Who are the best FPL players to pick for 2026/27?

At the premium end, Erling Haaland (£15.5m) and Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) are the two most-owned building blocks. Behind them, the best value tends to sit in the £7.0m–£9.0m band: forwards like Alexander Isak, Ollie Watkins and Viktor Gyökeres who were all cut in price, and Phil Foden at a multi-year low of £7.0m. The strongest budget enabler is a defender or midfielder from a side that keeps clean sheets, plus a sub-£5.0m nailed goalkeeper.

Should I start with Haaland in FPL 2026/27?

Most managers will. With Salah out of the game, owning Haaland no longer forces a second-premium trade-off, so the opportunity cost of his £15.5m tag is lower than in previous seasons. The main reason to fade him is if you want to spread that budget across three or four £8m–£10m attackers instead — a valid 'no Haaland' structure, but a bigger week-to-week gamble on his captaincy.

Which cheap FPL players are worth picking in 2026/27?

The best cheap picks are the reclassified defenders now listed as midfielders — Myles Lewis-Skelly, Patrick Dorgu and Keane Lewis-Potter — who keep defensive minutes and clean-sheet potential while sitting in a lower price bracket. Add a nailed sub-£5.0m goalkeeper (there are eight first-choice keepers under £5.0m) and a £4.0m defender from a promoted side who is guaranteed to start.

Who is the most expensive midfielder in FPL 2026/27?

Bruno Fernandes at £12.0m. With Mohamed Salah having left the Premier League, Bruno inherits the premium-midfielder role after a £3.0m rise. Phil Foden, by contrast, starts at just £7.0m — his cheapest price since 2020/21 — which makes him one of the most talked-about value midfielders in the game.

How do the position changes affect who I should pick?

Eleven players were reclassified. The most useful for squad-building are defenders who became midfielders (Lewis-Skelly, Dorgu, Lewis-Potter): they can still bank clean sheets and defensive contribution points but score their attacking returns as midfielders, and often sit at a cheap price. Conversely, midfielders moved to defence (Sessegnon, Wieffer) can offer attacking upside from a defender slot.

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Guides

Best FPL Players 2026/27: Top Picks by Position

The players worth building your GW1 squad around this season — position by position — shaped by the new prices, the reworked bonus system and the 11 position changes. Use it as a shortlist, then let pre-season form and fixtures settle the final calls.

The premium spine most squads share is Haaland (£15.5m) and Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m). The best value sits in the £7.0m–£9.0m band — cut-price forwards like Isak, Watkins and Gyökeres, plus Foden at £7.0m. Fund it all with a nailed sub-£5.0m goalkeeper and the reclassified defenders-turned-midfielders (Lewis-Skelly, Dorgu, Lewis-Potter).

Three things that shape the 2026/27 picks

No Salah. For the first time in nine years, Mohamed Salah is not in the game. That removes the classic two-premium dilemma and makes a single Haaland much easier to structure around.
The BPS rework favours attackers. Bonus now leans back towards goalkeepers, full-backs, attacking midfielders and forwards, since defensive contribution points already reward the defensive side. Big attacking hauls should convert to bonus more reliably.
11 position changes. Several defenders are now midfielders and a couple of midfielders are now defenders — which creates genuine value if you pick the right side of each move. See our full 2026/27 changes guide for the complete list.

Best forwards

Haaland stands alone above £9.0m, so the forward line splits into "Haaland plus two cheaper strikers" for most managers. The good news: three of the best mid-price forwards were all cut in price.

Player	Price	Why
Erling Haaland	£15.5m	Record price, but the default captain and the only forward in a tier of his own
Alexander Isak	£9.0m	Cut £1.5m — the pick if you want a second premium-ish striker without a Haaland-sized outlay
Ollie Watkins	£8.0m	Down £1.0m; proven volume of shots and minutes at a friendly price
Viktor Gyökeres	£7.5m	Cut £1.5m — a classic value angle if the underlying numbers hold up
Igor Thiago	£8.0m	Up £2.0m on the back of a strong season — priced as a genuine starter now

Best midfielders

This is the deepest position in the game and where most of your points come from. Bruno leads the premiums; Foden at £7.0m is the value story of the summer.

