The first gameweek of the 2025/26 Fantasy Premier League season is almost in the books – only one match remains, when Leeds United take on Everton this evening.
Few surprises were offered up – perhaps the most notable result of the weekend came when Sunderland trounced West Ham United by a score of 3-0 in their first game back in England’s top division.
Today, we’ll break down the best and worst performers in FPL from this weekend across each of the four positions. We will base this on their points total from the weekend, as well as their costliness.
Goalkeepers
The highest scoring goalkeeper at the weekend was David Raya of Arsenal, who picked up 10 points for his excellent display against Manchester United. At £5.5, he is expensive, but he has also been selected by 17.7% of all FPL players. If you have wiggle room in your budget, it might be time to give the Spanish shot stopper his flowers.
The biggest underperformer of the weekend between the sticks was, at least in FPL terms, Liverpool’s Alisson. He is every bit as expensive as Raya is, but could only muster a single point as the Reds let two goals in against Bournemouth on Friday night.
Defenders
The highest scoring defender of the weekend caught everyone by surprise. Sunderland’s Dominic Ballard scored a header and helped keep a clean sheet, netting him a tidy 17 points. Only 2.5% of players have him selected – three of them even triple captained him (we would like to find these three players and ask them for their lottery picks).
Arsenal star Riccardo Calafiori was also impressive, scoring a goal and collecting a clean sheet – he amassed a total of 13 points this weekend.
Those who selected Milos Kerkez, however, will have been gravely disappointed. Failing to pick up a clean sheet bonus or notch up a goal contribution, Kerkez’s points total sits at zero as things stand. He also costs £6.0, making him one of the game’s most expensive defenders.
Midfielders
Antoine Semenyo wowed audiences on Friday night, particularly with his second goal of the outing, in which he completed a mazy run from his own half to slam the ball beyond Alisson in the Liverpool net. In total, Bournemouth’s star man scored a tidy 15 points for anyone who selected him.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have a few picks for our biggest midfield flop of gameweek one. Florian Wirtz, despite costing £8.5, failed to produce anything of note for Liverpool – mustering a measly 2 points.
Wirtz wasn’t the only offender, however. Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka cost £10.5 and £10.0, respectively – but they could each only conjure up three points. For players who are likely to be FPL players’ flagship signings (and captains), these are bitterly underwhelming numbers.
Forwards
The prize for the best performing striker on FPL this weekend is a three way tie. Erling Haaland, Chris Wood and Richarlison all racked up a solid tally of 13 points over the course of the weekend.
Of the three, Richarlison of Spurs represents the best value for money. He costs just £6.5, while Wood is £7.5 and Haaland will set you back an eye watering £14.5. It was an excellent display from the polarising Brazilian against Burnley – can he keep up his goalscoring form for the rest of the season?
Sadly, on the other side of North London, the same cannot be said for Arsenal’s marquee summer signing. Viktor Gyokeres was decidedly poor against Manchester United, failing to have an impact on the game and routinely slowing the Gunners’ counter attacks. He could only rack up a single point before he was unceremoniously hooked on the hour mark.
He wasn’t alone – there were plenty of poor performers up top in gameweek one. Stars such Joao Pedro, Jarrod Bowen, Raul Jimenez, Ollie Watkins and Evanilson all failed to eclipse two points, despite being named in their respective starting XIs. It was a frustrating weekend for FPL players who invested most of their budget in their strikeforce – perhaps the money would be better spent on a bolstered midfield or backline?