The 2025/26 FPL Season is launched, and in this blog, we have created the first few initial FPL GW1 drafts with pros and cons for each draft. Our idea is to enable you to look at multiple initial GW1 drafts and then arrive at your ideal draft to begin the season.
Link to all our 2025/26 Pre-Season articles including all team pre-season friendly updates, team previews, fixture analysis, position-wise analysis, differentials, players to target, budget enablers and more. Completely free to access as well!
We would highly recommend you to read the FPL Fixture Analysis and Best FPL Rotational Pairs and Combinations to understand the fixtures of all the teams and the potential player combinations you would need to complete the initial draft.
2025/26 FPL Season ~ Best FPL GW1 Drafts
FPL GW1 Draft 1- The Mo Salah + Wirtz Draft
Notes on the draft:
- You could also downgrade Marmoush to Eze/Rogers and upgrade the Beto position if we get to know that Beto will not be the first-choice striker.
- Pickford is our goalkeeper in this draft. He is the highest scoring FPL goalkeeper in the last two seasons
- 2023/24- 13 CS, 153 FPL Points
- 2024/25- 12 CS, 158 FPL Points
- Pickford’s clean sheet potential is great under David Moyes, and he’s always amongst saves too(3rd highest amongst GKs last year with 122 saves).
Top Defenders for Goal Involvements Last Season:
- Ait Nouri and Gabriel are the premium defenders in this draft. Ait Nouri picked up 11 goal involvements(4 goals & 7 assists) at Wolves last season, highest amongst defenders last season and has now moved to Man City. Combining his attacking capabilities with Man City’s clean sheet potential, we have got an explosive option.
- AWB at 4.5 million is great value and should benefit from the addition of points for defensive actions as well. His attacking returns are also improving, with his 8 goal contributions(2 goals, 6 assists) last season, the highest in a PL season for him.
- At the moment, Trafford is rumored to join Manchester City. If Trafford completes the move to Manchester City, you could get a starting £5.0 Goalkeeper from Manchester City, which will be too good to ignore. In that case, you can remove Pickford to a £4.5/4.0 GK and use the money to improve Beto/Adingra/Colwill.
- Mo Salah is FPL royalty, and he needs little justification. We have also got Wirtz as well in this draft, he’s a generation talent, and at just 8.5 million, he’s hard to ignore. Last season at Leverkusen, Wirtz had an npxG+xAG/90 of 0.50.
- Kudus and Solanke are both in this draft. Spurs fixtures are great, and it’s worth doubling up on Spurs attack. Solanke picked up 9 goals and 5 assists, his expected goal involvement of 0.50 xGI/90 last season is great too.
FDR from FFHUB
- Kudus had a disappointing 24/25 season, but West Ham were not great for the large majority of the season. In his first PL season(23/24), Kudus picked up 17 goal contributions(8 goals + 9 assists), and at just 6.5 million, it’s hard to ignore him.
- We don’t have Haaland in this draft, and the next safest option from Man City is January signing Omar Marmoush, who has been reclassified as an 8.0 million midfielder this season. The Egyptian attacker scored 7 goals in 14 starts with 0.54 xGI/90. Man City have reinforced their midfield with the signing of Cherki, Reijnders and Rodri will also be back for the Cityzens, who’ll look to be in the title race this season.
- Joao Pedro is the 2nd striker in this draft, and at just 7.0 Million, he’s a bargain, especially since we have gone with Palmer in this draft. The Blues have a great fixture run to begin the season. Pedro has already integrated well with the Chelsea team and was the first choice forward ahead of Jackson and Delap in the club World Cup semi-finals and final. In the semi-final final he bagged a brace, and he also scored a goal in the final.
- We have also got Chelsea defender, Levi Colwill in our defence. Although he’s not explosive as Cucurella, he’ll do well with the new defensive action scoring system and costs only 5.0 Mil.
