Hello and welcome to another 2026/27 FPL season blog! With GW1’s deadline just a week away (Friday 21 August at 18:30 BST), the biggest debate right now seems to be about the Bench Boost (BB) chip. It’s another season with two full sets of chips to use, one before and one after GW19. This essentially means FPL managers can’t just save their BB chip for a double GW, forcing most to use it in a single GW instead.
There’s a genuine divide on the efficacy of the chip and the thought process around it. One faction wants to get rid of it early and focus on the playing XI going forward, while the other prefers to plan for it with more data in hand. In this article, we’ll look at FPL drafts built around three broad strategies: GW1 BB, GW2 BB, and a BB Later draft. Let’s break down the case for each.
Link to all our 2026/27 Pre-Season articles including all team pre-season friendly updates, best drafts, fixture analysis, position-wise analysis, differentials, players to target, budget enablers and more. Completely free to access as well!
FPL GW1 Bench Boost Draft | 2026/27 season
The GW1 BB draft bets heavily on pre-season knowledge and spillover from last season’s data. It follows the basic assumptions that promoted teams will be leaky at the back, and that last season’s league leaders will continue to dominate these games.
The Value-Bench (2-premium)
This Draft also has a 92% AI Team Rating and 73 Predicted Points for GW1 Bench Boost according to Fantasy Football Hub. Get your FPL Teams rated for FREE in seconds.
Fantasy Football Hub(FFHUB) Free AI Team Rating Tool
Under this draft, the idea is to go with a standard two-premium squad, with a bench just good enough to make Bench Boost worthwhile. Key Bench Boost targets:
Target Sunderland away at Ipswich: Hume at 4.5m is a useful rotation option alongside your other defenders, despite returning to his right-back duties rather than staying forward as an “OOP” option. Enzo Le Fée (6.0m) demands a small premium but is confirmed on penalties for SUN (alongside Diarra) and he was good for 147 points and a 24.2% DEFCON hit rate last season. Sunderland’s fixture run also helps the bench beyond GW1, into the next five weeks.
Pascal Groß at 5.5m is one of the best budget midfield options. He’s secure for minutes and could be on penalties, and he still returned 78 points from just 18 starts last season.
Caicedo at the same price is a close consideration too, with a stronger DEFCON focus, he hit the DEFCON threshold in 40.6% of his games last season.
O’Shea at 4.0m becomes bench fodder in the long run, once he’s served his purpose for Bench Boost.
Kinsky and Verbruggen combo at 9.0m is a cheap entry into two playing GKs, Verbruggen alone had managed 130 points last season.
The rest of the team largely picks itself, with minimal sacrifices elsewhere. Haaland, Bruno, and Mbeumo offer plenty of structural strength, Mbeumo could start up-front for United. João Pedro, Szoboszlai, and DCL round out the rest, with DCL having returned 142 points and 14 goals last season. Overall, this team offers a strong balance between BB GW1 and premium firepower up top.
Further Read: 2026/27 Pre-Season Summary of All 20 Premier League Teams
Stronger Bench (1-premium)
Swapping out Haaland for the opening weeks allows for a stronger overall squad. This frees up enough budget for a bench of Brobbey, Ballard (away at Ipswich), and Kadioğlu or another 4.5m defender. Going forward, Brobbey can be a strong bench option to step in when needed, having returned 92 points from just 22 starts last season.
A strong five-man midfield of Semenyo, Mbeumo, Szoboszlai, and Rice gives a good mix of attacking threat and DEFCON potential, Rice’s 40% DEFCON hit rate last season ranks right up there with the best in the league.
Another option in this draft is you can downgrade Rice to Tzolis who has had a fantastic pre-season with 1 Goal and 6 Assists. You can use those funds to upgrade Thiago to Isak.
This Draft also has a 92% AI Team Rating and 72 Predicted Points for GW1 Bench Boost according to Fantasy Football Hub. Get your FPL Teams rated for FREE in seconds.
This also allows for quick swaps to in-form midfielders as early-season trends emerge.
