The 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League season is finally here, and the first big decisions of the campaign are already being made.
While most managers are building around familiar names such as Erling Haaland, Bruno Fernandes, Bukayo Saka and other highly owned players, there is another way to gain an early advantage: finding the players the crowd is overlooking.
A good Gameweek 1 differential does not simply mean picking someone because he has low ownership. The player also needs a realistic path to minutes,
a favorable fixture, or a role that could produce points. As Fantasy Football Scout rightly notes, low ownership by itself does not make a player a good pick.
With that in mind, here are 10 low-owned FPL players worth considering before the Gameweek 1 deadline.
Ownership figures are approximate snapshots and can change rapidly as the deadline approaches.
1. Christos Tzolis — Arsenal — £6.5m
Gameweek 1: Coventry City (H)
Ownership: 16.4%
Tzolis may be the most obvious “why isn’t everyone picking him?” differential of the opening week.
Arsenal spent around £34 million to bring the Greek winger from Club Brugge after an outstanding 2025/26 campaign in which he recorded 17 goals and 23 assists in the Belgian Pro League. He arrives as the replacement for Leandro Trossard and has been heavily involved during Arsenal’s pre-season.
The FPL appeal is obvious. Tzolis is listed as a midfielder at £6.5m and Arsenal’s opening fixture is about as attractive as it gets: Coventry at home.
He was around 2% owned in early August, although his ownership has been climbing as more managers have noticed his potential, as he is currently at 16.4% ownership.
There is still some uncertainty over exactly how many minutes he gets, which is the main reason he remains a differential. But if Mikel Arteta gives him the start, Tzolis has the talent and fixture to produce an immediate return.
2. Kevin Schade — Brentford — £6.0m
Gameweek 1: Tottenham Hotspur (H)
Ownership: 3.3%
Schade is exactly the type of player that can punish managers who overlook underlying numbers.
The Brentford midfielder was already a popular differential candidate last season, when he produced attacking returns regularly despite limited ownership. Fantasy Football Scout highlighted him at just 1.3% ownership during one of his previous differential runs.
His pace, direct running and willingness to attack the box make him particularly interesting in FPL, where midfielders with a strong goal threat can outperform their price.
Brentford’s opener against Tottenham isn’t perfect, but playing at home allows Schade to make an immediate impact. At £6.0m, he also doesn’t require a huge haul to justify his place in a squad.
3. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall — Everton — £6.5m
Gameweek 1: Crystal Palace (H)
Ownership: 3.5%
Dewsbury-Hall might be one of the biggest value differentials in the entire opening week.
The Everton midfielder scored eight goals and provided seven assists last season, finishing with 151 FPL points. He also averaged 5.0 points per start.
Yet his ownership remains around the 4% mark, making him a genuine differential rather than simply a less popular template pick.
The Gameweek 1 matchup is another major positive. Everton host Crystal Palace, allowing Dewsbury-Hall to start the season with a favorable home fixture.
At £6.5m, he is also cheap enough to pair with several premium midfielders without completely compromising the rest of the squad.
4. Pascal Groß — Brighton — £5.5m
Gameweek 1: Aston Villa (H)
Ownership: 12.5%
Groß is the type of player who can quietly accumulate FPL points while everyone else chases the latest big-name signing.
The Brighton midfielder is priced at just £5.5m and has been identified as a potential budget enabler for the opening weeks. His biggest appeal comes from his creativity and set-piece involvement, while there is also the possibility of penalty responsibility.
The fixture against Aston Villa is not an obvious green-light matchup, but Brighton’s home advantage and Groß’s potential involvement in multiple routes to points make him interesting.
At £5.5m, he doesn’t need to become a superstar. A few assists, bonus points and occasional goals would be enough to make him excellent value.
5. Matt Crooks — Hull City — £4.5m
Gameweek 1: Manchester United (H)
Ownership: Around 1%
If you’re looking for a true budget differential, Crooks deserves attention.
The Hull midfielder is priced at just £4.5m and has been tipped as one of the best options at that price point. He is currently projected to have a starting role and produced five goals and five assists for Hull last season.
The obvious problem is the Gameweek 1 fixture. Manchester United away from home would normally make Hull players easy to ignore.
