Fantasy Premier League 2026/07: The season of football overdose

I usually get my Fantasy Premier League preview out well before the season starts, but this summer had other plans. With the FIFA World Cup, nonstop F1 drama, and back‑to‑back tennis highs from Roland Garros to Wimbledon, every weekend was spoken for. And without any time off until now, the blog kept slipping away from me.

So it’s only here — after a vacation in New York, catching matches at the US Open — that I finally have a moment to breathe and get back to writing. A little later than usual, but with a summer’s worth of sport still buzzing in the background, it feels like the perfect time to dive in.

I will walk through a couple of key factors shaping this year’s Fantasy Premier League landscape — the tactical shifts, scheduling quirks, and squad‑building challenges I believe FPL managers will need to navigate across the season. I know it's a bit late to post this, but believe me when I say I wrote this well before the second Gameweek of Premier League action. 

Record number of Transition teams

This season arrives with an unprecedented wave of managerial change across the Premier League. Liverpool (Andoni Iraola), Manchester City (Enzo Maresca), Chelsea (Xabi Alonso), Bournemouth (Marco Rose), Nottingham Forest (Oliver Glasner), Crystal Palace (Pierre Sage), Fulham (Álvaro Arbeloa), Ipswich Town (Gary O’Neil), and Newcastle United (Matthias Jaissle) all begin the campaign under new leadership. Add Manchester United to that list — with their manager only taking charge in January 2026 — and you have a league where nearly half the clubs are adapting to fresh tactical ideas and new training philosophies.

Layer onto that the shortened pre‑season caused by the World Cup. Every team had less time to prepare, but for clubs with new managers, that reduction is especially punishing. There’s simply less time to install a system, build chemistry, and establish clear roles. It’s the perfect setup for volatility.

From an FPL standpoint, this matters a lot. Transition teams tend to produce erratic swings in performance — sharp dips during tough fixture runs, injuries, unpredictable rotations during congested periods, and sudden bursts of form when things finally click. For FPL managers, this means playing more actively than usual: rotating your squad smartly, reacting quickly to form changes, and being willing to make transfers more frequently rather than relying on long-term set‑and‑forget picks.

Bottom of the table just got higher

This season’s promoted clubs aren’t the typical relegation candidates — all three arrive with squads strong enough to realistically stay in the Premier League. They’ve built depth, retained key talent, and added smart reinforcements, which means the fight at the bottom quarter of the table will be far more competitive than usual. Instead of easy fixtures against newly promoted sides, established teams will face genuine challenges, and survival will demand consistency across the board.

For FPL managers, this shift creates opportunity. Promoted clubs often feature players priced lower than established stars, but with the quality to deliver returns. These value picks — defenders who can rack up clean sheets, midfielders who chip in with goals, or forwards who thrive against mid‑table opposition — become crucial rotation options. Spotting the right ones at the right time could provide an edge, especially when their form and fixtures align well. It’s a season where keeping an eye on promoted sides could pay off handsomely.

How have I done so far?

Quite average, to be honest. On the positive side, I've managed to make some good picks in the squad in these early stages of the season. However, my final squad-picking skills on the Gameweeks have betrayed me so far. I'm hoping that improves going forward. See below my Gameweek 1 squad. However, I've had to make a few rotations since then.