With the Fantasy Premier League game expected to launch soon, now is the perfect time to start analysing the opening fixtures in preparation for building your first Gameweek 1 drafts.
The 2026/27 fixture list is already available, and the Fixture Planner included in the Preseason Pack makes it easy to identify the teams with the best early schedules.
Using the Fixture Planner, we can separate the schedule by attacking difficulty and defensive difficulty, helping managers decide where to invest from the very start of the season.
Looking at the first six Gameweeks ranked by attacking difficulty, Newcastle come out on top in the Fixture Planner.
Their opening run is:
Liverpool (H), Spurs (A), Bournemouth (H), Leeds (A), Hull (H), Coventry (A)
It is not a completely soft start, with Liverpool in Gameweek 1 and Spurs in Gameweek 2. Roberto De Zerbi has already strengthened the Spurs defence, so they could be much improved from last season.
The run does improve quickly from Gameweek 3 onwards, though. Bournemouth at home looks decent, especially with Marcos Senesi now gone, while Leeds away is followed by the standout pair of Hull at home and Coventry away. Those two promoted-team fixtures are a big reason Newcastle sit top of the attacking rankings, so it may be less about starting with their attackers and more about jumping on before Gameweek 5.
Everton are second for attacking fixtures, with Crystal Palace (H), Bournemouth (A), Manchester United (H), Spurs (A), Ipswich (H) and Hull (A) in the opening six.
As with Newcastle, the ranking is boosted by the final two fixtures. Crystal Palace and Bournemouth are reasonable enough to start, but Manchester United and Spurs in Gameweeks 3 and 4 make it a little less straightforward. The real appeal comes in Gameweeks 5 and 6, when Everton face Ipswich at home and Hull away, so their attackers could be ones to monitor rather than necessarily jump on from the start.
Nottingham Forest also rank well from an attacking perspective. Their first six are:
Leeds (H), Liverpool (A), Spurs (H), Aston Villa (A), Coventry (H), Crystal Palace (A)
The away games against Liverpool and Aston Villa make it far from perfect, but home matches against Leeds, Spurs and Coventry in the first five Gameweeks could put their main attacking assets firmly on the radar.
The most interesting thing from the attacking ticker is that it does not simply push managers towards the usual “big six” sides. Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City all have obvious appeal in certain weeks, but the Fixture Planner also highlights teams such as Newcastle, Everton and Forest as potentially strong early sources of value.
Manchester United’s first two fixtures immediately catch the eye:
Hull away, Ipswich home
Manchester United’s first three fixtures:
— Fantasy Football Fix (@FantasyFootyFix) June 19, 2026
GW1: Hull City (A)
GW2: Ipswich Town (H)
GW3: Everton (A)
Whatever his price, Bruno Fernandes is surely going to be one of the most popular picks heading into Gameweek 1 📈 pic.twitter.com/i2drALOla7
That is likely to make Bruno Fernandes one of the most discussed early picks, depending on his price. Even though United’s run becomes tougher with Everton (A), Manchester City (H), Fulham (A) and Spurs (H) from Gameweeks 3–6, the first two fixtures alone could heavily influence Gameweek 1 drafts.
Manchester City also have obvious captaincy appeal. Their opening six are:
Bournemouth (H), Crystal Palace (A), Coventry (H), Manchester United (A), Sunderland (H), Liverpool (A)
The Fixture Planner shows the standout moment clearly: Coventry at home in Gameweek 3. If Erling Haaland is priced within reach, that fixture could become one of the first major captaincy decision points of the season.
Tarek Balbaa, who has 10 top 10k finishes and features in the Elite XI: Team Reveal tool, also highlighted this when looking at the early schedule:
“Haaland vs Coventry Gameweek 3 is where I could use my first chip of the season with Triple Captain at play.”
That is not necessarily a chip strategy managers need to lock in now, but it shows how quickly the opening fixtures could influence early-season planning.
Arsenal start with one of the standout Gameweek 1 fixtures:
Coventry at home
The 2026/27 Premier League fixtures are out today 📅
— Fantasy Football Fix (@FantasyFootyFix) June 19, 2026
Arsenal kick things off at home to newly promoted Coventry on Friday 21 August 👀
Gabriel is already likely to be highly owned in FPL, and that opening fixture won’t put many managers off 📈 pic.twitter.com/zDtUowBQBx
That alone will make their key players very popular, particularly in defence. However, the Fixture Planner does suggest their opening six is not as straightforward as the Gameweek 1 fixture might imply.
Their first six fixtures are:
Coventry (H), Aston Villa (A), Chelsea (H), Sunderland (A), Brighton (A), Leeds (H)
There are good fixtures in there, especially Coventry, Sunderland and Leeds. But Aston Villa away, Chelsea at home and Brighton away give the run more balance than some managers may initially assume.
