FPL Gameweeks 1-5 Rankings: Best Players to Start the 2026/27 Season
These rankings project player value over the opening five Gameweeks rather than the full season. Fixture difficulty, expected minutes and captaincy potential carry more weight than long-term outlook, making this the ideal guide for managers building a Gameweek 1 squad.
Looking for season-long player values instead? Check out my Top 400 FPL Rankings for 2026/27.
For more preseason planning, use the following resources:
FPL 2026/27 Hub: Tips, Team News & Season Guide
FPL 2026/27 Rule Changes
FPL Top 400 Rankings for 2026/27 Season
Premier League Predicted Lineups (updated all season)
RWSOCCER for 35% off all RotoWire Subscriptions
Best FPL Fixture Runs: Gameweeks 1-5
| # | Team | Opening-5 read |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | Elite. Two 80%+ home games and nothing scary |
| 2 | Arsenal | Elite. 80%+ opener, still strong through a tougher middle |
| 3 | Liverpool | Strong and steady, no real trap week |
| 4 | Manchester United | Fast start, then it bites |
| 5 | Nottingham Forest | The value team with the schedule |
| 6 | Chelsea | Lumpy, one huge week |
| 7 | Newcastle United | Backloaded |
| 8 | Everton | Backloaded |
| 9 | Brentford | Decent, home-heavy |
| 10 | Aston Villa | Middling |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion | Middling, tough finish |
| 12 | Tottenham Hotspur | Middling |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | Slow start |
| 14 | Fulham | Middling |
| 15 | AFC Bournemouth | Brutal opener, then fine |
| 16 | Leeds United | Below average |
| 17 | Sunderland | Collapses late |
| 18 | Coventry City | Two wipeouts |
| 19 | Ipswich Town | Rough throughout |
| 20 | Hull City | The worst in the league |
Best Teams to Target in Gameweeks 1-5
Manchester City and Arsenal are a tier of their own, each with multiple games that my model prices at more than 80-percent to win. A trip to Villa and the Manchester derby aren't easy, but both teams should be in good spots after five gameweeks.
Liverpool are the steady third option with games against Nottingham Forest, Ipswich Town and Fulham. The value play is Nottingham Forest, fifth on fixtures off three strong home games, including Gameweek 5 vs Coventry. Manchester United look great for two weeks, then draw City in Gameweek 4, so treat their assets as a fast start.
Teams to Avoid in Gameweeks 1-5
Hull have the worst run in the league thanks to three of their first five being away, while their home games are against Man United and Villa. Ipswich and Coventry aren't far behind, with Coventry drawing near-zero-chance trips to Arsenal and Man City. Sunderland open fine but fall off a cliff with Arsenal then City in Gameweeks 4 and 5.
Captaincy Outlook
Erling Haaland will be a popular captain every gameweek with Gameweeks 1, 3 and 5 standing out. City are home against Bournemouth, Coventry and Sunderland in those contests. Bruno Fernandes and Man United open with Hull City and Ipswich Town the first two Gameweeks. Chelsea have the best matchup in Gameweek 4 where Joao Pedro or Cole Palmer could stand out at that point.
