FPL Easiest Fixtures GW1–GW5: Best Opening Runs 2026/27

The Gameweek 1 deadline is Friday 21 August 2026, 18:30 BST. The opening five gameweeks are already scheduled and rated, which means the best opening runs can be ranked now — and, more usefully, turned into player picks. Below: the ten easiest starts in the league, what their averages hide, and who is actually worth buying from each run. The scale itself is the Fixture Difficulty Rating (FDR) guide's territory — everything below assumes you know it.

Easiest fixtures, GW1–GW5

The easiest ten of twenty. For the other half of the league, a different window or the columns sorted your way, use the FPL Fixture Difficulty Planner.

Average FDR: small gaps are real

As of 30 July 2026, Liverpool own the softest run outright at 2.60. Leeds, Man City, Man Utd and Spurs sit together on 2.80, and eight clubs share 3.00 — Aston Villa, Brighton, Brentford, Chelsea and Crystal Palace make the cut above, with Everton, Newcastle and Forest on the same figure just below it. Across all twenty clubs the spread runs 2.60 to 3.60, with Fulham and Bournemouth at the bottom.

Those gaps look like decimals and behave like fixtures. Multiply by five games: Liverpool's 2.60 against Chelsea's 3.00 is 0.40 per match — two full grades of difficulty across the run, the equivalent of swapping two average fixtures for two easy ones. Even the 0.20 between the 2.80 quartet and the 3.00 group is a whole grade somewhere in the window. Over a single gameweek a tenth of a point is trivia; over five it compounds into a real edge, and it is exactly the sort of edge that should split two otherwise-similar players.

Team strength: the other half of the signal

A soft run only pays out through players good enough to cash it in — which is what the STR column measures: FPL's own strength rating of each club, out of five stars. It deserves equal weight with the fixture average.

The sharpest illustration is sitting in the table: Leeds and Man City both average 2.80, and FPL rates Leeds 2½ stars to City's 4½. Same fixture grade, wildly different machinery for converting it. The scale even agrees with itself at the extremes — the only 5-rated fixtures anywhere in the opening five gameweeks are trips to Arsenal and Man City, the league's two 4½-star clubs. Difficulty and strength are one assessment read from opposite ends.

The working rule: soft run + strong squad is where premium money goes; soft run + modest squad is where you shop for one well-priced starter, not three.

Count the 2s — and the 4s and 5s

The average also hides the shape of a run, and the shape is where the picks live.

Only three clubs get through the first five gameweeks without a single fixture rated above 3: Liverpool, Leeds and Spurs. Nobody has more than two 2-rated fixtures, and it matters who they are: every fixture against the promoted trio — Coventry, Hull and Ipswich, all rated two stars by the league — is a 2, home or away. The remaining 2s are home games against the sides FPL rates 2½ stars. Soft openings are, to a large extent, promoted-club openings.

The counts separate runs the average cannot. Chelsea average 3.00 with two 2s and the top ten's only 5 — the GW3 trip to Arsenal. That is a completely different asset to a flat 3-3-3-3-3 at the same average: two banker weeks, one write-off, and a decision to make.

One hard week does not break a run

Which is the other thing the shape tells you: a single ugly fixture inside an otherwise soft run is a bench week, not a reason to look elsewhere.

Man Utd open 2, 2, 3 — then host City in the GW4 derby, their only fixture above 3. For a mid-priced United pick, that is one planned benching in five weeks; a premium like B.Fernandes you simply hold through it. Four easy games plus one bad one, with a bench that works, is five playable weeks. What should genuinely put you off is the opposite shape — hard games stacked at the start, the way Bournemouth open at Man City — or a run that is uniformly middling with nothing to bank.

Front-loading matters for the same reason. United's two softest fixtures come first, which is worth more to a GW1 squad than the same average back-loaded — you get transfers before the run turns.

The players who cash the fixtures in

FDR is a club-level number, but nobody fields a club. What follows is the practical layer, and it splits into two modes. Where a strong squad meets a clean run, you hold: buy up to the three-per-club cap and leave them in for the whole spell. Where the strength is middling but the run has soft patches, you buy value — last season's points per million at today's price — sized so a benching costs nothing. Picks priced and flagged as of 30 July; the usual pre-season caveats on minutes and roles apply.

