Big Six FPL Picks 2026/27: Best Players From Each Top Club
With just over three days until Friday’s GW1 deadline, the template is forming where it always forms. The seven most-owned players in the game — Haaland, João Pedro, Bruno Fernandes, Szoboszlai, Raya, Mbeumo and Gabriel — all belong to big-six clubs. With ownership that concentrated and a three-per-club cap, the question is not whether to shop at Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man United and Spurs; it is which door you take into each squad, and what you pay for it.
Each club below gets the same treatment: the mainstay (the pick that hauls and does not get sold), the value route (the cheaper entry into the same team’s returns — clean-sheet exposure at the back, goal involvements further up), and the unknown (the new signing or improved-season bet the numbers cannot vouch for yet). Points totals are last season’s; prices and ownership are live. For the league-wide ownership picture, see the most selected FPL players.
The opening runs, ranked
| Team | FDR | Team strength, averaged across home and away | GW1 | GW2 | GW3 | GW4 | GW5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIVLiverpool | 2.6 | NEW (A) difficulty 3: Average | NFO (H) difficulty 3: Average | IPS (A) difficulty 2: Easy | FUL (H) difficulty 2: Easy | BOU (A) difficulty 3: Average | |
| MCIMan City | 2.8 | BOU (H) difficulty 3: Average | CRY (A) difficulty 3: Average | COV (H) difficulty 2: Easy | MUN (A) difficulty 4: Difficult | SUN (H) difficulty 2: Easy | |
| MUNMan Utd | 2.8 | HUL (A) difficulty 2: Easy | IPS (H) difficulty 2: Easy | EVE (A) difficulty 3: Average | MCI (H) difficulty 4: Difficult | FUL (A) difficulty 3: Average | |
| TOTSpurs | 2.8 | BRE (A) difficulty 3: Average | NEW (H) difficulty 2: Easy | NFO (A) difficulty 3: Average | EVE (H) difficulty 3: Average | AVL (H) difficulty 3: Average | |
| CHEChelsea | 3.0 | FUL (A) difficulty 3: Average | BHA (H) difficulty 2: Easy | ARS (A) difficulty 5: Very Difficult | HUL (H) difficulty 2: Easy | BRE (A) difficulty 3: Average | |
| ARSArsenal | 3.2 | COV (H) difficulty 2: Easy | AVL (A) difficulty 4: Difficult | CHE (H) difficulty 4: Difficult | SUN (A) difficulty 3: Average | BHA (A) difficulty 3: Average |
Liverpool open with the softest five-game run in the league (2.60 average), and Man United, City and Spurs sit together on 2.80. Chelsea’s 3.00 hides the single hardest fixture any of the six faces — the GW3 trip to Arsenal, rated 5. Arsenal themselves carry the hardest run of the group at 3.20, but theirs and City’s are the two 4.5-star squads: hold-mode runs, where you buy players good enough to play through the hard weeks rather than trading around them. How the scale works is covered in the fixture difficulty rating explainer; the full league ranking has its own breakdown in the GW1–GW5 easiest fixtures piece. To compare any club beyond this window, use the fixture difficulty planner — the week-by-week schedule is in the fixtures hub.
Liverpool — the league’s softest launch
| Player | Price | Pts | Val | Sel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SzoboszlaiMID | £7.0m | 160 | 22.9 | 41.2% |
 VirgilDEFValue pick | £6.5m | 175 | 26.9 | 17.9% |
 IsakFWD | £9.0m | 41 | 4.6 | 15.3% |
 WirtzMID | £7.5m | 125 | 16.7 | 14.7% |
 KerkezDEF | £5.5m | 85 | 15.5 | 4.4% |
 A.BeckerGKP | £5.5m | 91 | 16.5 | 3.9% |
 GakpoMID | £7.0m | 131 | 18.7 | 3.7% |
 FrimpongDEF | £5.5m | 63 | 11.5 | 3.2% |
 JacquetDEF | £5.0m | 0 | 0.0 | 2.1% |
 GravenberchMID | £6.0m | 144 | 24.0 | 1.9% |
The mainstay: Szoboszlai (£7.0m). Liverpool’s most-owned player at over 40%, off the back of 160 points from 36 starts. Nothing in that profile is explosive — 4.4 points per game is accumulation, not fireworks — but that is what a mainstay is for: he starts every week at a mid-tier price, and he will not be the transfer you regret.
The value route: Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m). Started all 38 games for 175 points — only Gabriel and Guéhi managed more from defence — at 26.9 points per £m. Behind the easiest run in the league, he is the clean-sheet entry. Kerkez (£5.5m) is the cheaper version for squads that cannot stretch.
The unknown: Isak (£9.0m). Eight starts and 41 points in an injury-wrecked first Liverpool season leave a 4.6 points-per-£m figure his price simply ignores — and roughly one manager in seven has bought the ceiling anyway. The bet is a full pre-season, not last season’s output. Wirtz (£7.5m, 125 points) is the same second-season wager at a smaller stake, and Gravenberch (£6.0m, 144 points, under 2% owned) is the quiet third slot if you take the full three-per-club allowance.
