The World Cup Is Over. Time to Ruin Our Summers Properly: FPL 2026/27 Is Almost Here
Spain are world champions. Ferran Torres came off the bench in East Rutherford on Sunday night and scored in the 106th minute to beat Argentina 1-0, Rodri lifted the trophy and collected the Golden Ball, and Lionel Messi walked off into the New Jersey evening after what he says was his last World Cup. He said that in 2022 as well, so make of that what you will.
There was also a Super Bowl style halftime show featuring Shakira, BTS and Madonna, which felt like FIFA testing exactly how much a football crowd will tolerate. The answer, apparently, is quite a lot.
For us, though, the tournament ending means one thing: the countdown to the 2026/27 Premier League season is on. Gameweek 1 kicks off on Friday 21 August, when champions Arsenal host newly promoted Coventry City, and the FPL game itself is expected to launch any day now. History says the game rarely goes live during a World Cup, and with the final now done, this is the week to keep refreshing.
Here’s where things stand.
World Cup Player Performance: Who Arrives With Momentum
Rodri winning the Golden Ball is lovely for Manchester City and mildly annoying for everyone who spent last season debating whether he was fully back. He is. Pau Cubarsi and Unai Simon also picked up awards, and Kylian Mbappe took the Golden Boot despite France falling to Spain in the semis.
From a Premier League angle, Erling Haaland reached the quarter-finals in his first major international tournament with Norway, which means he gets an extended break and we get to spend August squinting at City’s team news. Bookmark that thought, because it matters for your Gameweek 1 draft.
The most FPL-relevant subplot of the summer might be Johan Manzambi, the 20-year-old Swiss midfielder who scored three goals at the World Cup and promptly became Aston Villa’s record signing at up to £59.5m. New league, post-tournament fatigue, enormous price tag. What could possibly go wrong.
Transfer Suggestions: The Market Has Been Busy
The landscape has shifted. Mohamed Salah has left Liverpool, which ends roughly a decade of “Salah or Haaland” being the entire captaincy conversation. Liverpool have brought in Victor Munoz, who is expected to take the left wing role from Cody Gakpo, and teenager Rio Ngumoha is one to watch for a breakout.
Elsewhere: Anthony Gordon joined Barcelona, Elliot Anderson became Manchester City’s record signing, and Tottenham responded to nearly getting relegated by buying half a functioning football team. Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke, plus Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka on frees. Under Roberto De Zerbi, Spurs are either going to be brilliant or a very expensive science experiment.
Early FPL targets once prices drop:
- Bruno Fernandes finished as joint top FPL scorer with Haaland last season and looked rejuvenated under Michael Carrick, now United’s permanent manager. He’ll be premium priced and probably worth it.
- Van Hecke and Senesi were the top scoring FPL players at Brighton and Bournemouth respectively. Both now play for Spurs, which either doubles their appeal or halves it, depending on your faith in De Zerbi’s defensive structure.
- Coventry, Hull and Ipswich assets at enabler prices. Someone from the promoted sides always turns out to be a 90-point defender at £4.0m. Your job is to guess which one before everyone else does.
Captains Picks: A New Era of Armband Anxiety
With Salah gone, Haaland is the default. He was joint top scorer last season and remains the closest thing FPL has to a sure thing. But Pep Guardiola has left City, and new-manager rotation is a genuine risk in the opening weeks.
Bruno Fernandes is the obvious alternative, especially with United’s penalties, free kicks and Carrick’s attacking setup all pointing his way. Bukayo Saka against Coventry on opening night is the armband pick for anyone who enjoys sleeping soundly on a Friday.
Injuries and Fitness Watch
Amadou Onana’s long-term knee injury is the headline absence, and it’s exactly why Villa moved for Manzambi. Beyond that, the real injury story this summer is fatigue. Dozens of Premier League players went deep into the World Cup, and clubs will manage minutes through pre-season. The league even pushed the season start back a week to allow 33 days of recovery after the final.
The practical rule: if a World Cup star is flagged as a doubt before Gameweek 1, don’t take the risk. Also, ignore friendly goals from players who only started because their rivals were still on a beach.
Predicted Lineups: Trust Nothing Until Late August
Four of the traditional big six have new managers or new eras beginning. Carrick at United, Xabi Alonso at Chelsea, De Zerbi at Spurs, and City adjusting to life after Pep. Pre-season friendlies will tell us more than any transfer announcement. Watch who plays 60+ minutes in the final two warm-up games. That’s usually the starting eleven, whatever the manager says in press conferences.
Fixture Analysis: The Opening Run
Arsenal vs Coventry on the opening Friday is about as gentle a title defence launch as the fixture computer allows. Arsenal defensive assets look like the safest floor in the game for Gameweek 1.
One quirk to plan around: there’s a three-week gap between Gameweeks 5 and 6 thanks to an international break, and the transfer window shuts on 1 September, three gameweeks into the season. Expect late-window chaos and at least one popular pick getting sold the day after you buy him.
Chip Strategy: Don’t Panic Early
The usual advice applies, with extra force this year. With so many new managers, new signings and post-World Cup rotation, the first five gameweeks will be noisy. Burning a Wildcard in Gameweek 3 because your defence conceded twice to Hull is a proud FPL tradition, but try to resist. Holding the first Wildcard until after the September international break lets you react to actual lineups instead of vibes, and conveniently lands after the transfer deadline too.
Save the aggressive chip talk for when the fixture swings and cup schedules become clear. Nobody ever won their mini-league in August. Plenty have lost it there.
The Bottom Line
Spain have the trophy, Messi has his farewell (probably), and we have about a month to build a squad, tear it up, build it again, and then change our captain thirty seconds before the deadline anyway. Prices should drop imminently. See you in the drafts.
