There’s a new feel to the start of this FPL season.
With the change in calendar, there are five gameweeks before an extended first international break in late September. So, which sides have the best fixtures for those opening spells of games?
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5. Man Utd
- First five fixtures: Hull (A), Ipswich (H), Everton (A), Man City (H), Fulham (A)
Manchester United certainly have the best opening pair of fixtures, travelling to Championship play-off winners Hull City, before entertaining fellow promoted side Ipswich Town in Gameweek 2.
They rank second for clean sheet potential in Gameweek 1, and then top in Gameweek 2, which sees their defensive assets popular. Goalkeeper Senne Lammens (£5.0m) kept eight clean sheets last season, with six of those coming in the 17 games since Michael Carrick took charge.
There’s other sound options in the defence too. Harry Maguire (£5.0m) poses a significant aerial threat from set-pieces, and Luke Shaw (£4.5m) started every single league game last season.
Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) earns essential status in the attack and could even be the main captain pick for Ipswich at home in Gameweek 2. He delivered an attacking return in every home game under Michael Carrick last season, including five double-digit hauls in a nine-game period.
The strength of the fixtures makes an attacking double up appealing. Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) and Matheus Cunha (£8.0m) come in at the same price point, wirh little to separate them. Mbeumo gets the slight edge for me, with his minutes more secure.
4. Man City
- First five fixtures: Bournemouth (H), Crystal Palace (A), Coventry (H), Man Utd (A), Sunderland (H)
Manchester City also have a kind run of opening fixtures, with a home tie against Championship winners Coventry City a key highlight. Enzo Maresca has replaced Pep Guardiola after a 10-year spell in charge, making Man City slightly unpredictable. Let’s hope we get less rotation!
Maresca has called Josko Gvardiol (£5.5m), Phil Foden (£7.0m) and Erling Haaland (£15.5m) the three pillars in his squad. So I’m automatically highly interested in them.
Gvardiol comes in at a kind price tag compared to teammates Nico O’Reilly (£6.5m) and Marc Guehi (£6.0m), in a defence we regularly rely on for clean sheets. He’s averaged five goal involvements a season in his three seasons at the club.
I have high hopes that Phil Foden can replicate his form from the 2023/24 season where he produced 19 goals and eight assists. However, Fantasy Football Hub’s AI predictions suggest that Antoine Semenyo (£8.5m) and Jeremy Doku (£7.5m) have similar potential.
Haaland is already in around 75% of fantasy teams, so given the strength of their fixtures, it probably makes sense to add a Man City midfielder into the mix too. Haaland is renowned for making a fast start to the campaign, but World Cup involvement could cause some rare fatigue.
3. Arsenal
- First five fixtures: Coventry (H), Aston Villa (A), Chelsea (H), Sunderland (A), Brighton (A)
Premier League champions Arsenal kick off the entire campaign on Friday 21st August against Championship winners Coventry at the Emirates. They’ll be big favourites to keep a clean sheet in that fixture.
David Raya (£6.0 million) is up in price by £0.5 million, having kept 19 clean sheets on the way to that historic Premier League title. AI predictions suggest he’s worth the high price tag, projected to be the top-performing goalkeeper over the opening five gameweeks.
Plenty of fantasy managers will be highly motivated to invest in the Gunners back-line following their consistency last campaign. Bt Gabriel (£8.0 million) sees a price hike of £2.0 million, while fellow centre-back William Saliba will miss the beginning of the season through injury.
That opens the door for Cristhian Mosquera (£5.5m) to deputise, providing a significant saving over Gabriel. I prefer Riccardo Calafiori (£5.5m) at this price point though, and AI predictions also give him the edge.
Investing in Arsenal’s attack is trickier, especially with Bukayo Saka (£9.5m) and Declan Rice (£7.5m) late returning from the World Cup. Doubling up on the Gunners defence is the smarter play here, with the best AI team for Gameweek 1 recommending the same.
2. Nottingham Forest
- First five fixtures: Leeds (H), Liverpool (A), Tottenham (H), Aston Villa (A), Coventry (H)
There’s optimism around Nottingham Forest going into this new campaign following the recruitment of Oliver Glasner as manager from Crystal Palace. And with no European involvement this season, you’d expect to see an improvement in their Premier League performances.
Neco Williams (£5.0m) stands out as the clear favourite among the Nottingham Forest defence, with clean sheet potential high in their three home games in this spell: Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur and promoted Coventry.
We expect them to set up in a 3-4-3 formation, with Williams likely to play high and advanced, providing a similar output to what Daniel Munoz produced at Palace last season, where he registered eight goal involvements.
Ola Aina (£4.5m) has similar potential on the opposite flank at a cheaper price point, but he returned just two assists last season, compared to Williams with two goals and three assists.
Elliot Anderson is a big miss from the heart of Nottingham Forest’s squad following his departure to Man City this summer, but that should see Morgan Gibbs-White (£8.0m) take a greater share of set pieces. Keep an eye on striker Igor Jesus (£6.0m) too.
1. Brentford
- First five fixtures: Tottenham (H), Leeds (A), Sunderland (H), Bournemouth (A), Chelsea (H)
Brentford are one of the most settled sides in the Premier League, with managerial consistency provided by Keith Andrews. They narrowly missed out on a chance of European football on goal difference, but from an FPL perspective, that’s good news.
Clean sheet potential is seemingly high for their first two home games against Tottenham who finished 17th last season and Sunderland. Michael Kayode (£4.5m) initially represented good value in the defence.
However, with news that Sepp van den Berg set to miss the start of the campaign through injury, Kristoffer Ajer (£4.5m) provides greater routes to points in the Brentford defence, with two assists and nine defensive contribution bonuses from 20 starts last season.
When it comes to looking at the Brentford attack, it’s difficult to back against Igor Thiago (£8.0m) who produced a remarkable 22 goals last season. There’s huge potential for goals in his opening games, knowing he prefers home comforts, plus he’s on penalties.
Club record signing Mamadou Sangare (£5.5m) comes in at a kind price point with plenty of potential for defensive contribution points. He would have hit the defensive contribution bonus in 18 of 27 appearances in Ligue 1 last season.
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