Man United — cheap doors into a soft run
| Player | Price | Pts | Val | Sel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 B.FernandesMID | £12.0m | 235 | 19.6 | 48.9% |
 MbeumoMID | £8.0m | 148 | 18.5 | 30.7% |
 ShawDEFValue pick | £4.5m | 113 | 25.1 | 22.6% |
 LammensGKP | £5.0m | 109 | 21.8 | 18.4% |
 MaguireDEF | £5.0m | 90 | 18.0 | 12.5% |
 CunhaMID | £8.0m | 143 | 17.9 | 11.3% |
 DalotDEF | £5.0m | 111 | 22.2 | 3.0% |
 TielemansMID | £6.0m | 68 | 11.3 | 2.1% |
 DorguMID | £6.0m | 95 | 15.8 | 1.6% |
 AmadMID | £6.0m | 91 | 15.2 | 1.6% |
The mainstay: Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m). 235 points from 35 starts — only Haaland scored more — and ownership just under 50%. Two promoted opponents first, Hull away then Ipswich at home, is the kindest start a £12.0m decision could ask for; the trade-off is that the price has to keep beating what two mid-price midfielders return together.
The value route: Shaw (£4.5m). Started all 38 last season for 113 points at 25.1 per £m — the cheapest credible route into any big-six defence, and more than a fifth of the game agrees. Lammens (£5.0m, 109 points from 32 starts) does the same job in goal.
The unknown: Šeško (£7.0m). 111 points from 17 starts in his debut season, currently flagged at 75% with a shin problem — which keeps him out of the table above. If he trains fully before Friday he is the forward line’s differential; if not, Mbeumo (£8.0m, 148 points in his first United season, owned by nearly a third of the game) is the second banker most squads take instead.
Man City — Haaland and the queue behind him
| Player | Price | Pts | Val | Sel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 HaalandFWD | £15.5m | 239 | 15.4 | 70.6% |
 SemenyoMID | £8.5m | 202 | 23.8 | 26.5% |
 O'ReillyDEFValue pick | £6.5m | 160 | 24.6 | 21.6% |
 GuéhiDEF | £6.0m | 179 | 29.8 | 20.3% |
 GvardiolDEF | £5.5m | 79 | 14.4 | 12.0% |
 DonnarummaGKP | £5.5m | 135 | 24.5 | 9.7% |
 AndersonMID | £6.5m | 180 | 27.7 | 9.6% |
 CherkiMID | £7.5m | 135 | 18.0 | 8.0% |
 DokuMID | £7.5m | 120 | 16.0 | 6.4% |
 FodenMID | £7.0m | 131 | 18.7 | 4.9% |
The mainstay: Haaland (£15.5m). Last season’s top scorer at 239 points, owned by seven managers in ten. At that ownership he is not a pick, he is the default — the real decision is the armband, which the captaincy guide covers. The only pause in the run is the GW4 derby away at United; everything else is rated 3 or softer.
The value route: O’Reilly (£6.5m). 160 points at 24.6 per £m, all of it earned at City — which matters at a club whose other defensive headline, Guéhi (£6.0m, 179 points, second among all defenders), split his season across a January move. O’Reilly’s number is the one you can actually project.
The unknowns: Semenyo (£8.5m) and Cherki (£7.5m). Semenyo’s 202 points were the fourth-best total in the game, but they straddle his own January move — this is his first full season in this team, and roughly a quarter of managers have already decided it will translate. Cherki is the minutes bet: 135 points from only 19 starts. If he starts 30 games, £7.5m is a steal; nothing in last season’s data proves he will.
Spurs — enablers, not talismans
| Player | Price | Pts | Val | Sel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pedro PorroDEF | £5.5m | 117 | 21.3 | 23.0% |
 DubravkaGKP | £4.0m | 96 | 24.0 | 21.8% |
 KinskyGKP | £4.5m | 20 | 4.4 | 20.8% |
 SenesiDEF | £6.0m | 175 | 29.2 | 9.6% |
 Van HeckeDEF | £5.0m | 148 | 29.6 | 8.9% |
 Van de VenDEFValue pick | £5.0m | 116 | 23.2 | 7.3% |
 TonaliMID | £5.5m | 81 | 14.7 | 4.1% |
 RobertsonDEF | £4.5m | 55 | 12.2 | 3.0% |
 RicharlisonFWD | £6.0m | 119 | 19.8 | 2.6% |
 FernandesMID | £6.0m | 135 | 22.5 | 2.4% |
The market has read Spurs correctly: there is no premium mainstay here. Their most-owned assets are a £5.5m defender and a £4.0m goalkeeper — Dubravka, backed by a fifth of the game purely as budget structure. This is a value-mode club: buy cheap exposure to a 2.80 run, sized so a benched week costs nothing.