Player	Price	Why
Bruno Fernandes	£12.0m	The most expensive midfielder now Salah is gone; penalties, set pieces and a high floor
Phil Foden	£7.0m	Cheapest since 2020/21 — elite ceiling at a mid-price tag if he starts centrally
Eli Junior Kroupi (now MID)	£7.5m	Reclassified from forward, so he scores attacking returns as a midfielder — watch his pre-season role
Myles Lewis-Skelly (now MID)	Budget	Defender-turned-midfielder: clean-sheet minutes plus midfield scoring at an enabler price
Patrick Dorgu / Keane Lewis-Potter (now MID)	Budget	Same template — cheap midfielders who defend, ideal bench or playing enablers

Premium wingers and attacking mids from the top sides (the usual Arsenal, City, Liverpool and Newcastle names) round out the shortlist — check their live projections before locking one in.

Best defenders

With defensive contribution points still in the game, attacking full-backs and ball-playing centre-backs remain some of the best points-per-million in FPL. Gabriel at £8.0m is the marquee premium defender.

Player	Price	Why
Gabriel	£8.0m	Up £2.0m: goal threat from set pieces plus clean sheets and DefCon — the premium-defender pick
Attacking full-backs (top-6)	£5.5m–£7.0m	Assist potential plus defensive contribution points is the highest-ceiling defender profile
Ryan Sessegnon / Mats Wieffer (now DEF)	Budget	Midfielders reclassified as defenders — attacking upside from a cheaper defender slot
Promoted-side defenders	£4.0m	Guaranteed starters at rock-bottom prices — pure budget enablers for your bench

Best goalkeepers

Goalkeeper is where you save money. David Raya at £6.0m is the first £6.0m keeper since 2021/22 and the premium option — but with eight first-choice keepers under £5.0m, most managers pair a mid-price starter with a cheap nailed backup.

Player	Price	Why
David Raya	£6.0m	Premium keeper with save points and clean-sheet volume behind a strong defence
Nailed sub-£5.0m starters	£4.5m–£5.0m	Eight first-choice keepers sit here — the sweet spot for a playing budget goalkeeper
£4.0m backup	£4.0m	A non-playing £4.0m keeper frees maximum budget for your outfield spine

The value picks the position changes create

The single best structural edge this season is the group of defenders reclassified as midfielders — Lewis-Skelly, Dorgu and Lewis-Potter. They keep defensive minutes and clean-sheet potential but now score their attacking returns at the more generous midfield rate, usually from an enabler price bracket. Fill one or two of those slots well and you free up the budget for a Haaland-led attack.

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FAQs

Who are the best FPL players to pick for 2026/27?: At the premium end, Erling Haaland (£15.5m) and Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) are the two most-owned building blocks. Behind them, the best value tends to sit in the £7.0m–£9.0m band: forwards like Alexander Isak, Ollie Watkins and Viktor Gyökeres who were all cut in price, and Phil Foden at a multi-year low of £7.0m. The strongest budget enabler is a defender or midfielder from a side that keeps clean sheets, plus a sub-£5.0m nailed goalkeeper.
Should I start with Haaland in FPL 2026/27?: Most managers will. With Salah out of the game, owning Haaland no longer forces a second-premium trade-off, so the opportunity cost of his £15.5m tag is lower than in previous seasons. The main reason to fade him is if you want to spread that budget across three or four £8m–£10m attackers instead — a valid 'no Haaland' structure, but a bigger week-to-week gamble on his captaincy.
Which cheap FPL players are worth picking in 2026/27?: The best cheap picks are the reclassified defenders now listed as midfielders — Myles Lewis-Skelly, Patrick Dorgu and Keane Lewis-Potter — who keep defensive minutes and clean-sheet potential while sitting in a lower price bracket. Add a nailed sub-£5.0m goalkeeper (there are eight first-choice keepers under £5.0m) and a £4.0m defender from a promoted side who is guaranteed to start.
Who is the most expensive midfielder in FPL 2026/27?: Bruno Fernandes at £12.0m. With Mohamed Salah having left the Premier League, Bruno inherits the premium-midfielder role after a £3.0m rise. Phil Foden, by contrast, starts at just £7.0m — his cheapest price since 2020/21 — which makes him one of the most talked-about value midfielders in the game.
How do the position changes affect who I should pick?: Eleven players were reclassified. The most useful for squad-building are defenders who became midfielders (Lewis-Skelly, Dorgu, Lewis-Potter): they can still bank clean sheets and defensive contribution points but score their attacking returns as midfielders, and often sit at a cheap price. Conversely, midfielders moved to defence (Sessegnon, Wieffer) can offer attacking upside from a defender slot.