The Scout highlights the main takeaways from the opening weekend of 2025/26 Fantasy Premier League. Remember, it’s not too late to create a Fantasy team and start playing in Gameweek 2.
Budget bench stars emerge
If you’re looking for an ultra-low priced attacker to sit on your bench, Fulham midfielder Josh King (£4.5m) was the ONLY sub-£5.0m midfielder or forward to start in the first nine matches of Gameweek 1.
King’s weekend was in direct contrast to Sunderland’s popular Marc Guiu (£4.5m) – the 20 per cent-owned forward failed to play any minutes of their 3-0 win over West Ham United.
Instead, the Black Cats’ clean sheet suggests their defence could be handier assets for our benches, with left-back Reinildo and centre-back Omar Alderete both available for a mere £4.0m.
On Monday evening, promoted defenders were again a big success as Gabriel Gudmundsson and Joe Rodon (both £4.0m) combined for 16 points in Leeds United's 1-0 win over Everton
Those budget players could help you afford Salah AND Haaland
While Cole Palmer (£10.5m), Bukayo Saka (£10.0m), Bruno Fernandes, Ollie Watkins and Viktor Gyokeres (all £9.0m) all started the season with blanks, Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) and Erling Haaland (£14.0m) showed you get what you pay for in Fantasy.
It’s early days, but Haaland’s two goals and 13 points against Wolverhampton Wanderers indicate he could be Salah’s main rival this season, and that a double-up on the two big-hitters may be the most productive tactic.
But since the two most expensive players in 2025/26 Fantasy cost a combined £28.5m, turning to the likes of King and Reinildo is vital to free up the funds for that approach.
Cucurella the most appealing premium defender
Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella (£6.0m) was the top-scoring defender in the second half of 2024/25, delivering 89 points from Gameweek 20 onwards.
The Spaniard continued where he left off with a nine-point haul against Crystal Palace, courtesy of a clean sheet and three bonus points.
In a Gameweek where Arsenal’s four full-backs all shared minutes, Liverpool pair Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong (both £6.0m) were subbed off before the hour-mark and Manchester City’s Rayan Ait-Nouri (£6.0m) played on the left of a back three due to the absence of the injured Josko Gvardiol (£6.0m), Cucurella’s forays forward in attack, combined with clean-sheet potential, indicate he can have the greatest upside of any premium defender this season.
Ekitike shines as Wirtz backers face looming dilemma
Liverpool new boys Florian Wirtz (£8.5m) and Hugo Ekitike (£8.6m) were both handed £8.5m price tags for their debut campaigns in Fantasy.
It’s fair to say, though, that it’s the latter who has caught the eye of managers. Indeed, Ekitike’s goal, assist and 11-point haul against AFC Bournemouth has made him the first forward to rise in price this season. Wirtz, by comparison, is the most-sold player in the Gameweek.
With Cody Gakpo (£7.5m) offering a cheaper route into the Reds’ attack, Wirtz could suffer heavy sales if he blanks against Newcastle United, with Liverpool then hosting Arsenal in Gameweek 3.
Reijnders display eases rotation worries
Man City’s Tijjani Reijnders (£5.6m) is this season’s first major bandwagon after his goal and assist against Wolves. A massive 570,000+ managers have already bought the budget midfielder ahead of Gameweek 2, and his all-round display has eased any worries over rotation for now.
Granted, the Dutchman only featured as a second-half substitute in their final friendly against Palermo, but his two goals in the 3-0 win over the Italian side further highlights his growing influence on Pep Guardiola’s side.
We’ve been here before with Guardiola but, while rotation during congested periods can always be expected, Reijnders’ cost of just £5.6m looks too good a gift for managers to ignore.
Centre-backs the dominant defenders for defensive contributions
Centre-backs have immediately shown why their position on the pitch makes them the likeliest defenders to claim the new defensive contribution points.
Of the 14 defenders to collect two points for their actions over the weekend, as many as 11 played as centre-backs in Gameweek 1, with three clubs supplying two players – Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix and Tyrick Mitchell (both £5.0m), Manchester United’s Matthijs de Ligt (£5.0m) and Leny Yoro (4.5m), and Newcastle United’s Fabian Schar (£5.5m) and Dan Burn (£5.0m).
Ten midfielders also collected two points for their actions.
Man Utd will score plenty of goals this season
The display of Man Utd’s key attackers against Arsenal offered plenty of encouragement for the season ahead.
Although the Red Devils succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, their totals of 22 shots and 15 shots in the box both ranked first from the first nine matches of 2025/26. Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo (both £8.0m) boasted the chief goal threat, while Bruno Fernandes' (£9.0m) dominance of set-pieces gives managers hope the trio can play a big part in the season ahead.
With no involvement in European matches, there’s also far less chance of rotation for Ruben Amorim’s regulars. Expect heavy investment for their Gameweek 3 home match against Burnley.
Richarlison form a threat to Solanke's minutes
Before the season started, Tottenham Hotspur’s excellent mid-term run of opponents had many FPL managers targeting Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) for their frontlines.
However, the forward’s injury during pre-season allowed Richarlison (£6.5m) to make his mark in Thomas Frank’s first match in charge, scoring twice in a 3-0 win over Burnley.
Once their Gameweek 2 visit to Man City is out of the way, Spurs have an outstanding schedule that merits investment in their attack. According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), where the difficulty of each fixture is ranked from one to five - with one being the easiest possible match and five being the hardest – NONE of their nine matches from Gameweek 3 onwards scores more than three.
Although Solanke is still expected to reclaim the centre-forward role, Richarlison’s form is likely to threaten his minutes for now.
Wood shows why pre-season can only tell us so much
There’s no denying that Nottingham Forest had been hugely underwhelming in pre-season, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side scoring just ONE goal in seven matches.
Yet it took Chris Wood (£7.5m) just five minutes against Brentford to show that there is only so much we can ascertain from those summer matches, with the New Zealand international then adding to his early goal with a second strike and 13 points.
In sharp contrast to Wood, Chelsea’s Joao Pedro (£7.5m) and Aston Villa’s Watkins had each scored five goals over the summer and were heavily backed, but blanked in Gameweek 1.
Nonetheless, Joao Pedro and Watkins both have great schedules ahead to reward their 54 and 26 per cent backing and should be afforded more patience for now.
Corner-kick duties add to Anderson's potential
Much had been made of Elliot Anderson’s (£5.5m) potential for the new defensive contribution points heading into 2025/26 Fantasy.
Although he narrowly failed to pick up any of those points against Brentford, Anderson now looks to be his side’s first-choice taker for corner-kicks following the departure of Anthony Elanga (£7.0m) to Newcastle.
Anderson took only 48 compared with the 86 of Elanga last season, but on Sunday he took four of his side’s five corners, adding to his potential for assists. Going with Anderson AND Reijnders in your line-up could allow for huge savings to spend on big-hitters who can wear your captain's armband.
Brentford look weak without Frank
While Spurs delivered a clean sheet in their first match under Frank, the impact of the Dane's departure from Brentford already looks to be in evidence.
The Bees were defensively solid at defending free-kicks and corners in the early stages of last season and didn’t concede from a set-piece until their 11th match, so Wood’s early goal - which came from a corner - looks ominous for the Bees' prospects under Keith Andrews.
Certainly, it looks promising for the potential of opposition attackers, with Villa’s Watkins and Morgan Rogers (£7.0m) visiting the Gtech Community Stadium in Gameweek 2.