Gameweek 1 locks Friday 21 August 2026, 18:30 BST, with Arsenal hosting Coventry as the season opener. However your GW1 team looks, the questions are the same as every year: who has the kindest fixture, where does the budget actually stretch furthest, and who wears the armband. Here's how I'd work through all three, and how to test the same XI free on FootballDream before you commit anything.
Start with the fixtures, not the names
It's tempting to pick players first and check their fixture second — do it the other way round. A club at home to a newly-promoted side is a natural target for attackers and clean-sheet defenders alike; a clash between two top-six sides is riskier for everyone involved, however good the players are. FootballDream lists every GW1 fixture with kickoff times so you can plan around this before you plan around names.
GW1 fixture ratings: the 10 matches ranked for FPL
- 1. Arsenal vs Coventry (H, Fri 20:00): FDR A. Best GW1 fixture overall. Coventry will set up defensively; Arsenal assets are in paradise.
- 2. Man City vs Bournemouth (H, Sun 14:00): FDR A. Haaland vs Bournemouth at the Etihad. Nearly as good as Arsenal vs Coventry.
- 3. Nottm Forest vs Leeds (H, Sat 15:00): FDR A. Home vs newly promoted Leeds; Forest strong defensively; Jesus/Ndoye carry huge value.
- 4. Hull vs Man United (A, Sat 12:30): FDR B. United away vs promoted Hull; Bruno, Mbeumo and Sesko are the key assets. Early kickoff means less ownership.
- 5. Crystal Palace vs Everton (H, Sat 15:00): FDR B. Palace at home vs a rebuilding Everton; Sarr and Mateta are the GW1 picks.
- 6. Brentford vs Tottenham (H, Sat 17:30): FDR B. New-look Spurs away; Callum Wilson and Thiago are the Brentford picks.
- 7. Fulham vs Chelsea (H, Mon 20:00): FDR B. West London derby; Palmer carries the flag but Fulham at home always gives a fight.
- 8. Ipswich vs Sunderland (H, Sat 15:00): FDR C. Two promoted sides; value is limited but Davis (Ipswich) is interesting.
- 9. Brighton vs Aston Villa (H, Sun 14:00): FDR B. Villa away at Brighton is tough on paper.
- 10. Newcastle vs Liverpool (H, Sun 16:30): FDR B. The highest-profile GW1 game; hard for defenders from either side, but Salah and Isak have huge ceiling.
Where the trade-offs actually happen
£100m never stretches as far as you want it to, so decide the trade-offs deliberately rather than by accident. Spend big on one or two proven attackers, then fund the rest with cheap names who are genuinely nailed on to start. Two premium attackers (Haaland plus Saka or Palmer), one mid-priced creative midfielder, and value defenders with DEFCON upside from clubs facing kind opening fixtures — that's the shape most competitive GW1 squads end up taking, not by coincidence.
The GW1 template squad: what most managers will own
- GK: Raya (Arsenal, £6.0m) or Flekken (Brentford, £5.0m)
- DEF: Calafiori (£5.6m), Aina (£4.5m), Dunk (£4.5m), Shaw (£4.5m)
- MF: Saka (£9.5m), Palmer (£9.6m), Eze (£6.4m), Yates (£4.5m), Le Fée (£6.0m)
- FWD: Haaland (£15.5m), Jesus (£6.0m), Awoniyi (£5.5m)
- Total: ~£96.5m. Leaves ~£3.5m in bank for early price rises.
The armband, the one pick you can't undo
It doubles whatever that player scores, so get this one right. If you own Haaland, the decision more or less makes itself — home to Bournemouth is as clean a fixture as GW1 offers. If you don't, Saka at home to Coventry is the safe route and Bruno at Hull is the one worth taking a real risk on, depending on whether you're protecting a position or chasing one.
Don't skip the defence
Clean sheets and defensive contribution points both matter more than a lot of GW1 drafts account for. Pick at least one defender who either gets forward regularly or racks up genuine defensive actions — our Best Budget FPL Defenders guide has the full £4.0-£4.5m shortlist with clean-sheet probability by fixture.
Play it free
Lock the same ideas into Gameweek Fantasy, free, no download, and open every club's FPL guide from the Premier League hub before deadline. FootballDream scores your captain at 2× and lets you move the armband right up to kickoff — useful for last-minute team news.