We Combined Top-10k FPL Rate My Team Drafts

The FPL community is flooded with Gameweek 1 drafts—but what are proven managers actually picking?

Fantasy Football Fix’s Big Data: Team Reveal tool aggregates publicly shared Rate My Team data from managers who finished inside last season’s top 10k, combining their most popular selections into one £100.0m squad.

One of the biggest decisions is whether to start with Erling Haaland. Meanwhile, a differential backed by fewer than 10% of the sample makes the squad—but will he still be there at the Gameweek 1 deadline?

So, what does the top-10k FPL Gameweek 1 team look like?

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How Is the Top-10k FPL Rate My Team Squad Created?

This is not simply a team containing the most-owned players across Fantasy Premier League.

The Expert Managers Reveal inside the Big Data: Team Reveal tool:

• Collects publicly shared Rate My Team drafts from multiple social media platforms
• Filters the data to who finished inside last season’s top 10k
• Calculates how frequently every player appears within that sample
• Combines the most popular selections into a valid £100.0m FPL squad
• Refreshes the data every hour

It is also different from our Elite Consensus XI, which combines the current squads of Elite managers with 81 top-10k finishes between them. This article uses a much larger dataset of publicly shared teams.

Data captured on 20 August 2026. Visit the Big Data: Team Reveal tool for the latest hourly update.

Which Goalkeepers Are Top-10k FPL Managers Picking?

The aggregated squad invests £9.0m in two playing £4.5m goalkeepers:

• Antonín Kinský—22.1%
• Bart Verbruggen—19.8%

Kinský is slightly more popular within the Rate My Team sample, but Verbruggen starts in Gameweek 1 as Brighton host Aston Villa. Kinský drops to the bench for Tottenham’s visit to Brentford.

The pairing also rotates well beyond the opening weekend. As shown by our FPL Rotation Planner, they provide the following schedule across the first six Gameweeks:

• GW1: Verbruggen—Aston Villa (H)
• GW2: Kinský—Newcastle United (H)
• GW3: Verbruggen—Leeds United (H)
• GW4: Verbruggen—Coventry City (A)
• GW5: Kinský—Aston Villa (H)
• GW6: Verbruggen—Sunderland (A)

Both goalkeepers are also heavily backed by our Elite XI managers, who have recorded 81 combined top-10k finishes. Kinský currently features in 84.6% of their squads, with Verbruggen selected by 76.9%.

Choosing two starters also keeps an early Bench Boost available. With several proven managers considering the chip in Gameweek 1, spending an additional £0.5m on a playing backup could prove more valuable than selecting a £4.0m goalkeeper unlikely to feature.

Arsenal Dominate the Top-10k FPL Defence

The five defenders selected by the top-100k Rate My Team data are:

• Riccardo Calafiori (£5.5m)—32.0%
• Luke Shaw (£4.5m)—21.6%
• Issa Diop (£4.0m)—18.0%
• Milan van Ewijk (£4.0m)—14.3%
• Cristhian Mosquera (£5.5m)—9.0%

Calafiori Leads Every Defender in Rate My Team

Calafiori is the most popular defender in the sample by more than 10 percentage points.

Arsenal conceded only 27 goals and kept 19 clean sheets last season, while Fix currently gives them a 60% chance of shutting out Coventry in Gameweek 1.

At £5.5m, Calafiori also compares favourably with £8.0m teammate Gabriel for attacking threat. Per 90 minutes, the Italian recorded more Expected Goals (0.17 vs 0.12), shots (1.68 vs 0.92), shots on target (0.32 vs 0.23) and efforts inside the box (1.16 vs 0.75). He also more than doubled Gabriel for attempted assists.

Calafiori’s superior shot volume suggests he could provide comparable attacking potential for £2.5m less—provided he secures regular minutes.

Shaw Provides Manchester United Value

Shaw is backed by 21.6% of the top-10k Rate My Team sample and provides a £4.5m route into the Manchester United defence.

The left-back played 3,220 minutes last season, registering 113 FPL points, one goal, one assist and 10 clean sheets. He also recorded 224 defensive contributions, giving him another possible route to returns under the scoring system.

United begin with Hull City away before hosting Ipswich Town, placing them top of the Fixture Planner for defensive difficulty across the opening two Gameweeks. However, their Champions League schedule could increase Shaw’s longer-term rotation risk.

Is the Arsenal Double-Up Too Risky?

Mosquera joins Calafiori in the starting defence despite appearing in only 9.0% of the sampled drafts.

The £5.5m defender offers a £2.5m saving on Gabriel and affordable access to the league’s strongest defence. According to the Opta Stats Sandbox, Arsenal conceded only 27 goals and kept a league-high 19 clean sheets last season. They also ranked first for shots in the box conceded (198) and Expected Goals Conceded (33.82).

However, Mosquera’s starting position requires monitoring.

Arsenal have reportedly agreed a deal to sign Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa. His arrival would create additional competition at centre-back and could place Mosquera’s minutes at risk.

That is why regularly checking the Big Data: Team Reveal tool is advised. If top-10k managers move away from Mosquera following the transfer news, he could drop out of the squad before the Gameweek 1 deadline.

Who Else's Makes the Rate My FPL Team Defence?

Diop and Van Ewijk complete the defence at £4.0m. Diop offers a starter at the minimum price, while Van Ewijk recorded six assists last season in the Championship. Their inclusion allows the squad to invest heavily in attack without filling the bench with players who are unlikely to feature.

The two goalkeepers and five defenders cost £32.5m, leaving £67.5m for the midfield and forward line.

So how have top-10k managers spent the remaining budget—and which surprise differential has forced his way into the Rate My Team optimal squad?