Is This the Best FPL Gameweek 1 Team? Dan Bennett’s First Draft

Fantasy Premier League is back, and the search for the best FPL Gameweek 1 team has officially begun.

We are delighted to welcome Dan Bennett back to our Elite XI: Team Reveal panel for the 2026/27 season.

Dan has recorded an outstanding 10 top 10k finishes, including seven inside the top 5k, making him one of the most consistently successful FPL managers around.

You can follow Dan’s team live throughout the season using the Elite XI: Team Reveal tool. Users can also receive push notifications or email updates every time he makes a change to his FPL squad.

Dan has already submitted his first draft, although he expects it to change considerably before the Gameweek 1 deadline.

“FPL is back! Our drafts will evolve over the next few weeks as we monitor pre-season games and player transfers.”

With eight of the 20 Premier League clubs beginning the campaign under a new manager, Dan believes there could be more uncertainty than usual during the opening weeks.

“Eight of the 20 teams have a new manager this season, which will bring a lot of uncertainty. I’ll aim to start the season with plenty of players that are likely to have secure minutes.”

Dan’s initial squad therefore prioritises established starters, strong captaincy options and players with reliable routes to FPL points.

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Elite Manager’s First FPL 2026/27 Draft

Dan has currently opted for a 3-4-3 formation, combining three premium players with several potentially underpriced options.

Erling Haaland (£15.5m), Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) and Gabriel (£8.0m) account for £35.5m of his budget, but Dan has found savings through the likes of Luke Shaw (£4.5m), Granit Xhaka (£5.5m) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m).

This is only Dan’s opening draft rather than his confirmed Gameweek 1 team. Pre-season performances, injuries, transfers and predicted line-ups could all influence his final selection.

Goalkeeper and Defence: Verbruggen and a Double Arsenal Clean-Sheet Bet

Dan has selected Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen at £4.5m.

Verbruggen played every minute of the 2025/26 campaign, collecting 130 FPL points and keeping 10 clean sheets. However, Dan admits that selecting an opening goalkeeper is far from straightforward.

“Picking the right goalkeeper to start with is a bit of a lottery. I’ve got Verbruggen for now at just £4.5m.”

In defence, Dan has selected:

• Cristhian Mosquera — £5.5m
• Luke Shaw — £4.5m
• Gabriel — £8.0m

Gabriel is the standout name after receiving a premium £8.0m price tag, a £2.0m increase from the beginning of last season.

The Arsenal defender produced his best-ever FPL campaign in 2025/26, recording 209 points, three goals, five assists, 18 clean sheets and 30 bonus points.

Dan has doubled up on Arsenal’s defence by pairing Gabriel with Mosquera.

“A double-up on the excellent Arsenal defence with Gabriel and Mosquera could be lucrative if they can rack up the clean sheets. Arsenal kept a mammoth 19 last season.”

Double Arsenal defence was one of the most popular and successful strategies for large parts of last season. However, managers must consider whether the Gunners will be quite as secure while William Saliba is sidelined through injury.

Mosquera played only 989 minutes last season, recording 40 FPL points, three clean sheets and one bonus point. His appeal will therefore depend heavily on whether he can establish himself as a regular starter.

Shaw completes the starting back three at just £4.5m. The Manchester United defender registered 113 FPL points, one goal, one assist and 10 clean sheets across 38 appearances last season.

United also sit top of the Fixture Planner for defensive difficulty across the opening two Gameweeks, with Hull City away followed by Ipswich Town at home.

A Midfield Built Around Bruno Fernandes

Fernandes is the premium selection following his substantial £3.0m price increase to £12.0m.

The Manchester United midfielder delivered 235 FPL points across 35 appearances last season, scoring nine goals and recording 24 FPL assists. Opta credited him with 21 conventional assists, with the difference reflecting FPL’s broader assist criteria.

His creative numbers help explain that output. As shown in the Opta Stats Sandbox, Fernandes attempted 136 assists and created 33 big chances across 3,066 minutes. Both totals were comfortably higher than the other leading creators displayed, underlining how central he was to Manchester United’s attack.

Fernandes also offered considerable goal threat, registering 85 shots, 16 big chances and 12.98 expected goals, while his creativity produced an impressive 17.04 expected assists.

Despite his premium price, Dan believes Fernandes and Haaland can justify their places through a combination of favourable opening fixtures and reliable captaincy potential.

“Both Haaland and Fernandes are very expensive, but they have good fixtures and provide great options for captaincy.”

Anderson is one of the most intriguing selections in the draft following his move to Manchester City.

No player recorded more defensive contributions than Anderson’s 516 last season. Under the new FPL scoring system, those actions earned him 50 additional points.

He also produced four goals, five assists and 180 FPL points while registering 44 shots and 54 attempted assists.

The major question is whether Anderson will continue making as many defensive actions for Manchester City. Playing for a side expected to dominate possession could reduce his opportunities to collect tackles, interceptions and other defensive contributions.

Xhaka is also in the midfield at £5.5m. He registered 124 points, one goal and six assists last season, while his 363 defensive contributions demonstrate another possible route to points.

However, Dan does not expect his midfield to remain unchanged throughout the season. He believes the number of attractively priced options could make midfield the main area for transfers.

“There are lots of well-priced midfielders that could provide great value. I can see us turning to the likes of Sarr and Wilson at £6.5m, and Ndiaye and Schade at £6.0m, when they have good fixture runs.”

“I expect a lot of our transfers to be used on midfielders.”

Rather than committing heavily to one group of midfielders, Dan could rotate between similarly priced options as their fixtures and form improve.

Haaland Leads the Front Three

Haaland has been handed a record-high £15.5m FPL price, but Dan has still found room for the Manchester City striker and currently has the captaincy on him.

The Norwegian scored 27 goals and provided eight assists last season, finishing with 239 FPL points.

Despite his unprecedented price, that level of goal threat makes Haaland extremely difficult to overlook.

Dan has balanced Haaland’s cost with two more affordable forwards who performed strongly last season.

“João Pedro is reasonably priced and did well last season with 15 goals.”

João Pedro finished as the fourth-highest-scoring FPL forward, collecting 177 points after registering 15 goals and nine assists.

The Chelsea forward recorded 73 shots, 28 efforts on target, 26 big chances and an expected goals figure of 15.45. At £7.5m, he could offer strong value if he retains a prominent attacking role.

Promoted Players Could Offer Budget Value

Dan’s initial bench contains several low-cost options, but he admits that more research is required before he finalises those positions.

“I need to do some research on the promoted sides to find some budget gems.”

Finding reliable starters from the newly promoted clubs could prove crucial when constructing a squad containing Haaland, Fernandes and Gabriel.

Even one or two viable budget options could release additional funds for upgrades elsewhere without leaving the bench filled with players unlikely to receive minutes.

Is This the Best FPL Gameweek 1 Team?

Dan’s first draft combines premium captaincy options in Haaland and Fernandes with double Arsenal defence and several players suited to the new defensive-contribution scoring.

However, plenty could change during pre-season.

See Dan’s full team on the Elite XI: Team Reveal page and set up push or email notifications to be alerted whenever he makes a change.

“Happy tinkering everyone!”

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