- Our bench options include Adingra, who has joined Sunderland from Brighton. he should be a guaranteed starter and has good attacking potential.
- Hickey is the 4 million defender in our draft. It’s between him and Kayode for the RB spot at Brentford, so keep an eye out for pre-season games. Esteve is the alternate 4.0 option to consider from Burnley!
Fantasy Football Hub(FFHUB) Free AI Team Rating Tool
FPL GW1 Draft 2- Salah+ Haaland + Wirtz Draft
Notes on the draft:
- This is the Three-Premium Draft with Haaland + Salah + Wirtz.
- Salah, Wirtz, and Haaland take up 37 million of the budget, and naturally, there’s some cheaper enablers in this draft to compensate the heavy spending on the three assets.
- Haaland had a silent 24/25 season but still managed to rake up 22 goals. In the two prior seasons, he bagged 27 and 36 goals respectively. City have added the likes of Cherki, Reijnders, Ait Nouri, and Rodri will be back too, so the 14.0 Million investment on him should pay off.
- Kelleher & Jose Sa are the two goalkeepers in this draft at 4.5 Million each. Kelleher was great for Liverpool in the absence of Alisson last season, and Wolves defence looked decent under Vitor Pereira towards the end of last season. You can also get a 4.0 keeper and go with just one 4.5 Million keeper to save another 0.5 Million.
Budget Defender Rotation Combinations:
- Konsa + Esteve + Udogie rotate very well. You can start two and bench one each Gameweek, or even start one and bench two till GW9. Refer to above images – Green indicates players to start, grey players to bench. (PS: We have Heaven in the screenshot above. Replace him with Esteve)
- Reijnders at 5.5 Million is a tempting option. He got 10 goals in Serie A last season and can also benefit from the defensive actions points. Alternatively, you can also consider other 5.5 mids like Gruda, Tavernier, Alcaraz, and Tonali.
- Beto was the 4th highest scoring forward in the game from GW24 onwards with 7 goals in 13 appearances(66 points). Everton fixtures are great and he’s a good enabler at just 5.5 Million. However, there is also a chance for Barry(6.0 Million) to get the nod ahead of Beto, so watch out for pre-season results. Alternatively, there are other good 5.5 Mil forwards too – Muniz, Piroe(Leeds), Mayenda(Sunderland)
Highest Scoring FPL Forwards from GW24 till end of the last season:
Key Stat: Beto had 16 Big Chances from GW24 till the end of the season- Highest Among all the Forwards during this time.
Further Read: FPL Rotational Pairs & Combinations for the 2025/26 FPL Season
FPL GW1 Draft 3 – Salah+ Palmer+ Wirtz Draft
Notes on the draft:
- Salah + Palmer are the two premium midfielders in this draft
- Kelleher and Darlow are the keepers in this draft. Darlow might be even the starting GK for Leeds if they don’t sign a new goalkeeper this summer.
- Udogie + Esteve rotate well(Rotation planner below) and offer great value at just 8.5 million(combined)
- Gabriel and Frimpong are the two premium defenders in this draft
- De Cuyper is another exciting 4.5 million defender to watch out for. With Estupinan off to AC Milan, the new Belgian signing should be the first-choice left-back/LWB. In his senior club career, De Cuyper has 75 Goal Contributions from 220 appearances, which are too good for a Defender.
- Ndiaye is rightly classified as a midfielder in FPL this season, and at 6.5 million, he is a solid option who’ll also be on penalties.
- Enzo Le Fee at 5.0 Million is a good enabler. He’s an attacking midfielder for Sunderland and is also on corners and set pieces too.
- The 7.5 million forward range is stacked with great options, and we have gone with Joao Pedro & Solanke in this draft.
- Raul Jimenez is the other forward in this draft, coming in at 6.5 million. The Mexican striker bagged 12 goals last season from 30 starts(147 FPL points), and it was the first time since the 19/20 season he’s registered double-digit goals in a season.
