Man Utd face two promoted clubs over first two Gameweeks while Man City also benefit from a kind start
Bruno Fernandes and Erling Haaland look set to immediately make an impact on 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League after all the fixtures for the season were released at 10:00 BST on Friday morning.
Manchester United’s Fernandes starts the campaign with back-to-back matches against promoted opponents, visiting Hull City before a home match against Ipswich Town.
The Portuguese finished as the top-scoring midfielder in Fantasy last season, with his total of 235 points just behind the 239 of forward Haaland.
However, Fernandes was by far the best performer in Fantasy after Michael Carrick took charge of the Red Devils in Gameweek 22.
He scored four goals and assisted 16 more to collect 129 points, 22 more than any other player.
Haaland, meanwhile, has two home matches against promoted opponents across the opening seven Gameweeks, offering managers in Fantasy great opportunities to play their Triple Captain chip.
The Triple Captain chip is where managers can nominate a player to have their score tripled for one week.
Manchester City are at home to Coventry City and Ipswich in Gameweeks 3 and 7 respectively.
Notably, Haaland is a fast starter in Fantasy and has been the top-scoring player after the first six Gameweeks in all four of his seasons at Man City.
As you can see from the table below, the Norwegian has averaged nine goals over the first six Gameweeks of his Fantasy career.
It is worth noting, though, that this season will be the first time Haaland has been involved in an international tournament beforehand, due to Norway’s current participation in the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Haaland’s first six Gameweeks per season
Season
Pts
G*
A*
2022/23
67
10
1
2023/24
51
8
1
2024/25
65
10
0
2025/26
62
8
1
*G = Goals, A = Assists. Scroll across on mobile to see full table
While Haaland and Fernandes are by far the best captaincy options for their clubs, it’s fair to say they are also very likely to be the most expensive players in 2026/27 Fantasy due to their performances last season.
Man City’s displays over their pre-season friendlies can be vital in helping us seek out the best value assets elsewhere given they will be under new management, following Pep Guardiola’s departure at the end of 2025/26.
Nico O’Reilly, Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki will all look to push on after impressing in the last campaign, while a rested Phil Foden could benefit from a full pre-season after being left out of England’s World Cup squad.
Doubling up on Man Utd attackers for those two opening fixtures could also pay off, with Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha offering options alongside Fernandes.
Patrick Dorgu is also one to watch after his displays as a left winger for Carrick, perhaps an indication he could change position from a defender to a midfielder for the new Fantasy campaign.
Favourable fixtures for Dewsbury-Hall and Guimaraes
Along with Man Utd, Everton and Newcastle United are the only other clubs who will face two promoted opponents over the first six Gameweeks.
On both occasions, this occurs in Gameweeks 5-6: Everton host Ipswich before visiting Hull, while Newcastle are at home to Hull before a trip to Coventry.
Club
GW5
GW6
Everton
Ipswich (H)
Hull (A)
Newcastle
Hull (H)
Coventry (A)
Thanks to their many routes to returns, midfielders Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Bruno Guimaraes were the top-ranked players for their clubs last season when it came to points per start, with 5.0 and 5.4 respectively.
And both were near-identical for output – they each produced seven assists and 10 defensive contribution points, with Newcastle’s Guimaraes having the slight edge over Everton’s Dewsbury-Hall for goals, by nine to eight.