Fantasy Premier League Rankings: Gameweeks 1-5
| Rank | Player | Team | Pos | Price | Adj Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erling Haaland | Man City | F | 15.5 | 37.7 |
| 2 | Bruno Fernandes | Man Utd | M | 12.0 | 31.1 |
| 3 | Jeremy Doku | Man City | M | 7.5 | 30.3 |
| 4 | Dominik Szoboszlai | Liverpool | M | 7.0 | 29.9 |
| 5 | Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | M | 9.5 | 29.3 |
| 6 | Ollie Watkins | Aston Villa | F | 8.0 | 29.0 |
| 7 | Igor Thiago | Brentford | F | 8.0 | 28.7 |
| 8 | Nico O'Reilly | Man City | D | 6.5 | 28.6 |
| 9 | Antoine Semenyo | Man City | M | 8.5 | 28.2 |
| 10 | Viktor Gyokeres | Arsenal | F | 7.5 | 27.5 |
| 11 | Joao Pedro | Chelsea | F | 7.5 | 27.4 |
| 12 | Jean-Philippe Mateta | Crystal Palace | F | 6.5 | 27.2 |
| 13 | Bryan Mbeumo | Man Utd | M | 8.0 | 27.1 |
| 14 | Alexander Isak | Liverpool | F | 9.0 | 27.0 |
| 15 | Cole Palmer | Chelsea | M | 9.5 | 26.8 |
| 16 | Florian Wirtz | Liverpool | M | 7.5 | 26.6 |
| 17 | Dominic Calvert-Lewin | Leeds | F | 6.0 | 26.5 |
| 18 | Matheus Nunes | Man City | D | 6.0 | 26.1 |
| 19 | Phil Foden | Man City | M | 7.0 | 25.2 |
| 20 | Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall | Everton | M | 6.5 | 25.0 |
| 21 | Jurrien Timber | Arsenal | D | 6.5 | 24.5 |
| 22 | Matheus Cunha | Man Utd | M | 8.0 | 24.5 |
| 23 | Riccardo Calafiori | Arsenal | D | 5.5 | 24.5 |
| 24 | Igor Jesus | Nott'm Forest | F | 6.0 | 24.4 |
| 25 | Ismaila Sarr | Crystal Palace | M | 6.5 | 24.4 |
| 26 | Marc Guehi | Man City | D | 6.0 | 24.2 |
| 27 | Rayan | Bournemouth | M | 6.5 | 24.1 |
| 28 | Brian Brobbey | Sunderland | F | 6.0 | 24.0 |
| 29 | Gabriel | Arsenal | D | 8.0 | 23.9 |
| 30 | Martin Odegaard | Arsenal | M | 6.5 | 23.9 |
| 31 | Harvey Barnes | Newcastle | M | 6.0 | 23.6 |
| 32 | Dango Ouattara | Brentford | M | 6.5 | 23.3 |
| 33 | Cody Gakpo | Liverpool | M | 7.0 | 23.3 |
| 34 | Georginio Rutter | Brighton | F | 5.5 | 23.3 |
| 35 | Marcus Tavernier | Bournemouth | M | 6.0 | 23.1 |
| 36 | Gianluigi Donnarumma | Man City | G | 5.5 | 23.0 |
| 37 | Daniel Munoz | Crystal Palace | D | 5.5 | 22.9 |
| 38 | Evanilson | Bournemouth | F | 6.0 | 22.9 |
| 39 | Emiliano Buendia | Aston Villa | M | 6.0 | 22.8 |
| 40 | Chris Wood | Nott'm Forest | F | 6.0 | 22.8 |
| 41 | Anton Stach | Leeds | M | 6.0 | 22.8 |
| 42 | Harry Wilson | Leeds | M | 6.5 | 22.7 |
| 43 | David Raya | Arsenal | G | 6.0 | 22.7 |
| 44 | Yeremy Pino | Crystal Palace | M | 5.5 | 22.6 |
| 45 | John McGinn | Aston Villa | M | 5.5 | 22.5 |
| 46 | Neco Williams | Nott'm Forest | D | 5.0 | 22.3 |
| 47 | Morgan Gibbs-White | Nott'm Forest | M | 8.0 | 22.2 |
| 48 | Kevin Schade | Brentford | M | 6.0 | 22.0 |