But Crooks isn’t necessarily being selected because managers expect him to score against United. His appeal is what he can provide as a cheap fifth midfielder or bench option while freeing funds for premium attackers elsewhere.
6. Tarik Muharemović — Leeds United — £5.0m
Gameweek 1: Nottingham Forest (A)
Ownership: Around 3%
Muharemović is one of the more intriguing defensive differentials heading into the season.
Leeds paid around £34.1 million to sign the Bosnia and Herzegovina international from Sassuolo, where he enjoyed a strong 2025/26 season.
From an FPL perspective, the most interesting part of his profile is his defensive contribution. Fantasy Football Scout noted that he averaged 10.8 defensive actions per 90 minutes in Serie A last season, a figure that could make him particularly attractive under FPL’s Defensive Contribution system.
He is priced at £5.0m and is currently owned by only around 2.7% of managers on FPL.
Leeds’ opening trip to Nottingham Forest isn’t ideal, but their early schedule after Gameweek 1 becomes considerably more appealing.
7. Daniel Ballard — Sunderland — £5.0m
Gameweek 1: Ipswich Town (H)
Ownership: 4.7%
Ballard is another player who could quietly become one of the best cheap defensive options.
The Sunderland center-back offers aerial threat and defensive contribution, while his price makes him easy to accommodate. He has previously appeared among FPL’s low-owned differential recommendations, including a 4.7% ownership pick against a favorable opponent.
Sunderland host Ipswich in Gameweek 1, giving Ballard a much more attractive opening fixture than several of the other promoted sides face.
There is obviously risk with relying on a promoted team’s defense, but Sunderland have already demonstrated that they can compete in the Premier League. They finished seventh last season, despite being newly promoted at the time.
At £5.0m, Ballard doesn’t need a clean-sheet machine to become useful.
8. Iliman Ndiaye — Everton — £6.0m
Gameweek 1: Crystal Palace (H)
Ownership: 15.7%
Ndiaye is becoming less of a secret, but he still qualifies as a differential compared with the heavily owned midfield options.
The Everton midfielder offers several routes to FPL points. He has attacking involvement, plays significant minutes and has been identified as Everton’s likely penalty taker.
The problem is that his ownership has risen considerably from where it stood earlier in the summer. Current tracking puts him around 16%, so he is no longer a true “under 5%” differential.
Still, if you’re looking for a player outside the absolute template, Ndiaye is worth mentioning. Everton’s opening fixture against Crystal Palace is also favorable enough to give him immediate appeal.
9. Harry Wilson — Leeds United — £6.5m
Gameweek 1: Nottingham Forest (A)
Ownership: 7.1%
Harry Wilson has already shown that he can be a major FPL performer when given a prominent role.
Last season at Fulham, he scored 11 goals and created 8 assists across all competitions before joining Leeds on a free transfer this summer.
The move is particularly interesting for FPL because Leeds have added a proven Premier League creator to their attack. Wilson’s set-piece ability and final-ball quality give him multiple avenues to attacking returns.
He is not the cheapest midfielder, and the opening trip to Forest is hardly perfect. But compared with the ownership of several similarly priced midfielders, Wilson is an interesting way to differentiate a squad without taking a massive gamble.
10. Enzo Le Fée — Sunderland — £6.0m
Gameweek 1: Ipswich Town (H)
Ownership: 11.7%
Le Fée is the boring-looking differential who could become extremely useful.
At £6.0m, he is not expected to carry an FPL midfield. Instead, his appeal comes from his minutes. He played more than 2,600 minutes last season and finished with 126 FPL points, while maintaining a respectable 3.8 points per game.
That combination matters when building a squad around expensive attackers.
If Sunderland can establish themselves as a competitive Premier League team, Le Fée could provide regular appearance points with occasional attacking returns at a very manageable price.
His home matchup against Ipswich makes him more interesting for Gameweek 1 than many £4.5m–£6.0m midfielders.
The key to Gameweek 1 differentials is not trying to find 10 players nobody else owns. That’s usually a recipe for disaster.
Instead, managers should look for players with a clear reason to be under-owned.
Kindly share your thoughts about our picks or show us your distinct differential picks below.
- READ MORE: Premier League 2026/27 Predictions: Who Will Win the Title, Golden Boot and Golden Glove?
