KICKING OFF WITH A BANG! The 5 Premier League clubs with the easiest starting fixtures including Man Utd, Arsenal and Man City

A new Premier League season is fast approaching and with form a tricky indicator at the beginning of the season, assessing the upcoming fixtures over the first five gameweeks makes for important planning for FPL managers.

So with that in mind, here are the five teams with the easiest - on paper at least - opening to the 26/27 campaign.

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It doesn’t get much better for Manchester United in the opening two gameweeks of the season, facing two of the Premier League’s three promoted teams. In Gameweek 1 they travel to Championship play-off winners Hull City, following a nine year absence from the top flight. They then host Ipswich Town in Gameweek 2.

Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) is predicted to be the top-performing player in FPL across these two fixtures, according to Fantasy Football Hub’s AI points predictions. He’s been selected by 48% of managers given his routes to points. He’s on penalties, converting from the spot on four occasions last season, while also dominating on set pieces.

There’s an argument to double up on United attackers, with Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) likely to start the campaign out of position as the number nine. He produced 11 goals and three assists last season.

Another option is to invest in United’s defence, with defenders Harry Maguire (£5.0m) and Luke Shaw (£4.5m) friendly on the budget, or through goalkeeper Senne Lammens (£5.0m). They kept six clean sheets in 17 games under Michael Carrick last season.

Manchester City also have an attractive run of fixtures over the opening five gameweeks, with three home games in this time. Their key highlight is the visit of Championship winners Coventry City in Gameweek 3, with the Manchester derby in Gameweek 4 the big hurdle.

Erling Haaland (£15.5m) is, of course, their star man, but in fantasy terms, he’s the most expensive player in Fantasy Premier League history. With 140 goal involvements across four seasons with the club, he’s considered a must-have by around 75% of managers. However, a short pre-season following seven goals at the World Cup this summer could be significant.

Due to Haaland’s sheer popularity and captain potential, if you do back City to prosper in their early fixtures, it might be worth doubling up on their attack by adding a midfielder. Enzo Maresca has described Phil Foden (£7.0m) as a pillar of his squad, but it’s Antoine Semenyo (£8.5m) who has impressed during pre-season, with five assists.

Predicting the Manchester City defence in the early part of the campaign is a challenge, following the late return of Marc Guehi (£6.0m) and Nico O’Reilly (£6.5m) from the World Cup. Josko Gvardiol (£5.5m) has seen significant pre-season minutes. They are a defence worth investment, ranking second behind Arsenal last season with 16 shut-outs.

Speaking of the Gunners, their early-season schedule is punctuated by home games against promoted Coventry City and then London rivals Chelsea. There are some tougher matchups in their early-season schedule, though, with trips to Aston Villa, Sunderland and Brighton.

With Arsenal favourites to keep a clean sheet on the opening weekend, investment in their defence is key for FPL managers. Gabriel (£8.0m) was the highest scoring defender in the game last season, with only Erling Haaland and Bruno Fernandes scoring more fantasy points. However, a £2.0 million price hike is deterring many from buying him.

There’s an argument to double up on the Gunners' back-line given their 19 clean sheets last season, with goalkeeper David Raya (£6.0m) securing a third Golden Glove in consecutive seasons. He’s predicted by AI to be the highest scoring goalkeeper in the game once again this season, justifying his £0.5 million price increase.

There are other cheaper routes into the Arsenal defence, including through full-back Riccardo Calafiori (£5.5m). He comes in a full £2.5 million cheaper than his team-mate, making him an attractive short-term pick. Over 18% are opting with him in their Gameweek 1 FPL teams, with that figure on the rise following his opening goal in the Community Shield.

It is all change at Nottingham Forest this season with some key departures and the arrival of Oliver Glasner in the dugout. It’s a favourable start for them though, with three home games in the opening five gameweeks. The visitors are Leeds, Spurs and promoted Coventry City, sandwiching trips to Liverpool and Aston Villa.

Defender Neco Williams (£5.5m) is among their favoured fantasy assets, with over 10% of managers backing him in their Gameweek 1 teams. With Glasner set to begin the campaign in a 3-4-3 formation, Williams will be playing the wing-back role that Daniel Munoz succeeded in at Crystal Palace last season, with eight goal involvements.

Williams’ appeal is enviable, with five goal involvements last season. He topped the defender charts for shots (46) and will be on some set pieces too, following the departure of Elliot Anderson in the summer transfer window.

His exit also boosts the free-kick potential for Morgan Gibbs-White (£8.0m) in midfield. Only Bruno Fernandes scored more fantasy points than him in the second half of last season, where he produced 15 goal involvements. He might also take penalties, with Chris Wood expected to play fewer minutes in this campaign.

Brentford top the Fantasy Football Hub fixture ticker as the side with the best fixtures for the opening five gameweeks of the season, before a two week enforced break for internationals. They benefit from three home fixtures in this period, against Spurs, Sunderland and Chelsea and they avoid all of last seasons’ top five.

Their star man is striker Igor Thiago (£8.0m) who had a remarkable 2025/26 campaign, scoring 22 goals. He’s predicted to be the fourth highest scoring forward in the game over this period according to Fantasy Football Hub’s fixture analyser , although Leeds United’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin is ahead of him, and crucially £2.0 million cheaper.

A Bees defender is also an appealing prospect, with ten shut-outs last campaign. A settled manager and narrowly missed out on European football for this season helps their appeal. With Sepp van den Berg set to miss the start of the season through injury, it’s Kristoffer Ajer (£4.5m) who could benefit, earning defensive contribution bonus in nine of his 20 starts.

Add into the mix midfielder Dango Ouattara (£6.5m) who has registered five goal involvements in pre-season already. He’s predicted to be the second-highest scoring midfielder in the game at £6.5 million or under, and he’s also a big differential, in just 1.4% of fantasy teams.