Liverpool — 2.60, the five-gameweek hold

LiverpoolGW1–5

FDR 2.60

GW1

NEW (A) difficulty 3: Average

GW2

NFO (H) difficulty 3: Average

GW3

IPS (A) difficulty 2: Easy

GW4

FUL (H) difficulty 2: Easy

GW5

BOU (A) difficulty 3: Average

Player	Price	Pts	Val	Sel
SzoboszlaiMID	£7.0m	160	22.9	48.1%
VirgilDEF	£6.5m	175	26.9	16.0%
GravenberchMID	£6.0m	144	24.0	1.9%
WirtzMID	£7.5m	125	16.7	10.6%
KerkezDEF	£5.5m	85	15.5	6.1%
IsakFWD	£9.0m	41	4.6	11.4%

The full hold: every fixture rated 2 or 3, a 4-star squad, and the two 2s landing together — Ipswich away in GW3, Fulham at home in GW4. This is the run you buy to the three-per-club cap and leave alone for the whole spell; no benching decisions, no exit planning before GW6. Three Liverpool players is close to a must-have, and two of the slots pick themselves: Szoboszlai (£7.0m, 160 points last season, 48.1% owned — the fourth most-owned player in the game) and Virgil (£6.5m, 175 points at 26.9 per million) are the spine. The third is a style choice: Gravenberch (£6.0m, 144 points at 24.0 per million, 1.9% owned) is the value-and-differential answer, Wirtz (£7.5m, 125) the ceiling play, Kerkez (£5.5m) the cheap second defender, and Isak (£9.0m, 11.4% owned) the premium gamble — eight starts and 41 points last season are the warning label. One to avoid: Ekitiké is flagged with an Achilles injury and no return date.

Man City — 2.80, the strength-versus-derby call

Man CityGW1–5

FDR 2.80

GW1

BOU (H) difficulty 3: Average

GW2

CRY (A) difficulty 3: Average

GW3

COV (H) difficulty 2: Easy

GW4

MUN (A) difficulty 4: Difficult

GW5

SUN (H) difficulty 2: Easy

Player	Price	Pts	Val	Sel
HaalandFWD	£15.5m	239	15.4	75.3%
O'ReillyDEF	£6.5m	160	24.6	23.5%
GuéhiDEF	£6.0m	179	29.8	24.3%
SemenyoMID	£8.5m	202	23.8	20.6%
CherkiMID	£7.5m	135	18.0	9.6%
DokuMID	£7.5m	120	16.0	6.4%

The league's joint-highest-rated side at 4½ stars, and before the GW4 derby at Old Trafford the run reads Bournemouth (H), Palace (A), Coventry (H). Size the position at two or three, then make the derby call once, up front: either budget the bench for it, or play straight through on the argument that a 4½-star squad away at a 4-star one is exactly where strength outranks the fixture grade — FDR calls it a 4, the STR column says City are favourites most places they go. Haaland (£15.5m, 239 points) is in 75.2% of squads — the most-owned player in the game — and the default captain for the first three weeks, derby included for the brave. O'Reilly (£6.5m, 23.5% owned, 160 points) is the defensive route; Guéhi (£6.0m, 24.3%) the cheaper one, a January arrival whose 179 points — 29.8 per million, the best value of any pick in this piece — were split between his old club and City. In midfield, Semenyo (£8.5m, 20.7%) carries the same January caveat on his 202, while Cherki (£7.5m, 135) and Doku (£7.5m, 120) are the mid-price options.

Man Utd — 2.80 with the easy games first

Man UtdGW1–5

FDR 2.80

GW1

HUL (A) difficulty 2: Easy

GW2

IPS (H) difficulty 2: Easy

GW3

EVE (A) difficulty 3: Average

GW4

MCI (H) difficulty 4: Difficult

GW5

FUL (A) difficulty 3: Average

Player	Price	Pts	Val	Sel
B.FernandesMID	£12.0m	235	19.6	48.8%
MbeumoMID	£8.0m	148	18.5	13.6%
CunhaMID	£8.0m	143	17.9	15.3%
LammensGKP	£5.0m	109	21.8	20.0%

Hull away, then Ipswich at home — the two-star promoted clubs, back to back — then a three-star Everton side in GW3. It is the gentlest opening sequence in the league, and the front-loading makes United arguably a stronger GW1 case than City: three banker weeks before the derby even arrives, and their derby is at home. The play is the full three with a plan attached. B.Fernandes (£12.0m, 235 points, 48.8% owned — third in the game) plays all five; Mbeumo (£8.0m, 148) and Cunha (£8.0m, 143), both proven in their first United seasons, take the other two slots and one planned benching when City visit in GW4 — that shape reads 2, 2, 3, bench, 3. Lammens (£5.0m, 20.1% owned) is the budget goalkeeper route if you would rather spend a slot in defence instead. Šeško (£7.0m) carries a 75% flag for a shin problem — wait for it to clear before committing.

