The opening weekend of the 2026/27 Premier League season has already given fantasy managers plenty to think about. There were surprises, strong performances from several cheaper players and, perhaps most importantly at this early stage of the season, some potential bargains beginning to emerge.
For FPL managers, attention now turns quickly towards transfers and the first price changes of the campaign. For FanTeam managers, where there is less reason to chase short-term price movements, Gameweek 1 instead gives us our first opportunity to assess which players are providing the best points per million.
It is worth remembering that one Gameweek is a very small sample. Nevertheless, early-season information can be particularly valuable because player roles, new signings and unexpected starters are only just becoming apparent.
The Premier League’s opening weekend also produced some major surprises, including newly promoted Hull beating Manchester United 2-0, Leeds winning 1-0 at Nottingham Forest and Brentford defeating Spurs 3-0. Manchester City needed late goals to overcome Bournemouth 2-1, while Liverpool drew 2-2 at Newcastle.
FPL GW1: don’t ignore the price market
The first few weeks of an FPL season are unusual because transfers aren’t only about points. Team value can matter too.
Once millions of managers start moving towards the same emerging players, prices can begin changing quickly. Losing £0.1m on one player while a planned replacement gains £0.1m can effectively turn a straightforward transfer into one that is no longer affordable.
The latest FPL price-change indicator on Tuesday 25 August has two players standing out as particularly likely risers:
| Player | Club | FPL Price | Price-change progress |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maxim De Cuyper | Brighton | £4.5m | +120.0% |
| Mamadou Sangaré | Brentford | £5.5m | +103.7% |
Both are currently shown as “Very likely to rise”.
FPL price changes take place overnight, so managers already intending to buy either player should pay particular attention before the next update.
De Cuyper – the early defensive bandwagon
Maxim De Cuyper is the clearest name on the current price-rise list.
Brighton’s opening weekend has propelled the £4.5m defender into the spotlight and his transfer activity has already pushed him to +120% on the price-change indicator.
That is exactly the profile that can create an early FPL bandwagon: inexpensive enough to fit easily into squads, a big opening score and potentially capable of producing returns at both ends of the pitch.
There is also an interesting crossover with FanTeam.
De Cuyper scored 15.3 FanTeam points in GW1. At a FanTeam price of £5.0m, that equates to an exceptional 3.1 points per million – joint highest in the entire game after GW1.
The key question is whether he is simply GW1’s big scorer or a player who can offer sustainable value. FPL managers should avoid buying purely because a price is rising, but anyone who already wanted De Cuyper has an additional reason not to wait too long.
A word of caution on Brighton
Brighton’s emphatic 4-0 opening-day victory over Aston Villa is likely to attract plenty of FPL investment, with De Cuyper at the front of the queue after his huge GW1 return. However, managers should be wary of simply chasing last week’s points. Brighton travel to Chelsea in GW2, which is a considerably tougher test and reduces the immediate appeal of bringing in their defensive players purely for the next Gameweek. De Cuyper’s potential price rise adds some urgency for managers who already want him longer term, but the Chelsea fixture means there is also a perfectly reasonable case for waiting rather than jumping aboard the Brighton bandwagon after just one match.
Sangaré – another possible overnight riser
Brentford midfielder Mamadou Sangaré is the other player currently beyond the 100% threshold, sitting at +103.7%.
Brentford’s 3-0 victory over Spurs was one of the outstanding results of GW1, and Sangaré was among their standout performers.
Again, the FanTeam numbers back up the attraction. Sangaré produced 9.7 points and costs only £4.5m there, giving him a GW1 PPM of 2.2.
There is an important distinction between the two games, however. His FPL price is £5.5m according to the current price-change table, whereas FanTeam managers can obtain him for £4.5m.
That potentially makes Sangaré even more interesting as a FanTeam budget enabler.
Other FPL players attracting transfers
Several Arsenal players appear prominently on the price-change screen, although none is currently classified as very likely to change.
Ødegaard is at +77.0%, while Calafiori is +87.0%. João Pedro is another player attracting buyers at +70.8%.
At the opposite end are players being transferred out heavily. Martinelli (-94.9%), Gyökeres (-87.6%), Sarr (-78.8%), Dowman (-78.2%), Hincapié (-76.6%) and Amad (-68.8%) are among those showing substantial downward ownership movement.
Those figures should not automatically trigger transfers. The danger after GW1 is chasing last week’s points while selling good players simply because they blanked or failed to start.
This is especially relevant with premiums. Haaland, for example, blanked against Bournemouth, but Manchester City still won 2-1 and his long-term fantasy potential has obviously not disappeared because of one match.
FanTeam GW1: points per million reveals some unlikely leaders
FanTeam’s GW1 data gives us another way of analysing the opening weekend.
Rather than simply sorting players by total points, FISO’s FanTeam player table can be sorted by Points Per Million (PPM). This measures the return a player has generated relative to his price.
