ho style of football Leeds played in their previous promotion campaign under Marcelo Bielsa. Creativity comes mainly from the full-backs and wide players, with Farke likely to set the team up in a 4-3-3 formation. Jayden Bogle (£4.5m DEF) was key for us last season with six goals and five assists from right-back, although he missed the final two friendlies and is a doubt for GW1. Junior Firpo was equally productive at left-back with four goals and ten assists, but his contract wasn't renewed and he left the club in the summer. His replacement, Gabriel Gudmundsson (£4.0m DEF), is one of several cheap ways into the Leeds defence for anyone looking for some base-price bargains, the others being Jaka Bijol (£4.0m DEF) and Joe Rodon (£4.0m DEF), who are expected to form the central defensive partnership (although Bijol is suspended for GW1 owing to a suspension which carries over from his time in Serie A). Pascal Struijk (£4.5m DEF) is an interesting one if he gets gametime: when on the pitch last season he was our penalty-taker.

Leeds have spent the summer recruiting giants. Among our signings are the 6 foot 1 inch forward Lukas Nmecha (£5.0m FWD), the 6 foot 3 inch defender Bijol, the 6 foot 3 inch defender Sebastiaan Bornauw (£4.0m DEF), the 6 foot 4 inch midfielder Anton Stach (£5.0m MID) (who impressed in pre-season with a goal against Milan), and the 6 foot 5 inch goalkeeper Lucas Perri (£4.5m GKP) (whose arrival likely signals the exit of the error-prone Illan Meslier (£4.5m GKP)). We've also signed Sean Longstaff (£5.0m MID) from Newcastle, a mere midget at just 5 foot 11 inches. Daniel Farke is clearly determined to build a team that won't be bullied. Let's just hope they can play a bit of football as well.





July 13th - Preston 1 Liverpool 3 - Highlights
July 20th - Liverpool 5 Stoke 0 - Highlights
July 26th - Liverpool 2 Milan 4 - Highlights
July 30th - Yokohama F. Marinos 1 Liverpool 3 - Highlights
August 4th - Liverpool 4 Athletic Bilbao 1 - Highlights
August 4th - Liverpool 3 Athletic Bilbao 2 - Highlights
August 10th - Crystal Palace 2 Liverpool 2 (3-2 on penalties) - Highlights

Goals: Núñez (5), Gakpo (4), Ngumoha (3), Bradley (1), Chiesa (1), Ekitike (1), Elliott (1), Frimpong (1), Nyoni (1), Salah (1), Szoboszlai (1), Wirtz (1)

After a summer which brought the tragic news of the deaths of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva, Liverpool kicked off their pre-season campaign with a game against Preston which was preceded by several tributes to their former player. Liverpool won the game 3-1 with goals from Conor Bradley (£5.0m DEF), Cody Gakpo (£7.5m MID), and Darwin Núñez. Núñez went on to score a hat-trick in Liverpool's next friendly match, a 5-0 win against Stoke behind closed doors, but has since been sold to Al Hilal following the arrival of Hugo Ekitike (£8.5m FWD) from Frankfurt. Perhaps the star of Liverpool's pre-season was 16 year-old winger Rio Ngumoha (not yet listed in FPL), who scored three times and assisted twice over the course of several fine showings on the left wing. He even outperformed his illustrious teammate Mohamed Salah (£14.5m MID), who only scored once in pre-season and spooned a penalty against Athletic Bilbao into the Kop.

Liverpool have splashed the cash to strengthen their squad this summer, spending almost £250m to bring in Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong (£6.0m DEF), Milos Kerkez (£6.0m DEF), and Florian Wirtz (£8.5m MID). Wirtz looks set to operate as the no.10 in Liverpool's 4-2-3-1 formation, while Kerkez is expected to start ahead of Andy Robertson at left-back. Ekitike will operate as the no.9, but could face competition for a starting spot if Liverpool are successful in their pursuit of Alexander Isak. Alisson (£5.5m GKP) missed most of pre-season due to personal reasons, but returned to start in Liverpool's Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace on penalties, where Salah repeated his trick of spooning a penalty over the bar in the shootout.