Further Read: Premier League Penalty & Set Piece Takers | 2026/27 PL Season
FPL GW2 Bench Boost Draft | 2026/27 Season
This Draft also has a 85% AI Team Rating and 56 Predicted Points for GW1 according to Fantasy Football Hub.
The most appealing factor about GW2 BB is that it allows managers to be aggressive, you can go ultra-cheap on the bench thanks to the Coventry-Hull fixture.
A triple-up with Van Ewijk (4.0m) and Thomas (4.0m) in defence, plus Simms (5.0m) further forward. Placing all your bets on Coventry naturally carries its own risk, but the upside is not spending excess money on the bench, and potentially saving the Wildcard for a later date. Simms(5.0) is mentioned in this draft and there is 0.5 million left in the bank. Awoniyi(5.5) is linked heavily and close to a move to Coventry which could mean that he could take his place. Have a close eye on that news before the GW1 deadline.
Further Read: FPL Rotational Pairs & Combinations for the 2026/27 FPL Season
GW2 Bench Boost Projection:
This Draft also has a 88% AI Team Rating and 67 Predicted Points for GW2 Bench Boost according to Fantasy Football Hub. Get your FPL Teams rated for FREE in seconds.
Petrovic, at home to Everton, swaps in for Verbruggen to improve the bench. Chelsea at home to Brighton allows a João Pedro and Caicedo double-up.
Wirtz and Schade offer two differential punts in midfield, Schade racked up 125 points last season on pure attacking output. Ballard offers decent goal threat and DEFCON potential (a 58.3% hit rate last season) for a three-man defensive line to start the season with.
A one-premium version of this draft looks similar, swapping out Haaland or Fernandes and distributing the money among semi-premiums like Semenyo, Thiago, and Gabriel.
Other FPL Bench Boost Windows
GW4 WC to GW5 BB Strategy
GW4 lines up with an early fixture swing, and also leaves enough information to weed out the pre-season hype picks and risky-minutes players. This leads into a GW5 Bench Boost, wrapping both chips up before the three-week international break.
Fixtures to target: Everton (Tarkowski, whose 59.5% DEFCON hit rate led all defenders last season, and Ndiaye) hosting Ipswich; Man City options that might emerge hosting Sunderland; Nott’m Forest (N. Williams, MGW, and potentially Igor Jesus) at home to Coventry; and Newcastle (Wissa, Thiaw, and others) against Hull.
These fixtures offer a good mix of cheap player options to build a bench around. Managers could also use the Wildcard to move away from a Man United-heavy line-up by this point, if that’s the direction they went in GW1.
Further Read: Top Mid Priced & Premium FPL Forwards(>6.0) for 2026/27 season
GW6 WC to GW7-9 BB Window
The GW6 WC pairing is the more patient version, landing right after the 3-week international break. That patience naturally rewards you with plenty of information to plan the BB chip. It can be fitted somewhere between GW7 and GW9 based on WC plans.
GW7 Fixture Targets: Fulham, Man United, Man City, and Spurs become the key sides to target to optimise the Bench Boost.
GW8 Fixture Targets: Fulham, Brentford, and Nott’m Forest players can all appear on the bench. Sunderland vs Leeds could be a nail-biter, with options from both sides in DCL, Brobbey, Le Fée, and the Sunderland defence.
GW9 Fixture Targets: This echoes the GW2 Bench Boost strategy, only this time it’s Hull and Ipswich meeting each other, with O’Shea and Diop as the options (worth monitoring his fitness). Sunderland and Coventry make up the second fixture to watch, with plenty of cheap options from both sides.
Pros
- More information to identify teams and players to target.
- Potentially selling Bruno after his early fixtures against Ipswich and Hull, which naturally allows you to redistribute money across the team over two or three free transfers (saving the WC for after BB).
- Allows you to optimise the playing XI in the opening weeks and focus transfers on in-form players.
- WC could pair naturally with BB opportunities (the combinations discussed above).
- An improved team-value allowing for a pricier bench.
Cons
- A WC-into-BB strategy can end up being short-sighted if it focuses too heavily on the bench. This can leave a lot of money tied up on the bench until the second WC becomes available.
