The wait is finally over.
The 2026/27 Premier League season gets underway on Friday, August 21, with defending champions Arsenal hosting newly promoted Coventry City at the Emirates Stadium.
For Fantasy Premier League managers, that means the most important deadline of the season so far is almost here.
The Gameweek 1 deadline is 18:30 BST on Friday, August 21, giving managers one final opportunity to settle their squads before the new FPL campaign begins.
And there is plenty to consider.
Which players
are worth owning? Who should wear the captain’s armband? Which low-owned players could provide an early advantage? Which teams have the best clean-sheet prospects? And, perhaps most importantly, which players are actually expected to start?
Rather than making you hunt through multiple articles for the answers, we have brought together everything you need for FPL Gameweek 1 in one place.
Below you will find our complete GW1 guide, with links to our in-depth analysis on the biggest decisions facing Fantasy Premier League managers ahead of the opening deadline.
FPL Gameweek 1 Fixtures
The opening round of the 2026/27 Premier League season features 10 matches spread across Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Friday, August 21
Arsenal vs Coventry City — 20:00 BST
Saturday, August 22
Hull City vs Manchester United — 12:30 BST
Everton vs Crystal Palace — 15:00 BST
Ipswich Town vs Sunderland — 15:00 BST
Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United — 15:00 BST
Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur — 17:30 BST
Sunday, August 23
Brighton vs Aston Villa — 14:00 BST
Manchester City vs Bournemouth — 14:00 BST
Newcastle United vs Liverpool — 16:30 BST
Monday, August 24
Fulham vs Chelsea — 20:00 BST
The full fixture list has been confirmed by the Premier League, although kick-off times remain subject to change.
There are several immediately interesting FPL fixtures, with Arsenal facing a newly promoted Coventry side at home, Manchester United travelling to newly promoted Hull City and Manchester City hosting Bournemouth.
Chelsea also have an intriguing opening fixture away to Fulham, while Liverpool begin their campaign at Newcastle.
That gives managers plenty of potential routes to attacking returns, but the first Gameweek of a new season also comes with a major warning: do not assume that every attractive pre-season pick is guaranteed to start.
FPL Gameweek 1 Best Players to Own
The first decision for any manager is obvious: which players should actually make the squad?
There is no single formula for building a successful opening squad, but several factors should be considered.
Fixture quality is important, but so are expected minutes, penalties and set pieces, attacking involvement, defensive potential, price and ownership.
Our guide to the best FPL players to own ahead of Gameweek 1 covers the players we believe deserve serious consideration for your opening squad.
FPL 2026/27: The Best Players to Own Ahead of Gameweek 1
Among the players highlighted are premium options such as Erling Haaland and Bruno Fernandes, alongside cheaper routes including Christos Tzolis, João Pedro, Pascal Groß and Brian Brobbey.
Haaland is particularly interesting because Manchester City begin at home against Bournemouth, while Bruno Fernandes has an appealing opening fixture against Hull City.
However, managers should not feel obliged to fill their squads with the most expensive players available. The key is finding the right balance between premium captaincy options, reliable starters and cheaper players who can provide genuine attacking or defensive upside.
That is especially important in Gameweek 1, when there is still considerable uncertainty around how some new-look teams will line up.
FPL GW1 Predicted Lineups
One of the biggest challenges ahead of Gameweek 1 is working out who will actually start.
This is more difficult than usual because clubs have made major changes during the summer, while several teams enter the campaign with new managers and new tactical approaches.
Our FPL GW1 predicted lineups article covers all 20 Premier League clubs and predicts the starting XI for every opening-weekend fixture.
FPL GW1 Predicted Lineups: Every Premier League Club’s Starting XI
The predictions take into account last season’s selections, managerial preferences, formations, player fitness, injuries and summer transfer activity.
That makes this one of the most important articles to check before locking in your final squad.
For example, our current predicted lineups have Haaland starting for Manchester City against Bournemouth, Bruno Fernandes starting for Manchester United against Hull City and João Pedro starting for Chelsea against Fulham.
There are also several new signings and less established players who could feature from the start.