The mainstay, such as it is: Pedro Porro (£5.5m). 117 points from 32 starts at an enabler’s price — an attacking full-back who is Spurs’ most-owned player. The value route: Van de Ven (£5.0m) ran him close on output (116 points from 35 starts) at 23.2 per £m and a third of the ownership.
The unknowns: Mateus Fernandes (£6.0m) and Tonali (£5.5m). Both arrived this summer; Fernandes’ 135 points and Tonali’s 81 were earned at their previous clubs, so neither number transfers cleanly. Richarlison (£6.0m, 119 points from 20 starts) is the in-house attacking entry if you would rather back a known quantity in a front line short of certainty.
Chelsea — the template’s second pillar
| Player | Price | Pts | Val | Sel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 João PedroFWDValue pick | £7.5m | 177 | 23.6 | 59.9% |
 RogersMID | £7.5m | 169 | 22.5 | 26.6% |
 PalmerMID | £9.5m | 114 | 12.0 | 10.6% |
 LacroixDEF | £6.0m | 154 | 25.7 | 10.6% |
 JamesDEF | £5.5m | 115 | 20.9 | 8.9% |
 EnzoMID | £7.0m | 157 | 22.4 | 5.3% |
 CaicedoMID | £5.5m | 110 | 20.0 | 3.9% |
 PalestraDEF | £5.5m | 0 | 0.0 | 2.6% |
 SánchezGKP | £5.0m | 113 | 22.6 | 2.2% |
 WelbeckFWD | £6.0m | 126 | 21.0 | 2.2% |
The mainstay: João Pedro (£7.5m). 177 points in his first Chelsea season, and the second-most-owned player in the game at 60% — forward-line certainty at £7.5m is rare enough to explain it. Plan around GW3 now: the trip to Arsenal is the hardest single fixture on any big-six run in this window.
The value route: Enzo (£7.0m). 157 points from 35 starts at 22.4 per £m, owned by around 5% — a fraction of what that output would suggest, and the piece’s clearest case of the market looking elsewhere.
The unknowns: Rogers (£7.5m) and Estêvão (£6.5m). Rogers arrives with 169 points earned at his previous club and heavy ownership before a competitive minute for his new one — the market pricing in a step up nobody can verify yet. Estêvão is the opposite shape: 58 points from 12 starts, a small sample with a big reputation. Palmer (£9.5m, 114 points in a down year) is the bounce-back case — priced well above last season’s output and owned by a tenth of the game.
Arsenal — the hardest run, held anyway
| Player | Price | Pts | Val | Sel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 RayaGKPValue pick | £6.0m | 162 | 27.0 | 34.1% |
 GabrielDEF | £8.0m | 209 | 26.1 | 28.7% |
 CalafioriDEF | £5.5m | 109 | 19.8 | 26.7% |
 RiceMID | £7.5m | 184 | 24.5 | 20.0% |
 TzolisMID | £6.5m | 0 | 0.0 | 14.6% |
 MosqueraDEF | £5.5m | 40 | 7.3 | 11.6% |
 GyökeresFWD | £7.5m | 128 | 17.1 | 11.0% |
 SakaMID | £9.5m | 157 | 16.5 | 9.7% |
 Bruno G.MID | £7.0m | 154 | 22.0 | 9.0% |
 ØdegaardMID | £6.5m | 74 | 11.4 | 5.3% |
Arsenal’s 3.20 is the hardest opening average of the six — Villa away and Chelsea at home land in GW2 and GW3 — but a 4.5-star squad plays through runs like this. Treat it as hold mode: size at two or three, decide up front which weeks you trust, and do not trade around single fixtures.
The mainstay: Gabriel (£8.0m). Last season’s top-scoring defender at 209 points — third in the entire game — from 30 starts. £8.0m is striker money for a centre-back; 6.5 points per game is why the price exists. Raya (£6.0m, 162 points) is the game’s most-owned goalkeeper, offering the same defensive exposure for £2.0m less.
The value route: Calafiori (£5.5m) or Zubimendi (£5.5m). Calafiori’s 109 points came from just 22 starts, and over a quarter of the game has bought the full-season version of that rate. Zubimendi is the anti-template pick at the same price: 133 points from 34 starts at 24.2 per £m, owned by barely 1%.
The unknowns: Tzolis (£6.5m) and Bruno Guimarães (£7.0m). Tzolis is the most-owned zero-point player in the game — around 15% ownership before he has kicked a ball in the Premier League. Bruno Guimarães signed on 8 August, bringing 154 points earned elsewhere. Both fit the pattern covered in the best new signings rundown.
Before Friday
Three slots per club and a £100.0m budget mean you cannot hold everything above. The mainstays are where mistakes are cheapest; the value routes are how a squad affords two premiums; the unknowns should be sized like differentials, not foundations — the long-term value holds piece makes the sizing argument in full. From here: build your shortlist in the FPL player stats table, assemble and validate the full fifteen in the squad builder, and watch who the market is buying in the transfers tracker as prices start moving nightly.