August 2nd - Manchester City 1 Preston 0
August 9th - Palermo 0 Manchester City 3 - Highlights

Goals: Reijnders (2), Haaland (1), Lewis (1)

City opted for an ultra-minimalist approach to pre-season this year, playing just two friendlies: a 1-0 win against Preston behind closed doors at their training campus, and a 3-0 win against Serie B side Palermo in Italy. New signing Tijjani Reijnders (£5.5m MID) scored a second-half brace in the Palermo game (and apparently tripped over his own leg when the chance to score a tap-in to complete his hat-trick presented itself). Pep Guardiola has praised his ability to "help strikers" and he could turn out to be an underpriced gem. Guardiola gave gametime to 22 players against Palermo, although there were some notable absentees: Phil Foden (£8.0m MID), Joško Gvardiol (£6.0m DEF), and Rodri (£6.5m MID) were all deemed not fully fit (along with Claudio Echeverri (£5.5m MID)). Guardiola has confirmed that Rodri won't be fully fit until September. No doubt the Club World Cup has had an impact on City's pre-season preparations and goes some way to explaining the light pre-season schedule. Guardiola has spoken of his concern that the summer tournament could “destroy” Manchester City’s 2025/26 campaign.

Omar Marmoush (£8.5m MID) has been reclassified as a midfielder this season, leaving Erling Haaland (£14.0m FWD) as the only forward option in City's FPL squad. Rayan Aït-Nouri (£6.0m DEF) has been signed from Wolves for a fee of around £31m, and his arrival will likely mean fewer minutes for Joško Gvardiol at left-back. Jack Grealish (£6.5m MID) is on the verge of a loan move to Everton after falling out of favour at City. Grealish only started seven league games last season. Stefan Ortega (£5.0m GKP) is also expected to leave following the arrival of James Trafford (£5.0m GKP) from Burnley, while James McAtee (£5.5m MID) has been linked with a move to Spurs, who have also made a bid for winger Savinho (£7.0m MID). Mateo Kovačić (£6.0m MID) will miss the start of the season with an Achilles injury, but Oscar Bobb (£5.5m MID) is fit again after missing almost the entirety of last season with a broken leg.






July 19th - Manchester United 0 Leeds 0 - Highlights
July 26th - Manchester United 2 West Ham 1 - Highlights
July 30th - Manchester United 4 Bournemouth 1 - Highlights
August 3rd - Manchester United 2 Everton 2 - Highlights
August 9th - Manchester United 1 Fiorentina 1 (5-4 on penalties) - Highlights

Goals: Fernandes (3), Amad (1), Dorgu (1), Højlund (1), Mount (1), Williams (1)

After a disastrous league campaign which saw them finish in 15th place, Man Utd have re-tooled their forward line with the acquisitions of Matheus Cunha (£8.0m MID) from Wolves and Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m MID) from Brentford, two of last season's standout Premier League performers. Cunha scored 15 league goals last season (and has been reclassified as a midfielder), while Mbeumo shouldered the responsibility of being the main man at Brentford following the departure of Ivan Toney, scoring 20 goals (five of them penalties) and assisting another nine. Cunha and Mbeumo are expected to be the "2" in Ruben Amorim's 3-4-2-1 formation, with Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m MID) expected to play deeper. Mason Mount (£6.0m MID) started in the central attacking role against Fiorentina, but it's unlikely he'll be needed there again, as United confirmed on Saturday the £74m signing of striker Benjamin Šeško (not yet listed in FPL) from RB Leipzig.

