Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 1 Picks with Explosive Potential
The new Fantasy Premier League season always starts the same way: one deadline, one chance to steal a march on your rivals. With Friday’s 18:30 BST cut-off looming, four names stand out for managers hunting early points and early bragging rights.
Alexander Isak (Liverpool) £9.0m
A fit, angry, underpriced Alexander Isak is a dangerous thing.
Last season never really got going for him. Injury limited the Swedish striker to just eight Premier League starts in 2025/26, a stop–start campaign that never reflected his quality. Now he returns with a World Cup and a full pre-season in his legs, and he looks sharp.
The signs are already there. In his penultimate pre-season outing, Isak produced a goal and an assist against Monaco, a reminder of the all-round threat that once terrorised defences for Newcastle United. His last full Premier League season brought 23 goals, six assists and 211 FPL points. That’s elite output.
This time he starts at £9.0m, down from £10.5m. For a proven scorer leading the line for Liverpool, that price is hard to ignore.
There’s more. Mohamed Salah has gone, and with him Liverpool’s long-standing penalty monopoly. Spot-kick duties are up for grabs. Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) has a claim after deputising last season, but if Isak gets the job, his ceiling shoots even higher.
Competition for minutes is minimal. Hugo Ekitike (£7.5m) faces a long spell out injured, leaving Isak as the clear first-choice striker. The fixture list helps too: none of Liverpool’s first five matches rate above three on the Fixture Difficulty Ratings scale.
Gameweek 1 brings Newcastle to Anfield. They arrive in a transitional phase after the departure of Eddie Howe and the exit of several key players. For Isak, facing his former club in those circumstances, this is a platform for a statement start.
Bryan Mbeumo (Man Utd) £8.0m
Bryan Mbeumo is listed as a midfielder. He’s been playing like a centre-forward.
With Benjamin Sesko (£7.0m) still sidelined and having missed the entire pre-season, Manchester United have pushed Mbeumo into a central attacking role across the summer. He has responded with the kind of form FPL managers crave: three goals and an assist in his last three friendly starts.
That “out of position” tag matters. Midfielders get an extra point for goals and benefit from clean-sheet points; if they’re playing up front, the value can be huge.
Mbeumo also comes into the season fresher than many. Cameroon’s failure to qualify for the World Cup gave him a proper summer break and a full pre-season with United. That continuity should translate into strong minutes from Gameweek 1.
The fixtures scream opportunity. United open at home to Hull City, then face Ipswich Town in Gameweek 2. Both are newly promoted. Hull, for all their success in the Championship, conceded 66 goals last season. Only three teams in the division shipped more.
Those numbers hint at vulnerability. For United’s attack, and for Mbeumo in particular, this is a chance to cash in early.
Christos Tzolis (Arsenal) £6.5m
Every summer throws up one new signing who looks underpriced. Christos Tzolis is making a strong case to be that player.
The Greek winger arrived at Arsenal from Club Brugge and immediately lit up pre-season. One goal and six assists tell their own story: seven attacking returns, more than any of his new team-mates managed.
Crucially, he’s been available from day one. While many of Arsenal’s internationals returned late from the FIFA World Cup and had their minutes carefully managed, Tzolis has been embedded in Mikel Arteta’s plans since July. He featured in all six of the Gunners’ pre-season matches.
He saved one of his most important contributions for Sunday’s FA Community Shield, supplying an assist in the 3-0 win. Every time he has started for the reigning Premier League champions, he has delivered some form of attacking return. No blanks yet.
This is not a one-off hot streak either. Last season in Belgium’s top flight, Tzolis produced a remarkable 17 goals and 23 assists. Those numbers demand respect.
Gameweek 1 hands Arsenal a home tie against promoted Coventry City. For a £6.5m midfielder in a dominant attack, already integrated, already productive, Tzolis looks primed to carry that pre-season spark straight into the Premier League.
Dan Ballard (Sunderland) £5.0m
Not every winning move in Gameweek 1 is glamorous. Some are just smart.
Plenty of managers eyeing a Bench Boost will have noticed Luke O'Nien (£4.0m) as a perfect enabler at Sunderland. The price is right, but the long-term picture is not. With Omar Alderete (£5.0m) and Nordi Mukiele (£5.5m) expected back from injury soon, O’Nien’s minutes could quickly become fragile.
Dan Ballard offers something different: security and steady returns.
Across 2025/26, Ballard averaged 10.9 defensive contributions per 90 minutes, hitting the required threshold in 58 per cent of his starts. For FPL formats that reward defensive actions, that consistency matters. He’s not just a body on your bench.
He also carries a genuine attacking threat. Four attacking returns last season and a top-seven ranking among defenders for shots in the box (25) underline his presence at set pieces.
Ipswich Town, another promoted side, visit in Gameweek 1. It’s a fixture that gives Ballard immediate clean-sheet potential, with bonus-point upside if Sunderland control the game.
The schedule does bite in Gameweeks 4 and 5, when Sunderland’s fixtures stiffen. Managers can plan around that, perhaps rotating with a Leeds United defender as they enjoy two home matches in that spell. Beyond that, Ballard looks like a defender you can pick and leave in place right through to Gameweek 9.
Four players. Four different price points. One common thread: all are positioned to punish anyone who sleeps through the opening deadline.