Tarek Balbaa was more cautious on Arsenal’s opening schedule:
“Arsenal fixtures are definitely a but iffy from the start even though they play Coventry in Gameweek 1. Away to Villa, Sunderland and Brighton in the first 5 while hosting Chelsea is not perfect.”
Mark Mansfield, who has 7 top 10k finishes and also features in the Elite XI: Team Reveal tool, still expects Arsenal assets to be extremely popular:
“For my Gameweek 1 squad right now it would seem that Gabriel, Bruno, and Haaland will be locks regardless of anything other than injury.”
So, while Arsenal may not have the cleanest six-Gameweek run overall, their Gameweek 1 fixture and proven FPL assets mean they are still likely to be heavily backed.
The defensive ticker tells a slightly different story.
Everton rank top for defensive fixtures over the opening six Gameweeks. Their run is:
Crystal Palace (H), Bournemouth (A), Manchester United (H), Spurs (A), Ipswich (H) and Hull (A)
From a defensive point of view, Ipswich and Hull in Gameweeks 5 and 6 look particularly appealing, while Crystal Palace in Gameweek 1 could also be a solid starting point.
That said, Everton could be one of the more interesting debates of pre-season. The fixtures are there, but managers will still need to weigh up clean sheet potential, pricing and whether their defenders offer enough attacking or defensive contribution upside.
Walter Randazzo, who has 7 top 10k finishes and features in the Elite XI: Team Reveal tool, flagged Everton as a possible defensive option:
“Everton might be interesting, maybe Forest and Leeds too if rotated properly.”
But he also warned that they could be a trap:
“There’s always a trap, usually more than one… It might be Everton to be honest!”
That neatly sums up the dilemma. The Fixture Planner likes Everton’s defensive schedule, but whether managers trust them from Gameweek 1 may depend on pricing.
James Tarkowski ended last season as the fifth-highest scoring defender in FPL, and the Predicted Player Prices tool in the Preseason Pack currently has him projected at £5.5m, after finishing the season at £5.8m.
At £5.5m, he would still represent a fairly sizeable investment in defence, but Everton’s early fixtures could make that outlay worthwhile if their clean sheet potential matches the Fixture Planner ranking.
The defensive Fixture Planner also has Manchester United, Fulham, Arsenal, Newcastle, Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Brighton inside the top group for the first six Gameweeks.
Nottingham Forest are particularly interesting because they appear positively in both the attacking and defensive views. Their fixtures are mixed, but home games against Leeds, Spurs and Coventry in the first five could make them useful from both ends of the pitch.
Newcastle also look strong in the attacking ticker and have a defensive run that improves after the opening two Gameweeks. Liverpool and Spurs first up are not ideal, but Bournemouth, Leeds, Hull and Coventry from Gameweeks 3–6 could be a useful swing.
Fulham are another side to note defensively. Their opening six include Chelsea (H), Sunderland (A), Crystal Palace (H), Liverpool (A), Manchester United (H) and Ipswich (A). It is not an obvious run to target aggressively, but Sunderland, Palace and Ipswich in the first six may bring cheaper defensive options into rotation conversations.
The early schedule looks difficult for the promoted sides, particularly Coventry and Hull.
Coventry face:
Arsenal (A), Hull (H), Manchester City (A), Brighton (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Newcastle (H)
That means away games against Arsenal and Manchester City in the first three Gameweeks, which makes it difficult to justify early investment unless budget options emerge who are simply too cheap to ignore.
Hull’s opening run is also challenging:
Manchester United (H), Coventry (A), Aston Villa (H), Chelsea (A), Newcastle (A), Everton (H)
Even with Coventry in Gameweek 2, the fixtures around it look tough. Manchester United, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Newcastle in the first five is a demanding start.
Ipswich have a mixed opening. Sunderland (H) in Gameweek 1 looks promising, but Manchester United (A) and Liverpool (H) follow in Gameweeks 2 and 3. The run improves slightly after that with Crystal Palace (A), Everton (A) and Fulham (H), so they may be more interesting after the first few weeks rather than straight away.
Walter Randazzo, who has 7 top 10k finishes and features in the Elite XI: Team Reveal tool, was fairly clear on the promoted sides:
“I would avoid the newly promoted teams and Sunderland early on, and probably Chelsea at least until GW4 so there’s time to see how Alonso settles.”
Bournemouth look like one of the tougher early fixture runs.
