Eight FPL Picks Who Could Win You the 2026-27 Season Before It Even Starts

The 2026-27 Fantasy Premier League season is here, and if you're still finalising your squad, you're not alone. Most managers are still chasing the same premium names, but the real edge in football's most popular fantasy game often comes from the picks nobody else is making. We've done the thinking for you.

Wirtz Is the Liverpool Differential Nobody Is Talking About Enough

Florian Wirtz at £7.5m is one of the most exciting mid-price options in the game right now. With ownership sitting around 14%, he offers something the majority of popular midfielders don't: genuine rank-climbing potential if he fires. New Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola has been vocal about deploying Wirtz as a true number 10, operating directly behind Alexander Isak. Pre-season friendlies have backed that up. More central play means more touches in dangerous areas, more goal involvements, and more FPL returns. A second season in English football should sharpen his output too. For the price, he's a cleaner route into the Liverpool attack than almost any other option available.

Gross and the Set-Piece Goldmine at Brighton

Pascal Gross at £5.5m might not get the pulses racing, but in football, budget midfielders with multiple routes to points are worth their weight in gold. With Danny Welbeck's move to Chelsea, Gross looks set to inherit penalty duties at Brighton, something he wasted no time proving in pre-season when he converted a spot-kick and delivered a free-kick assist in the same match. Add his involvement in corners and other dead-ball situations, and you've got a midfielder who can quietly rack up returns while sitting in a chunk of your budget-friendly slots. Under Fabian Hurzeler, Brighton continue to create chances. Gross is central to that, and at his price point, he's the kind of pick that quietly wins leagues.

Kinsky, Calafiori, and the Case for Cheap Defence

If you're spending big on your attack, you need your defensive picks to do the heavy lifting on value. Antonin Kinsky at £4.5m is about as good as it gets at goalkeeper. He finished last season as Roberto de Zerbi's first choice at Spurs, kept his place even after Vicario returned from injury, and showed the kind of consistency that makes him a set-and-forget option. He doesn't need clean sheet bonuses every week to justify his place, he just needs to stay first choice.

In defence, Riccardo Calafiori at £5.5m is our pick over the more expensive Gabriel for Arsenal coverage. Yes, there's competition from Piero Hincapie, and fitness questions linger, but Calafiori is attacking-minded, rarely subbed before the 60-minute mark, and plays for the best defensive unit in the league. If he stays fit, early returns are genuinely on the cards. And Neco Williams at £5m for Nottingham Forest rounds out the value back line, especially if Oliver Glasner shifts to a wing-back system, which would push Williams even further forward and give him the kind of goal involvement that Daniel Munoz enjoyed for Palace last season.

Joao Pedro and Calvert-Lewin Could Be the Most Rewarding Forward Pairing in the Game

The premium forward conversation in football this season starts and ends with Erling Haaland, but beneath him, there are two names we're backing hard. Joao Pedro at £7.5m is £2m cheaper than Cole Palmer and arrives as Chelsea's clear attacking focal point under Xabi Alonso. Fifteen goals and nine assists in his debut season is not a fluke, it's a foundation. With no European football to distract Chelsea, and the freedom of a summer rest behind him, he's perfectly placed to repeat or better those numbers.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin at £6m is the third most-owned forward in the game, and for good reason. He's on penalties at Leeds, rarely substituted, in strong form heading into the season, and arguably priced too low for what he offers. His finishing let him down slightly last season given the volume of chances he earned, but the platform at Leeds under Daniel Farke is excellent, and the additions they've made in attack, including Harry Wilson who bagged nine assists last year, will only create more opportunities for him.

Szoboszlai at £7m sits alongside these picks as a reliable accumulator, finishing as Liverpool's second highest FPL scorer last season with 160 points. His role under Iraola is the only question mark, but his versatility almost guarantees his minutes.

Our Call for 2026-27

The managers who win FPL seasons are the ones who identify value early and hold their nerve when everyone else panics. Our core picks for 2026-27 centre on Wirtz as the key differential, Gross as the enabler who keeps your budget intact, Joao Pedro as the standout forward underneath Haaland, and Calvert-Lewin as the penalty-taking, chance-receiving value pick that most people will overlook. Build around those names and you're already ahead of most of your mini-league rivals before a ball has been kicked in anger.