Further Read: FPL Fixture Analysis for The 2025/26 FPL Season | PL Fixtures
FPL GW1 Draft 4 – Salah+ Palmer+ Wirtz Draft
Notes on the draft:
- Areola and Trafford are the goalkeepers in this draft. You can just go with Areola and a 4.0 keeper or Trafford and a 4.0 keeper, too(If Trafford moves to Man City)
- Gabriel Gudmundsson is the 4.0 million defender in this draft, and he’s expected to be a regular starter
- Adrien Truffert makes this team as the exciting £4.5 Hidden Gem! He is the Kerkez Replacement(signed from Rennes) and an attacking LB who can play LM as well. Truffert has 21 Goal Contributions(5 Goals, 16 Assists) over the last 3 seasons. He also scored 2 goals in the Pre-season closed-door friendly vs Bristol a few days back. He should certainly be on your pre-season watchlist.
- Triple Chelsea attack with Caicedo joining Palmer and Pedro. Caicedo had the most defensive action points amongst midfielders last season(42 pts) and had 55.3% of starts with defensive action points.
- Welbeck is the 2nd forward in this draft. The Seagulls forward scored 10 goals and picked up 5 assists in just 30 appearances(24 starts) with a healthy xGI of 0.5/90 last season.
- Barry is rumored to be the starting forward for Everton this season, so he makes this draft along with Ndiaye, If he’s not a starter, then you can go for other budget forwards like Beto, Muniz, Piroe(Leeds), Mayenda(Sunderland)
Further Read: FPL Rotational Pairs & Combinations for the 2025/26 FPL Season
FPL GW1 Draft 5- GW1 Bench Boost Draft:
- This is the Draft with the GW1 Bench Boost in plan. You will have 15 good players to start the season and get rid of the chip early as well. The new FPL rules(Double the Chips) makes GW1 Bench Boost even more appealing.
- In this Bench Boost Draft, there are 3*West Ham against Burnley, 2*Everton against Leeds, and 3*Spurs vs Burnley in GW1. You could also Triple up on Everton by picking Pickford in place of Trafford(if Trafford to Man City does not go through) and downgrade Gruda to a 5.0 Midfielder.
- Saka makes this Draft over Palmer as the first 2 games are really good for Arsenal. After that, you can decide between sticking to Saka/Moving to Palmer. In GW1, Saka plays MUN(A) followed by LEE(H) in GW2.
- Bowen who has been re-classified as Forward this season, has a very favorable GW1 fixture vs Sunderland and also ended last season on a high.
- GW38: ⚽🅰️, 13 points
- GW37: ⚽, 8 points
- GW36: ⚽, 8 points
- GW35: ⚽, 9 points
- GW34: 🅰️🅰️, 10 points
- GW33: ⚽, 9 points
Further reads from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL GW1 of the 2025/26 FPL Season
FPL Rotational Pairs & Combinations for the 2025/26 FPL Season
2025/26 FPL Season- New Rules & Changes | What’s New in FPL?
Initial FPL GW1 Drafts for the 25/26 FPL Season with Pros & Cons
FanTeam EPL Fantasy Season Game Drafts with Keynotes
FPL 2025/26 Team Structure and Planning based on Fixtures
FPL Fixture Analysis for The 2025/26 FPL Season | PL Fixtures
2025/26 Premier League Clubs Pre Season Friendlies Fixtures List
Funny & Creative FPL Team Names for the 2025/26 Season
If you’re new to FPL, here is a link to all our FPL Beginners Guide including FPL Beginner’s Guide- How to play?, Bench boost, Team value, Triple captain, Effective ownership, Price Changes, Free Hit, Bonus Points, and more.
Link to all our 2025/26 Pre-Season articles including all position-wise analysis, team previews, fixture analysis, position-wise analysis, and more. Completely free to access as well!
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Srinivasan S
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