They face:
Manchester City (A), Everton (H), Newcastle (A), Brentford (H), Liverpool (H), Chelsea (A)
That means Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea all arrive within the first six Gameweeks, with Newcastle also in Gameweek 3. The Fixture Planner does not place them among the stronger early options, and Mark Mansfield was also cautious:
“The team that stands out as having a bad set of fixtures is Bournemouth, and there’s also the uncertainty there around the manager and what’s going to change in terms of playing personnel with players like Senesi leaving.”
That combination of fixtures and uncertainty could make Bournemouth assets easier to avoid at the start, unless pre-season or pricing throws up a clear value pick.
The Elite XI: Team Reveal tool gives Fantasy Football Fix members access to squads and insight from some of the best FPL managers in the world. Their early fixture reactions broadly line up with the Fixture Planner, but there are some interesting differences.
Tarek Balbaa was clear on the best opening fixtures:
“The teams with the best opening fixtures are definitely Man City and Man United followed by Liverpool.”
Walter Randazzo also grouped the bigger teams together:
“I think the big teams like Arsenal, Man City, Man United and Liverpool have all got a decent start, so it will be a bit tough to cram all those assets in the team.”
Mark Mansfield expects managers to lean heavily into the obvious early teams:
“It’s pretty clear that practically everyone will start with three Man United players, very likely three Arsenal players (maybe two defenders), and there’s gonna be Man City players.”
So, while the Fixture Planner highlights teams such as Newcastle, Everton and Forest strongly in certain areas, the Elite XI comments suggest the early template may still be built around Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City.
Arsenal are likely to be one of the most popular teams in Gameweek 1 because of the Coventry fixture, but the Elite XI reaction is not completely straightforward.
Tarek Balbaa was cautious:
“Arsenal fixtures are definitely a but iffy from the start even though they play Coventry in Gameweek 1.”
Mark Mansfield, however, still expects Arsenal investment:
“Obviously, Arsenal will be popular.”
He also suggested a double-up could be common:
“Probably people are going to have two Arsenal defensive assets, I would guess, if the pricing allows.”
The contrast is useful. Arsenal may not have the best overall six-Gameweek run, but their opening fixture, defensive quality and FPL pedigree could still make them very difficult to ignore.
One of the strongest themes from the Elite XI comments is uncertainty around defence.
Mark Mansfield does not think the fixtures alone are enough:
“Generally, looking at the defences, I think we just have to see how things shape up in preseason.”
He added:
“Defences will be made up of combinations of well-priced centre backs from all the clubs who rotate well.”
Walter Randazzo made a similar point:
“Pretty hard to tell which defences are looking appealing on paper apart from the aforementioned big teams.”
There was not full agreement on early chip strategy, but the fixtures have already started some discussion.
Tarek Balbaa mentioned a possible early Triple Captain:
“Haaland vs Coventry Gameweek 3 is where I could use my first chip of the season with Triple Captain at play.”
He also raised the idea of a Gameweek 6 Wildcard:
“Also at the first glance a Wildcard in Gameweek 6 might be an option as it’s where Arsenal nice run begins starting with Leeds at home as well as Hull at home in Gameweek 10. ”
Mark Mansfield expects early Wildcards to be common:
“I think I’d be surprised if there’s not a fleet of early wildcards around Gameweek 3.”
Walter Randazzo was more cautious:
“I think it’s a bit too early to be thinking about chip strategies, I’d like to see how things go in the first few Gameweeks with so many unknowns.”
That gives managers three useful perspectives: attack a standout fixture, plan for a fixture swing, or wait for more information before committing.
The Fixture Planner can highlight good runs, but the Elite XI managers were quick to point out that not every green fixture becomes an FPL win.
Mark Mansfield’s possible trap was Manchester United:
“Sadly, I fully expect the answer here to be Manchester United. It looks great on paper, tickers are gonna be all green, but you can see them coming up against a couple of really determined promoted clubs who are tight at the back with speed.”
Walter Randazzo pointed towards Everton:
“It might be Everton to be honest!”
Tarek Balbaa was wary of Chelsea and Spurs:
“Chelsea and Spurs might be a trap at the beginning even though they don’t have a terrible start, but I would rather wait and see before investing.”
That is an important reminder. Fixture difficulty is a starting point, not the whole decision. Pricing, pre-season roles, new managers, transfers, and potential minutes will all matter.
There is plenty for FPL managers to weigh up from the opening fixtures.
The Fixture Planner highlights Newcastle, Everton and Nottingham Forest as interesting early attacking options, while Manchester United and Manchester City offer obvious captaincy appeal through Bruno Fernandes and Erling Haaland.
Defensively, Everton top the early rankings, but pricing, pre-season form and player roles will still be key. The Elite XI reaction also adds a useful note of caution: the fixtures matter, but they should not make every decision for you.
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