| 49 | Dominic Solanke | Spurs | F | 6.0 | 21.9 |
| 50 | Trai Hume | Sunderland | D | 4.5 | 21.7 |
| 51 | Diego Gomez | Brighton | M | 5.0 | 21.7 |
| 52 | Will Osula | Newcastle | F | 6.0 | 21.6 |
| 53 | Iliman Ndiaye | Everton | M | 6.0 | 21.6 |
| 54 | Thierno Barry | Everton | F | 5.5 | 21.5 |
| 55 | Cristhian Mosquera | Arsenal | D | 5.5 | 21.4 |
| 56 | Morgan Rogers | Chelsea | M | 7.5 | 21.4 |
| 57 | Jack Hinshelwood | Brighton | M | 6.0 | 21.4 |
| 58 | Milos Kerkez | Liverpool | D | 5.5 | 21.2 |
| 59 | Amad Diallo | Man Utd | M | 6.0 | 21.1 |
| 60 | Abdul Fatawu | Ipswich | M | 5.5 | 21.0 |
| 61 | Justin Kluivert | Bournemouth | M | 6.0 | 21.0 |
| 62 | Enzo Le Fee | Sunderland | M | 6.0 | 20.9 |
| 63 | Ian Maatsen | Aston Villa | D | 4.5 | 20.9 |
| 64 | Haji Wright | Coventry | F | 5.5 | 20.8 |
| 65 | Jordan Pickford | Everton | G | 5.5 | 20.7 |
| 66 | Oliver McBurnie | Hull | F | 5.5 | 20.6 |
| 67 | Abdukodir Khusanov | Man City | D | 5.5 | 20.5 |
| 68 | Jack Rudoni | Coventry | M | 5.0 | 20.4 |
| 69 | Alisson | Liverpool | G | 5.5 | 20.4 |
| 70 | Mats Wieffer | Brighton | D | 5.0 | 20.4 |
| 71 | Christos Tzolis | Arsenal | M | 6.5 | 20.3 |
| 72 | Emiliano Martinez | Aston Villa | G | 5.0 | 20.2 |
| 73 | Senne Lammens | Man Utd | G | 5.0 | 20.1 |
| 74 | Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool | D | 6.5 | 20.0 |
| 75 | Declan Rice | Arsenal | M | 7.5 | 19.7 |
| 76 | Alejandro Garnacho | Aston Villa | M | 6.0 | 19.7 |
| 77 | Caoimhin Kelleher | Brentford | G | 5.0 | 19.6 |
| 78 | Tyrick Mitchell | Crystal Palace | D | 4.5 | 19.4 |
| 79 | Kaoru Mitoma | Brighton | M | 6.0 | 19.3 |
| 80 | Pedro Porro | Spurs | D | 5.5 | 19.3 |
| 81 | Alex Iwobi | Fulham | M | 5.5 | 19.3 |
| 82 | Lewis Hall | Newcastle | D | 5.0 | 19.2 |
| 83 | Matz Sels | Nott'm Forest | G | 5.0 | 19.0 |
| 84 | Bart Verbruggen | Brighton | G | 4.5 | 18.9 |
| 85 | Vitaliy Mykolenko | Everton | D | 4.5 | 18.8 |
| 86 | Jeremie Frimpong | Liverpool | D | 5.5 | 18.8 |
| 87 | Luke Shaw | Man Utd | D | 4.5 | 18.8 |
| 88 | Mikkel Damsgaard | Brentford | M | 5.5 | 18.8 |
| 89 | Harry Maguire | Man Utd | D | 5.0 | 18.8 |
| 90 | Dean Henderson | Crystal Palace | G | 5.0 | 18.7 |
| 91 | Jayden Bogle | Leeds | D | 4.5 | 18.7 |
| 92 | Enzo Fernandez | Chelsea | M | 7.0 | 18.7 |
| 93 | Matty Cash | Aston Villa | D | 4.5 | 18.6 |
| 94 | Ferdi Kadioglu | Brighton | D | 4.5 | 18.5 |
| 95 | Elliot Anderson | Man City | M | 6.5 | 18.5 |
| 96 | Lewis Miley | Newcastle | M | 5.5 | 18.5 |
| 97 | James Trafford | Leeds | G | 4.5 | 18.5 |
| 98 | Pedro Neto | Chelsea | M | 6.5 | 18.4 |
| 99 | Pascal Gross | Brighton | M | 5.5 | 18.4 |
| 100 | Ola Aina | Nott'm Forest | D | 4.5 | 18.1 |