André Onana (£5.0m GKP) and Joshua Zirkzee (£6.0m FWD) both missed United's US tour through injury, but both are expected to be fit for the start of the season. Altay Bayındır (£5.0m GKP) will start in goal if Onana is not fit. Noussair Mazraoui (£5.0m DEF) missed most of pre-season after sustaining a knock in United's opening friendly against Leeds, while Lisandro Martínez (£5.0m DEF) remains sidelined longer-term with an ACL injury. Base-price defender Ayden Heaven (£4.0m DEF) started twice in pre-season on the left side of the back three, but he was forced off with an injury against Fiorentina and may miss the start of the season, with Luke Shaw (£4.5m DEF) now likely to play there instead. Amad Diallo (£6.5m MID) and Patrick Dorgu (£4.5m DEF) are likely to play the wing-back roles. Marcus Rashford has joined Barcelona on a season-long loan, while Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelöf have both been released.






July 12th - Newcastle 4 Carlisle 0
July 19th - Celtic 4 Newcastle 0 - Highlights
July 27th - Arsenal 3 Newcastle 2 - Highlights
July 30th - Team K League 1 Newcastle 0
August 3rd - Tottenham 1 Newcastle 1 - Highlights
August 8th - Newcastle 2 Espanyol 2 - Highlights
August 9th - Newcastle 0 Atlético Madrid 2

Goals: Jacob Murphy (3), Barnes (1), Elanga (1), Joelinton (1), Longstaff (1), Parkinson (1), Targett (1)

A 4-0 hammering of Carlisle in the first of their pre-season friendlies was as good as it got for Newcastle this pre-season, as they failed to win a single game thereafter. That 4-0 win was followed by their own 4-0 hammering - at the hands of Celtic - and subsequent defeats to Arsenal, Atlético, and the K League All-Stars (who aren't even a real team), as well as draws against Espanyol and Spurs. Their pre-season preparations were dominated (and surely hindered) by the still-ongoing speculation over the future of star striker Alexander Isak (£10.5m FWD), who took no part in pre-season. In his absence, the central striking role was mainly filled by William Osula (£5.5m FWD), with Anthony Gordon (£7.5m MID) playing some minutes there as well. Newcastle had been trying to sign Benjamin Šeško, but the forward opted to join Manchester United instead. Newcastle are already light in the striking areas, with Callum Wilson having been released at the end of June.

Anthony Elanga (£7.0m MID) has been the only major signing for Newcastle so far. The Magpies paid Nottingham Forest £55m to secure the services of the Swedish winger following a career-best season where he recorded six goals and eleven assists. Elanga will provide competition for Jacob Murphy (£6.5m MID) on the right wing. Aaron Ramsdale (£5.0m GKP) has joined on loan from Southampton and saved a penalty in Newcastle's 2-2 draw with Espanyol. Anthony Gordon was subbed late on in Newcastle's final friendly after suffering an ankle injury, although Eddie Howe is hopeful it's nothing serious. Joe Willock (£5.0m MID) will miss the start of the season after being stretchered off with a calf injury against the K League All-Stars.






July 12th - Chesterfield 0 Nottingham Forest 0 - Highlights
July 19th - Nottingham Forest 0 Monaco 0 - Highlights
July 26th - Fulham 3 Nottingham Forest 1 - Highlights
July 30th - Nottingham Forest 0 Estoril 0 - Highlights
August 2nd - Birmingham 1 Nottingham Forest 0 - Highlights
August 5th - Nottingham Forest 0 Fiorentina 0 - Highlights
August 9th - Nottingham Forest 0 Al Qadsiah 0 - Highlights

Goals: Wood (1)

