Following the release of the 2026/27 fixtures, The Scout highlights the clubs and players to target for the opening Gameweeks in Fantasy Premier League.
Manchester United
It’s fair to say that Michael Carrick could barely ask for a kinder opening two matches for his first full season in charge of Manchester United.
The Red Devils start the 2026/27 campaign with back-to-back contests against promoted clubs, visiting Hull City before hosting Ipswich Town.
Although they do have a home derby against Manchester City in Gameweek 4, this is the only time over the first five Gameweeks where Man Utd will face any of last season's top 10, with visits to Everton and Fulham also on the agenda.
This run is also reflected by the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), with Man Utd's average score of 2.8 second only to Liverpool across Gameweeks 1-5.
Man Utd's first five matches
| GW | Opp. | FDR* |
| 1 | Hull (A) | 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Ipswich (H) | 2 |
| 3 | Everton (A) | 3 |
| 4 | Man City (H) | 4 |
| 5 | Fulham (A) | 3 |
*1=easiest possible fixture, 5=hardest possible fixture
Bruno Fernandes is already shaping up as a must-have for managers' opening squads due to his major captaincy potential.
The Portuguese was the top-scoring player in Fantasy after Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim in Gameweek 22 last season, amassing 129 points thanks to four goals and 16 assists.
Fernandes proved a reliable source of big hauls, with seven double-figure returns in 17 starts.
Having totalled at least 51 points more than any team-mate - with the now-departed Casemiro his nearest rival on 79 points - Fernandes is by far the best Man Utd player to invest in for the start of the season.
Who could have a breakout season under Carrick?
Patrick Dorgu and Benjamin Sesko's displays under Carrick indicate that both could be far more productive in 2026/27 Fantasy.
Although Dorgu only started three matches from Gameweek 22 onwards due to injury, he played as a left winger AND scored in all of them - netting against Manchester City and Arsenal, and producing a goal and an assist against Brighton & Hove Albion.
That lends weight to the idea of Dorgu's FPL classification changing from a defender to a midfielder this season, an argument which is also backed up when comparing the Dane's underlying data with midfield pair Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.
Dorgu's 33.2 minutes per shot under Carrick was the quickest of the trio, while he matched Cunha's total of three big chances (situations where a player is expected to score), despite playing over 800 minutes fewer than the Brazilian.
Meanwhile, Sesko's minutes per shot and big chance are the best of all four players in the table below.
Notably, the Slovenian forward had started four successive matches for the first time under Carrick before sustaining an injury in Gameweek 35, boosting his prospects of becoming a regular in the upcoming campaign.
Attacking stats, GW22-38
| Player | Mins/shot | Mins/big chance | Big chances | Mins |
| Sesko | 28.2 | 81.0 | 8 | 648 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorgu | 33.2 | 99.7 | 3 | 299 |
| Cunha | 35.4 | 377.7 | 3 | 1,133 |
| Mbeumo | 39.0 | 109.9 | 11 | 1,209 |
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In defence, Dorgu was the only player who delivered more than a single attacking return (goal or assist) under Carrick, highlighting the lack of alternatives if the Dane is indeed reclassified as a midfielder this season in Fantasy.
Furthermore, Harry Maguire's team-high 46.7 per cent success rate for defensive contributions is also slightly disappointing and makes investment less appealing.
Notably, though, Man Utd were a lot more defensively solid when Carrick selected Noussair Mazraoui at right-back instead of Diogo Dalot. They kept four clean sheets in Mazraoui's five starts, compared with four clean sheets in Dalot's 13 starts.
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