FPL Scout: 2026/27 Season Preview

Brentford have teamed up with Fantasy Football Scout to help bring you hints, tips and advice during the 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season.

Scout will be using their expertise to provide info, advice and Gameweek tips which may prove useful in ensuring you sit on top of your mini-leagues.

Best of the Bees

Across the 2025/26 Premier League season, only Manchester City and Arsenal had more Opta-defined big chances (114) than Brentford. The Bees players were also responsible for the fifth-most FPL points (1,747) during the last campaign.

181 of those FPL points came from Igor Thiago (£8.0m), who made a mockery of his initial £6.0m price tag last season to quickly become an FPL bargain. At his best, the penalty-taker was in around 4.9 million FPL squads.

Thiago finished second across the league for goals (22), attempts in the box (80), shots on target (43) and Expected Goals (xG 20.57).

Similarly budget-friendly, Dango Ouattara (£6.5m) developed a good understanding with Thiago, assisting six of his goals, while grabbing seven himself. The midfielder registered five double-digit points tallies, the highest coming against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.

The Burkina Faso international became the joint-fourth midfielder for big chances (18), a category where Kevin Schade (£6.0m) sat joint-top (22). The ex-Freiburg star was also fifth in this position for box shots (56).

Meanwhile, seeking more first-team minutes, Caoimhín Kelleher (£5.0m) joined from Liverpool and became a top Brentford signing. Being the only individual to stop multiple penalties (three) helped him finish second for goalkeeper points (143), saves (110), and saving big chances (32.1 per cent).

Best of the rest

Overall, Erling Haaland (£15.5m) came first for points (239) and goals (27). But it still couldn’t stop Arsenal winning their first title in 22 years. The Gunners’ watertight defence secured 19 clean sheets, which meant that doubling up on the likes of David Raya (£6.0m), Jurriën Timber (£6.5m), and Gabriel Magalhães (£8.0m) was popular for a while.

In fact, the Brazilian centre-back’s 209 points almost became the best-ever FPL total at the back, though the addition of defensive contribution rewards undoubtedly played a role in this.

The season’s big change, DefCon points, widened the pool of appealing players to own. It brought significant benefits to Elliot Anderson (£6.5m), Marcos Senesi (£6.0m), James Tarkowski (£6.0m), and others.

As well as Senesi, another excellent Bournemouth asset was Antoine Semenyo (£8.5m), who racked up 10 goals and five assists for the Cherries before netting another seven at Man City.

However, Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) scooped numerous awards. 12 double-digit hauls and an extraordinary late run of 12 assists in 11 matches saw him end a mere four points behind Haaland.

Apart from these, 2025/26 was mostly about jumping on players during their great bursts of form. Phil Foden (£7.0m) had a magnificent run from Gameweek 13 to 16, there was a productive winter for Harry Wilson (£6.5m), and João Pedro (£7.5m) had his best spell between Gameweek 22 and 29.

Furthermore, Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White (£8.0m) finished strongly with nine goals in his last nine starts.

Popular picks

Soon after the game’s relaunch, we can already see that large price rises aren’t deterring managers from owning Haaland and Fernandes.

One of them will face a newly promoted side in each of the first three Gameweeks. And when they’re against one another in Gameweek 4’s Manchester derby, Chelsea get to host Hull City, adding to the appeal of Pedro and new signing Morgan Rogers (£7.5m). Both could be bargains under new boss Xabi Alonso.

Many were also expecting a higher Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) price. The all-rounder ended as FPL’s number two midfielder for chances created (78), crosses (205), passes into the box (120) and corners (104), while there’s a chance that he’ll become Liverpool’s new penalty taker.

To afford both Haaland and Fernandes, some have decided that Gabriel’s eye-watering fee is worth sacrificing. While 25.4 per cent have him, 30.1 per cent prefer to save £2m via Raya, still covering Arsenal’s backline.

At Brentford, the most popular asset is currently Thiago (16.1 per cent). Kelleher is still seen as good value (5.5 per cent), and 4.7 per cent of managers have noticed that Michael Kayode (£4.5m) was the leading defender for take-ons (107) and successful long throws into the box (38) in the league last season, so could offer great attacking threat.

Exciting differentials

In FPL, a differential is someone with low ownership who has the potential to do very well. These can help you shoot up the rankings and mini-leagues.

For example, despite a quiet start and finish, Wilson had a great run of nine goals, seven assists and 6.14 points per game between Gameweeks 10 and 31. He’s now at Leeds United.

Will Osula (£6.0m) began Newcastle United’s closing seven matches and scored five times, which surely keeps his spot. Fellow centre-forward Igor Jesus (£6.0m) is worth considering, as he’s having a good pre-season under new head coach Oliver Glasner.

Closer to home, Ouattara is a great alternative to Thiago, currently selected by just 1.4 per cent. An explosive beginning to last season helped new Bees signing Jaidon Anthony (£6.0m) register eight goals and four assists at Burnley.