Billy Connolly used to tell a joke about how people in England thought Partick Thistle were actually called 'Partick Thistle Nil.' Well, anyone following Nottingham Forest's 2025/26 pre-season campaign might be forgiven for thinking they're actually called 'Nottingham Forest Nil', such has been their aversion to putting the ball in the onion sack over the last month. Seven pre-season fixtures have yielded just a solitary goal (scored by last season's 20-goal hero Chris Wood (£7.5m FWD)), as Forest laboured to scoreless draws against the likes of Chesterfield, Estoril, and the mighty Al Qadsiah of Saudi Arabia. Wood was partnered up front in the final couple of friendlies by new signing Igor Jesus (£6.0m FWD) in what looked to be a 4-4-2 formation. Swiss international winger Dan Ndoye (£6.0m MID) will be Anthony Elanga's replacement on the right wing, and although Elanga was sold to Newcastle, there was better news when Forest announced that Morgan Gibbs-White (£7.5m MID) had signed a new three-year contract despite being on the verge of a transfer to Spurs just weeks before. Or rather, Gibbs-White announced it himself while standing on the pitch alongside Evangelos Marinakis in what looked for all the world like some sort of hostage situation. Blink twice if you're in danger, Morgan.

I've included links to the YouTube highlights of Forest's pre-season games. I haven't watched them myself but I imagine they feature scenes of tumbleweed blowing across arid landscapes, Pablo Escobar sitting forlornly on a swinging bench, Mr. Bean standing around in a field... things like that. Could this be the first time in history a Premier League team achieves safety by scraping thirty-eight nil-nil draws? Tune in on Sunday to find out, when Forest kick off their Premier League campaign at home to Brentford.






July 12th - South Shields 0 Sunderland 4 - Highlights
July 19th - Sevilla 1 Sunderland 1 - Highlights
July 21st - Sporting 1 Sunderland 0 - Highlights
July 26th - Hearts 3 Sunderland 0 - Highlights
July 29th - Hull 2 Sunderland 1 - Highlights
August 2nd - Sunderland 0 Real Betis 1 - Highlights
August 9th - Augsburg 0 Sunderland 1 - Highlights
August 10th - Sunderland 0 Rayo Vallecano 3 - Highlights

Goals: Abdullahi (1), Adingra (1), Aleksić (1), Diarra (1), Isidor (1), Le Fée (1), Mundle (1)

Eight years after their relegation from the Premier League in 2017, Sunderland are back in the big time, after Régis Le Bris guided them to promotion last season via the play-offs, defeating Sheffield United in dramatic fashion in the final. They've been hard at work over the summer turning a young squad lacking in Premier League experience into one they hope can compete at the top level. Several players with Premier League (and in some cases Champions League) experience have been signed, including Simon Adingra (£5.5m MID), who has joined from Brighton for £21m; former West Ham left-back Arthur Masuaku (not yet listed in FPL), who has joined on a free from Beşiktaş; Mozambican defender Reinildo (£4.0m DEF), who has joined on a free from Atlético Madrid and can play either at left-back or centre-back; and perhaps most notably, former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka (£5.0m MID), who has been signed for £17m after a couple of very successful years at Leverkusen. Xhaka's experience will surely be key for Sunderland if they are to have any hope of survival this season.

They've also signed Marc Guiu (£4.5m FWD) on loan from Chelsea, which could mean FPL managers have a playable base-price forward to pick this season. There was no sign of Guiu in either of Sunderland's final two friendlies though, and Eliezer Mayenda (£5.5m FWD) has been leading the line in pre-season, so Guiu might have to wait for his chance. Apart from an easy win against South Shields, Sunderland's pre-season games were low-scoring affairs where they struggled to get on the scoresheet. Adingra scored Sunderland's only goal in the defeat to Hull, and fellow new signing Habib Diarra (£5.5m MID) (a £30m acquisition from Strasbourg) scored in the narrow win over Augsburg at the weekend, a game which also featured a penalty save from Sunderland's new keeper Robin Roefs (£4.5m GKP) and a bad penalty miss from Mayenda.






