FPL 2026/27 Preseason Guide: Best Early Fixtures & GW1 Draft
July 9, 2026 · 5 min read
TL;DR
The 2026/27 fixtures are out, the game opens in late July, and Gameweek 1 kicks off on Friday 21 August 2026. The managers who start well are already doing one thing: building their squad around the teams with the best opening fixtures, not last season's points table. Check the live 2026/27 FDR ticker below, then let the solver build your draft.
“Preseason is won on fixtures and value, not big names. Anchor your draft to the best opening runs and leave room to react after Gameweek 3.”
When Does FPL 2026/27 Start?
The Fantasy Premier League game opens for team selection in late July. The Gameweek 1 deadline is shortly before the first match on Friday 21 August 2026. You get from the opening of the game until that deadline to build and tweak your squad for free, so there is no rush to lock anything in early.
Two things are already available to plan with: the full 2026/27 fixture list, and every team's opening run. That is enough to build a smart first draft now.
Which Teams Have the Best Opening Fixtures?
This is the single most useful preseason question. A player from a team with three easy opening fixtures is worth more than a bigger name facing three tough ones in August.
The ticker below is the live 2026/27 FDR: every team's fixtures colour-coded 1 to 5, sortable by the easiest opening run. Sort by easiest and the teams to target for Gameweek 1 rise to the top.
Sneak peek: a solver-built draft on real data
This is the same solver you can run on your own squad — enter your Team ID at /solver.
See every team's opening 2026/27 run
The FDR ticker shows all 20 teams for the next 3, 6 or 8 gameweeks. Sort by easiest to find your Gameweek 1 targets, then check the run-in before committing to a big-money pick.
How to Build Your Gameweek 1 Draft
A strong opening squad follows a simple shape:
- Two or three premium attackers from teams with good opening fixtures. These are your captain rotation.
- Value midfielders (6.0m to 8.0m) with nailed minutes. This is where you find the points-per-million that funds your premiums.
- A solid defence from teams that keep clean sheets, ideally with a set-piece or attacking threat.
- A real 4th and 5th defender and a playing bench, not just fodder. Early-season rotation risk is high, so nailed minutes matter more than name value.
- One budget-enabling goalkeeper pairing so you can spend up the pitch.
Do not chase last season's top scorers on reputation. Chase minutes, role, and fixtures. New signings, pre-season friendlies, and manager changes shift the picture right up to the deadline.
Every preseason, someone builds their whole team around last year's top scorer and forgets he now has three away fixtures to open. Fixtures first. Names second.
Should I Use My First Wildcard Early?
No. You get two Wildcards across the season, and burning the first one in the opening weeks throws away information. Fixture difficulty and form only settle after about six gameweeks. The strongest first-Wildcard window is usually once that picture is clear, not Gameweek 2 when you are reacting to a single blank.
For the full chip plan, including how the two chip sets work across the season, read the chip strategy guide.
Let the Solver Build Your Draft
You can build a first draft by hand, or you can let the optimizer do it. Enter your Team ID once the game opens and the solver builds the highest expected-points squad for your budget, respecting every FPL rule, then plans your transfers gameweek by gameweek from there.
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