The important thing to remember is that these are predicted lineups, not confirmed team news.
Opening-weekend selections are notoriously difficult to predict, and late press conferences, injuries and tactical decisions can all change a starting XI. Our predicted lineups will therefore be particularly useful as a final reference point before the deadline.
FPL GW1 Captain Picks: Who Should You Captain?
Picking your captain is arguably the biggest decision you will make before the Gameweek 1 deadline.
Your captain scores double points, meaning the difference between making the right call and choosing the wrong player can become significant before the first Gameweek is even over.
There are several premium options worth considering for GW1, but fixture quality, expected minutes and a player’s potential for explosive returns should all be taken into account.
Our dedicated captaincy guide examines the leading options and weighs up who should receive the armband.
FPL GW1 Captain Picks: Who Should You Captain?
This is one article you should read before making your final decision, particularly if you are choosing between several premium attackers.
One of the obvious fixtures to consider is Manchester City vs Bournemouth, while Manchester United’s trip to Hull City and Arsenal’s home meeting with Coventry also provide attractive fixtures on paper.
But the best captain is not always simply the player facing the weakest opponent.
You also need to consider expected playing time, penalties, set pieces, attacking position and how heavily a player is involved in his team’s chances.
FPL Gameweek 1 Differential Picks
If you are playing in a mini-league, there is another question to answer:
Who can give you an advantage over everyone else?
That is where differential picks come in.
A differential is generally a player with relatively low ownership who has the potential to outperform his popularity. They can be particularly valuable early in the season because a successful low-owned pick can immediately move you ahead of thousands of managers.
Our dedicated guide looks at 10 low-owned players to consider for FPL Gameweek 1.
FPL Gameweek 1 Differential Picks: 10 Low-Owned Players to Consider
The important thing with differentials is not simply finding the player with the lowest ownership.
A player being unpopular does not automatically make him a good FPL pick.
The ideal differential combines a reasonable price, a secure route to minutes, a favourable fixture and enough attacking or defensive potential to justify the risk.
That is why it can make sense to build your squad around several proven players and then use one or two differentials to create some separation from the template.
FPL Gameweek 1 Clean Sheet Odds
Goals are not the only way to score big in FPL.
Clean sheets remain one of the easiest ways to identify potentially valuable defenders and goalkeepers, particularly when a team has a favourable opening fixture.
Our FPL Gameweek 1 clean-sheet odds guide looks at the teams most likely to keep a clean sheet in the opening round.
FPL Gameweek 1 Clean Sheet Odds: Teams Most Likely to Keep a Clean Sheet
This can be particularly useful when deciding between similarly priced defenders.
That does not mean you should automatically select three defenders from the teams with the highest clean-sheet probability.
Attacking potential still matters.
A defender who regularly contributes goals, assists, chances created or bonus points can offer considerably more upside than a purely defensive option.
The best FPL defenders often combine both.
Which Teams Should FPL Managers Target in GW1?
The opening fixtures provide several obvious areas to explore.
Arsenal
Arsenal begin their title defence at home against Coventry City, making them one of the most obvious teams to consider for both attacking and defensive FPL assets.
The Gunners are also entering the season as defending Premier League champions, with the club looking to maintain their position at the top after winning the title last season.
For FPL managers, the key questions are which Arsenal attackers are nailed, who offers the best value and which defenders provide the greatest combination of clean-sheet and attacking potential.
Manchester United
Manchester United travel to Hull City for their opening fixture.
The club finished last season strongly under Michael Carrick and have added to their squad during the summer, making United assets particularly interesting for GW1.
Bruno Fernandes is the obvious premium option, while cheaper attacking and defensive assets could also be worth consideration depending on their expected minutes.
Manchester City
Manchester City host Bournemouth on Sunday.
That makes the fixture one of the most attractive attacking match-ups of the opening Gameweek, particularly for managers considering Erling Haaland.
The Manchester City vs Bournemouth Scout report also highlights the fixture as one of the key FPL games to watch during the opening round.
Chelsea
Chelsea begin their campaign away at Fulham on Monday night.