July 19th - Reading 0 Tottenham 2 - Highlights
July 26th - Tottenham 2 Wycombe 2 - Highlights
July 26th - Luton 0 Tottenham 0 - Highlights
July 31st - Arsenal 0 Tottenham 1 - Highlights
August 3rd - Tottenham 1 Newcastle 1 - Highlights
August 7th - Bayern Munich 4 Tottenham 0 - Highlights

Goals: Sarr (3), Johnson (1), Lankshear (1), Vušković (1)

The main headlines from Tottenham's pre-season were the ACL injury suffered by the unfortunate James Maddison (£7.0m MID), and the news that Son Heung-min would be leaving the club. Maddison tore his ACL in the 1-1 draw with Newcastle in Seoul, and was stretchered off the pitch just eleven minutes after coming on as a sub in the 75th minute. Meanwhile, club captain Son announced his decision to leave Spurs at a press conference ahead of the Newcastle game, and his £20m transfer to MLS club LAFC was confirmed three days later. Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m MID) has been the club's highest-profile signing so far this summer, joining for a fee of £55m after two seasons at West Ham, while the loan moves of defender Kevin Danso (£4.5m DEF) and forward Mathys Tel (£6.5m MID) have been made permanent. Former Fulham midfielder João Palhinha (£5.5m MID) has joined Tottenham on loan from Bayern Munich, and played 45 minutes against his parent club in Tottenham's final friendly before being subbed off at half-time.

Spurs were thrashed 4-0 by Bayern in that friendly match. Harry Kane opened the scoring in the 12th minute, and presumably felt so bad about scoring against his old club that he went and ballooned a penalty over the bar three minutes later (a penalty conceded by João Palhinha). Kane's replacement at Spurs, Dominic Solanke (£7.5m FWD) hasn't played since the game against Reading in mid-July after suffering an ankle injury, while a knee injury restricted Destiny Udogie (£4.5m DEF) to just one appearance in pre-season as well. Dejan Kulusevski (£6.5m MID) remains sidelined after undergoing knee surgery in May. Spurs take on PSG in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday evening, less than three days before they kick off their Premier League campaign at home to Burnley on Saturday.






July 19th - Grasshopper Club 1 West Ham 3 - Highlights
July 26th - Manchester United 2 West Ham 1 - Highlights
July 30th - West Ham 2 Everton 1 - Highlights
August 3rd - Bournemouth 0 West Ham 2 - Highlights
August 9th - West Ham 1 Lille 1 (5-4 on penalties) - Highlights

Goals: Füllkrug (3), Bowen (2), Paquetá (2), Irving (1), Marshall (1)

Graham Potter begins his first full season as West Ham manager off the back of a disappointing 14th-placed finish in the league last season. Potter has been using a 3-5-2 formation in pre-season in which Jarrod Bowen (£8.0m FWD) and Niclas Füllkrug (£6.0m FWD) have formed a very promising striking partnership. Füllkrug scored three goals in pre-season, while Bowen (who has been reclassified as a forward) scored twice and assisted twice. The wing-backs have been impressive too, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.5m DEF) still first-choice on the right despite the acquisition of Kyle Walker-Peters (£4.5m DEF) on a free transfer, and El Hadji Malick Diouf (£4.5m DEF) set to start on the left after his £19m transfer from Slavia Prague. Diouf assisted Jarrod Bowen's goal against Bournemouth in Atlanta, earning himself a Player of the Match award in the process.

Alphonse Areola (£4.5m GKP) has competition between the sticks, as West Ham confirmed on Saturday the signing of Danish goalkeeper Mads Hermansen from Leicester (Hermansen is not yet listed in FPL). Areola saved two penalties in the shootout win over Lille on Saturday and will likely keep the no.1 shirt for now. Injury-prone striker Callum Wilson (£6.0m FWD) joined on a free at the beginning of August after being released by Newcastle, but didn't feature in West Ham's final friendly match. 21 year-old midfielder Freddie Potts (£4.5m MID) started the last three friendlies ahead of the likes of Guido Rodríguez (£5.0m MID) and Tomáš Souček (£6.0m MID), so he could be an option for those of you looking for a playing base-price midfielder. Jean-Clair Todibo's (£4.5m DEF) loan move from Nice has been made permanent.






