Every football fan’s favourite online game is gearing up for another season. The 2026/27 campaign of Fantasy Premier League is due to kick off on Friday, August 21, when Arsenal play newly-promoted Coventry City at the Emirates Stadium.
But who should you include in your FPL squad before the season begins? This is the question that every player must ask themselves – it’s a crucial set of decisions that could decide your entire season.
Today, we’re going to lend you a hand. Here are five players who you’ll need to include in your FPL team if you want any chance of success this season.
In this list, we’ve picked players from teams such as Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. Can you guess who they are?
Jan Paul van Hecke
For us, Jan Paul van Hecke has been one of the best pickups of the summer transfer window so far. Spurs were in desperate need of a new centre-back – alongside Marcos Senesi, another great signing, they have landed a real gem here.
With Cristian Romero set to leave the club, this opens the door for Van Hecke to become a regular member of Roberto De Zerbi’s starting XI.
Additionally, at just £5m, he’s also very cheap and won’t put much of a dent in your budget. Senesi and Pedro Porro may seem tempting, but we’d advise you to pick Van Hecke on account of how cheap he is.
Harry Wilson
Snapped up on a free from Fulham, Harry Wilson’s move to Leeds United could prove to be an astoundingly canny piece of business from the Whites.
Leeds have plenty of excellent attacking players for him to supply, such as Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. With 17 g/a in 36 Premier League games last season, can he exceed that tally in 2026/27?
Whatever the case, at £6.5m, Wilson is a pretty risk-free option in FPL this year. Certainly one to keep your eye on, even if you don’t plan to field him every week.
Rayan
Following his inclusion in Brazil’s 2026 World Cup squad, Rayan should return to Bournemouth with his confidence through the roof. Yes, his country was largely unsuccessful in the summer, but he still managed to play a sizeable role in their campaign.
Having joined Bournemouth in January, Rayan scored five goals and racked up two assists in 15 games. Now that he has been given time to adjust to the hustle and bustle of the Premier League, we’d expect him to build upon this tally.
A fast, powerful wide man with excellent dribbling ability and brilliant anticipatory skills, he could be a real dark horse in FPL this season. It might be sensible to bench him for the first gameweek, though, as the Cherries take on Man City at the Etihad Stadium.
Joao Pedro
Joao Pedro enjoyed a great first season at Chelsea in the previous campaign. Scoring 15 goals and notching up eight assists, little more needs to be said.
Now, under Xabi Alonso, Pedro will be keen to impress his new head coach when the season begins. Liam Delap continues to underwhelm at Stamford Bridge, so you can count on the Brazilian being a regular first-teamer.
Danny Welbeck was also brought on board, but we’d also expect him to fall beneath Pedro in the pecking order. With creative attackers such as Morgan Rogers having been signed up to help supply the assists, Pedro could be a goalscoring machine this year.
Erling Haaland
We needn’t really give an explanation for this one. Generally, if you don’t have Erling Haaland in your FPL squad, you are going to get left behind by those that do.
Arguably the best striker in the world, Haaland scored 27 goals in 35 Premier League outings last season and was FPL’s highest-scoring player overall. Furthermore, he also scored seven goals in five games at the World Cup for Norway.
He’s very expensive at £15.5m – the costliest player in the game this year – but as evidence dictates, he is always worth making room for.