Spurs — 2.80 with no hard games and a long injury list

SpursGW1–5

FDR 2.80

GW1

BRE (A) difficulty 3: Average

GW2

NEW (H) difficulty 2: Easy

GW3

NFO (A) difficulty 3: Average

GW4

EVE (H) difficulty 3: Average

GW5

AVL (H) difficulty 3: Average

Player	Price	Pts	Val	Sel
Pedro PorroDEF	£5.5m	117	21.3	24.0%
DubravkaGKP	£4.0m	96	24.0	24.9%
SenesiDEF	£6.0m	175	29.2	11.1%
SolankeFWD	£6.0m	40	6.7	2.9%

Spurs avoid 4s and 5s entirely, take Newcastle at home rated 2 in GW2, and finish with two of the last three at home — but a 3-star squad with missing pieces is value-mode territory, not a hold: Kulusevski and Xavi are out with knee injuries, and Kudus carries a 75% flag. Shop the clean end. Pedro Porro (£5.5m, 24.0% owned, 117 points at 21.3 per million) is the pick with a Spurs track record; Dubravka (£4.0m — the price floor — top-ten ownership league-wide at 24.9%) is the cheapest possible way in, though he and Senesi (£6.0m, 175 points) are both July arrivals whose numbers were earned at their previous clubs. Solanke (£6.0m) leads the line at a price that forgives rotation. Treat the attack with caution until the flags clear.

Leeds — 2.80 at bottom-of-the-table prices

LeedsGW1–5

FDR 2.80

GW1

NFO (A) difficulty 3: Average

GW2

BRE (H) difficulty 3: Average

GW3

BHA (A) difficulty 3: Average

GW4

NEW (H) difficulty 2: Easy

GW5

CRY (H) difficulty 3: Average

Player	Price	Pts	Val	Sel
Calvert-LewinFWD	£6.0m	142	23.7	17.9%
StachMID	£6.0m	137	22.8	1.4%
WilsonMID	£6.5m	168	25.8	8.9%
BijolDEF	£5.0m	99	19.8	0.3%

Pure value mode. Leeds match City's average with no fixture above 3 and Newcastle at home rated 2 in GW4 — but FPL rates the squad 2½ stars, joint-lowest in the top ten with Brighton, and the squad is priced accordingly. Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m, 17.9% owned) scored 142 in his first Leeds season — 23.7 per million — and is the most popular way in. Stach (£6.0m, 137 points at 22.8 per million) is the midfield equivalent, Wilson (£6.5m) arrived in July with 168 points earned at his previous club, and Bijol (£5.0m, 99 points) is the enabler-priced defender. The strength rating sets the expectation: one Leeds starter rides this run nicely, two is aggressive, three is a position on a 2½-star squad.

The 3.00 group — Chelsea are the interesting one

ChelseaGW1–5

FDR 3.00

GW1

FUL (A) difficulty 3: Average

GW2

BHA (H) difficulty 2: Easy

GW3

ARS (A) difficulty 5: Very Difficult

GW4

HUL (H) difficulty 2: Easy

GW5

BRE (A) difficulty 3: Average

Player	Price	Pts	Val	Sel
João PedroFWD	£7.5m	177	23.6	53.8%
RogersMID	£7.5m	169	22.5	32.5%
ChalobahDEF	£5.5m	136	24.7	2.1%
EnzoMID	£7.0m	157	22.4	5.3%

Villa, Brighton, Brentford, Chelsea and Palace complete the ten, and Chelsea are the ones the market has already priced: a 4-star squad, two 2-rated home games (Brighton, Hull), and the second and fifth most-owned players in the game. João Pedro (£7.5m, 53.8% owned) scored 177 for Chelsea last season — 23.6 per million at a mid-range price — while Rogers (£7.5m, 32.5%) is a July signing whose 169 came at his previous club. The under-owned routes into the same fixtures are Chalobah (£5.5m, 136 points at 24.7 per million, 2.1% owned) and Enzo (£7.0m, 157 points at 22.4, 5.3% owned). The GW3 trip to Arsenal is the top ten's only 5 — plan it as a bench week and the rest of the run is soft. The other four clubs in the group are fixture-neutral at best: fine to own for other reasons, but the run is not the argument.

Using the table for GW1

1. Read FDR and STR together, then pick a mode per club. Strong squad + clean run (Liverpool, United): hold to the three-per-club cap. Strong squad + one hard week (City): two or three, deciding up front whether the derby is a bench week or a trust-the-strength week. Middling squad + soft patches (Spurs, Leeds): value picks sized so a benching costs nothing.
2. Treat small average gaps as real. A 0.20 difference is a full grade of difficulty somewhere in a five-game window — a legitimate tiebreak between two otherwise-similar players.
3. Check the shape, not just the number. Count the 2s, count the 4s and 5s, and prefer runs that front-load the easy games — your GW1 squad gets transfers before the run turns.
4. Don't discard a run over one hard week. One 4 in five games is a planned benching, not a dealbreaker — budget the bench spot for it.
5. Note where each run ends. GW6 onwards is a different table. Slide the window forward in the planner before you spend your early transfers chasing what just finished.

Related tools and reading

• FPL Fixture Difficulty Planner — the live FDR and team strength table for all 20 clubs, with an adjustable gameweek range and sortable columns.
• Fixture Difficulty Rating (FDR) Explained — what the 1–5 scale means and how the ratings are set.
• Double Gameweeks and Blanks — why the fixture count in a window sometimes matters more than the difficulty.
• Live fixtures and results — follow the games as they happen.