After GW1 the leading value players are:
| Rank | Player | Club | Pos | Price | GW1 pts | PPM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ajayi | Hull | DEF | £4.0m | 12.3 | 3.1 |
| 2 | De Cuyper | Brighton | DEF | £5.0m | 15.3 | 3.1 |
| 3 | Kayode | Brentford | DEF | £4.5m | 12.3 | 2.7 |
| 4 | Mendy | Hull | DEF | £4.5m | 12.3 | 2.7 |
| 5 | Lewis-Potter | Brentford | DEF | £5.0m | 12.3 | 2.5 |
| 6 | Hinshelwood | Brighton | MID | £6.0m | 13.3 | 2.2 |
| 7 | Sangaré | Brentford | MID | £4.5m | 9.7 | 2.2 |
| 8 | Tzolakis | Hull | GKP | £4.5m | 8.8 | 2.0 |
| 9 | Kelleher | Brentford | GKP | £4.5m | 8.3 | 1.8 |
| 10 | Janelt | Brentford | MID | £5.0m | 8.3 | 1.7 |
The striking feature is the dominance of defenders.
Five of the first six players are classified as defenders, with Hull, Brighton and Brentford accounting for all of them.
That doesn’t necessarily mean we should rush to build a defence consisting entirely of GW1’s PPM leaders. Clean sheets are inherently volatile, and a defender’s PPM can change dramatically following one shutout or one goal.
But it does reinforce an important fantasy principle: relatively inexpensive defenders from teams capable of keeping clean sheets can provide the budget savings needed to afford premium attacking players.
Brentford emerge as an early FanTeam value source
Brentford deserve particular attention.
Kayode (£4.5m) returned 12.3 points, Lewis-Potter (£5.0m) also scored 12.3 and Kelleher (£4.5m) collected 8.3.
Sangaré and Janelt then appear among the leading midfield values.
That gives FanTeam managers several different routes into Brentford rather than simply chasing one standout player.
For managers prepared to use a block-defence strategy, Kelleher combined with one or two Brentford defenders is particularly interesting. Their 3-0 victory over Spurs immediately rewarded anyone prepared to concentrate defensive investment rather than spreading it across several clubs.
Hull provide the surprise bargains
Very few fantasy managers would have expected Hull players to dominate an early-season value table.
But their 2-0 victory over Manchester United has done exactly that.
Ajayi sits joint top of the FanTeam PPM rankings after scoring 12.3 points from a £4.0m price. Mendy produced the same score for £4.5m, while £4.5m goalkeeper Tzolakis returned 8.8.
The temptation is obvious. The caution is equally obvious.
One excellent defensive result against Manchester United does not suddenly make Hull one of the Premier League’s strongest defensive sides. The promoted club’s players may nevertheless prove extremely useful if they continue to offer starting players at £4.0m–£4.5m.
Brighton’s GW1 stars
Brighton provide arguably the most interesting combination of high scores and potential longer-term assets.
De Cuyper’s 15.3 was the highest FanTeam score among the leading PPM players, while midfielder Hinshelwood produced 13.3 points for £6.0m.
Brighton’s strong start also produced several more players further down the FanTeam value rankings, including Verbruggen, Dunk, Boscagli and Vuskovic.
De Cuyper is therefore one of the most intriguing players across both games after GW1 although the much tougher fixture at Chelsea in GW2 should be borne in mind.
In FPL he is threatening an immediate rise from £4.5m. In FanTeam he has started with 15.3 points from a £5.0m price.
Some established names still delivered
The FanTeam PPM rankings aren’t entirely populated by cheap players.
Cole Palmer looked in scintillating form and returned 10.7 points from his reasonable £8.5m FanTeam price. Chelsea won a lively 3-2 match at Fulham, with Palmer among the scorers alongside João Pedro and Morgan Rogers.
Manchester City’s defenders also appear relatively high in the value rankings. Guéhi and Gvardiol both returned 8.3 FanTeam points at £6.0m thanks to their goals.
Arsenal defenders White and Calafiori also feature prominently thanks to their assists, with White producing 9.3 points at £5.5m and Calafiori the same score at £6.0m.
These players may not match the spectacular PPM of a £4.0m defender who scores 12 points, but established defenders from stronger clubs could prove more reliable over a much longer period.
Don’t build a GW2 team entirely from GW1 points
The first Gameweek always creates temptation. Someone scores 12 or 15 points and suddenly looks essential. Someone else blanks and managers immediately want rid of him. That is rarely the best way to play either FPL or FanTeam.
What GW1 has given us is new information. We now know more about the EPL starting line-ups, formations, set-piece responsibilities, attacking roles and the competitiveness of newly promoted sides.
The challenge is separating information that might be sustainable from what was simply a one-match event.
In FPL there is the additional complication of team value. De Cuyper and Sangaré are the two players who require particular attention today because the current indicators suggest both could rise imminently.
FanTeam managers can afford to concentrate more heavily on footballing considerations. The first PPM table suggests Brighton and Brentford could contain some genuinely useful value options, while Hull’s budget players are worth monitoring rather than automatically assuming their opening-week returns will continue.
Above all, GW1 has reinforced the basic construction principle for fantasy squads: identify genuine value at the cheaper price points and use the savings to accommodate the premium players capable of producing the biggest scores and becoming strong captaincy options.
One Gameweek isn’t enough to tell us who those season-long bargains will be – but it has given us the first set of clues.