July 15th - Santa Clara 2 Wolves 1
July 19th - Burnley 1 Wolves 1
July 26th - Stoke 1 Wolves 1 - Highlights
July 30th - Wolves 1 Lens 3 - Highlights
August 3rd - Girona 2 Wolves 1 - Highlights
August 9th - Wolves 0 Celta Vigo 1 - Highlights

Goals: Arias (1), Guedes (1), Hwang (1), Kalajdžić (1), Strand Larsen (1)

Goals were hard to come by for Vítor Pereira's Wolves in pre-season, who scored once in each of their first five friendlies before blanking at home against Celta Vigo in their final friendly match. Jørgen Strand Larsen's (£6.5m FWD) loan move from Celta Vigo has been made permanent. Strand Larsen scored 14 league goals last season, and Wolves will hope he can replicate that sort of form this season as they prepare for life without the mercurial Matheus Cunha. To help him out, Wolves have signed Colombian winger Jhon Arias (£5.5m MID) from Fluminense. Arias scored a goal off the bench in Wolves' penultimate pre-season game, and started against Celta Vigo as one of the two attackers behind Strand Larsen alongside fellow new signing Fer López (£5.5m MID) (who, like Strand Larsen, has also been signed from Celta Vigo).

Wolves have also signed a wolf, specifically Norwegian left-back David Møller Wolfe, who has been signed from AZ to replace Rayan Aït-Nouri. Møller Wolfe (who is not yet listed in FPL) played the opening 45 minutes against Celta Vigo at the weekend before being subbed off at half-time. Base-price defender Ki-Jana Hoever (£4.0m DEF) has been playing right-wing back in pre-season after Nélson Semedo's departure, and will start the season there if Wolves don't make any signings in that position, although they are reportedly interested in Sevilla right-back Juanlu Sánchez. Wolves have also been linked with Nantes forward Matthis Abline and Rangers midfielder Nico Raskin. Wantaway winger Gonçalo Guedes has finally got his wish: he has been sold to Real Sociedad after three disappointing years at Wolves.

[Luxmonk]

Amazing work! Everything (almost) you need to know in one single post!

Thanks again PB for doing this and to Fred too for the video links.

[Spinynorman]

That was one hell of a read. Many thanks.

[blahblah]

Brentford have promoted set piece coach Keith Andrews to the role of head coach following the departure of club legend Thomas Frank. As an Ireland fan who spent years watching this guy plodding around our midfield alongside the equally hapless Paul Green, before going on to do TV punditry after he retired and revealing himself to be a complete charisma vacuum in the process, and then finally rocking up as assistant to Stephen Kenny as he presided over some of the worst results in our international history, I can only say to Brentford fans: God help you all.

Great write up and you nailed these, imho..

They might be better off channeling Gudrun Ensslin rather than asking God?

[Fuzzy]

This is tremendous stuff PB, I really enjoyed reading through that.

And thanks to Fred for the links as well. It’s very helpful to have it all in one spot.

[xJosh-]

Any Bournemouth fans know what the situation is with Hill & Araujo?

Now they’ve signed the CB Diakite who is going to play in the back 4?

Either of those as the 4m DEF is gold

[Lucky]

A huge thank you PB for the fantastic write up on everything worth knowing before the start of the season. It helped me so much to set up my team, whilst having very little time. I wish you lots of luck for the new season.

[mogwai]

I also want to thank you a lot Pirlo's Beard for this amazing thread that helped me a lot during pre-season.

[murf]

New thread needed to celebrate Wrexham's easy win in their traditional pre season starter against a much weaker team.

[Pirlo's Beard]

New thread needed to celebrate Wrexham's easy win in their traditional pre season starter against a much weaker team.

Someone else will have to do it then. I won't have time for it this year, unfortunately. And also I can't be arsed.

[blahblah]