- The counter-argument to improved team-value is missing out on those same cheap options as they undergo price rises.
Further Read: Ultimate Chip Strategy Guide for 2026/27 Season
Conclusion
Your Chip strategy ultimately depends on your relationship with the BB chip and how it has treated you in the past. Managers who play it before the WC want to get it out of the way and focus on the XI afterwards. For many others, though, a post-WC BB presents more points-scoring potential to grab. What matters most is decent planning so the chip doesn’t eat too much out of your free transfers and pressing the button in panic. There will of course be exceptions, but sticking to a plan makes life a lot easier, especially with Triple Captain and Free Hit still to be explored.
Thank you for reading this blog and see you in the next one!
Further reads from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL GW1 of the 2026/27 FPL Season
FPL Basics:
2026/27 FPL Season – New Rules & Changes | What’s New in FPL?
Best & Funny FPL Team Names for 2026/27 PL Season
GW1 Articles:
FPL GW1 Scout Selection based on Stats, Fixtures and Matchups
Top FPL GW1 Differential Picks to Target Ahead of GW1 Deadline
2026/27 PL Season: Predicted GW1 Lineups of All 20 PL Teams
FPL Gameweek 1 Bench Boost Drafts- BB1 vs BB2 vs BB Later Analysis
2026/27 Pre-Season Summary of All 20 Premier League Teams
2026/27 Premier League Penalty and Set Piece Takers for all 20 Teams
Top FPL Gameweek 1 Captain Picks Based on Analysis & Metrics | 26/27 Season
Must Read Articles:
FPL Team Structure Guide with Drafts, AI Team Rating, Formations, Pros, Cons and Key Notes
2026/27 Premier League Penalty and Set Piece Takers for all 20 Teams
Best FPL GW1 Drafts for the 26/27 FPL Season with Pros & Cons
FPL Chip Strategy Guide- Best Windows to Play Free Hit, Wildcard, Triple Captain and Bench Boost
Ultimate DEFCON Analysis: Top Players & Best Opponents to Target
FPL Rotational Pairs and Combinations for 2026/27 FPL Season
Eight Simple FPL Tips to Secure a High Rank | 26/27 Season
2026/27 Pre-Season Summary of All 20 Premier League Teams
FPL Fixture Analysis for 2026/27 Season- Teams with Best and Worst fixtures
Five Must Own Players in GW1 for FPL 2026/27 season
AK FPL’s Final GW1 Draft & Team Reveal | 3x Top 5K Finishes
How Chelsea could line-up under Xabi Alonso for 2026/27 season
FPL Players To Avoid in Your GW1 Drafts | 2026/27 FPL Season
Position Analysis:
GKs and Defenders Series:
Best FPL Goalkeepers to Target based on Stats and Fixtures
Best FPL Defenders at Each Price Point for the 2026/27 Season
Best £4.0 Million FPL Defenders for 2026/27 FPL Season
Best Premium Defenders for 2026/27 season based on Stats and Fixtures
Best £5.0-5.5 Million FPL Defenders for the 2026/27 FPL Season
FPL Rotational Pairs and Combinations for 2026/27 FPL Season
Best £4.5 Million FPL Defenders for the 2026/27 FPL Season
Best Value for Money Defenders and GKs for 2026/27 FPL season
Midfielders Series:
Best FPL Premium Midfielders(8.0-12.0) for 2026/27 FPL season
Best FPL Midfielders at Each Price Point for the 2026/27 Season
Best Mid-Price FPL Midfielders for the 26/27 Season | £6.5 to 7.5M
Best Budget FPL Midfielders for 26/27 Season | £4.5m to £6.0m
Best Value for Money Midfielders for 2026/27 season
Forwards Series:
Best FPL Budget Forwards (£4.5 – £6.0 Million) | 26/27 FPL Season
Best £6m Forwards Comparison for the 2026/27 FPL Season
Best FPL Premium and Mid-Priced Forwards (6.5 million and above) for 2026/27 season
Top Forwards at every price point for the 2026/27 FPL 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 2026/27 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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