The club enters the new season under Xabi Alonso and has made significant changes during the summer, making team selection particularly important for FPL managers.
João Pedro has emerged as one of the more interesting attacking options after a strong pre-season and is already featured among our recommended GW1 players.
Liverpool
Liverpool face Newcastle away in one of the more difficult opening fixtures.
That makes Liverpool’s assets slightly harder to assess than those from teams with more favourable match-ups, although there are still players worth considering.
The club is also entering a new era under Andoni Iraola following a summer of major changes, making their opening fixture particularly intriguing.
FPL GW1 Team News and Pre-Season Form
Pre-season should be used as evidence rather than gospel.
A player scoring five goals in friendlies does not automatically make him an FPL must-have, just as one poor pre-season performance does not necessarily make a proven player a sell.
However, pre-season can provide valuable clues about:
- Starting positions
- Set-piece responsibilities
- Tactical changes
- New partnerships
- Fitness
- Rotation
- New signings
- Potential budget enablers
The Premier League’s own FPL analysis has highlighted the importance of using pre-season to identify emerging players and tactical trends ahead of the opening Gameweek.
This is especially relevant in 2026/27 because several Premier League clubs have new managers and significantly different squads.
In other words, do not completely ignore pre-season — just do not let one friendly result dictate your entire FPL strategy.
Premier League 2026/27 Predictions
Although this is not strictly an FPL decision, knowing how the Premier League season could unfold can help shape your thinking.
Which teams are expected to challenge for the title?
Who could win the Golden Boot?
Which goalkeeper is most likely to keep the most clean sheets?
And which clubs could surprise or disappoint?
We have already made our predictions for the 2026/27 Premier League campaign.
Premier League 2026/27 Predictions: Who Will Win the Title, Golden Boot and Golden Glove?
These predictions can also provide some useful context for FPL managers.
If you expect a club to challenge for the title, for example, you may be more inclined to invest in its attacking and defensive assets over the opening weeks.
Likewise, if you expect a promoted side to struggle, that can influence which fixtures you target when selecting premium players and defensive assets.
Of course, predictions are predictions. FPL managers should ultimately prioritise player-level factors such as minutes, role, fixtures and expected involvement.
FPL Gameweek 1 Final Checklist
With the deadline approaching, it is easy to overthink your squad.
Before you lock in your team, make sure you have considered the following:
- Check your starting XI.
- Check the latest predicted lineups.
- Make sure your premium players are expected to start.
- Choose your captain and vice-captain.
- Review your goalkeeper and defensive fixtures.
- Consider at least one or two differentials if you are comfortable taking the risk.
- Check for late injury news and manager press conferences.
- Make sure your bench players are likely to receive minutes.
- Review your formation.
- Avoid making transfers simply because another manager has made them.
- Set your final team before the 18:30 BST Friday deadline.
FPL Gameweek 1: Your Complete Guide
There is no perfect FPL team heading into Gameweek 1.
The information available before the season starts is inevitably incomplete, and the opening weekend is particularly difficult because managers have limited evidence of how their teams will actually perform in competitive matches.
The best approach is therefore to make informed decisions rather than trying to predict everything perfectly.
Use the fixtures to identify attractive match-ups, predicted lineups to assess minutes, player picks to find the best assets, captaincy analysis to choose your armband and differential picks to identify opportunities outside the template.
And if you want to go deeper into any of those decisions, use our dedicated guides:
Best players: FPL 2026/27: The Best Players to Own Ahead of Gameweek 1
Predicted lineups: FPL GW1 Predicted Lineups: Every Premier League Club’s Starting XI
Captain picks: FPL GW1 Captain Picks: Who Should You Captain?
Differentials: FPL Gameweek 1 Differential Picks: 10 Low-Owned Players to Consider
Clean sheets: FPL Gameweek 1 Clean Sheet Odds: Teams Most Likely to Keep a Clean Sheet
Premier League predictions: Premier League 2026/27 Predictions: Who Will Win the Title, Golden Boot and Golden Glove?
With all of that covered, you should have everything you need to finalise your squad and head into Gameweek 1 of the 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League season.
