Best FPL squad for the opening Gameweeks

The Fantasy Premier League new season (2025/26) has just started, as the managers' challenges have officially begun. Not only the opening gameweek but the early few gameweeks are important for the FPL managers to set a positive tone for the entire season. On the topic of the best FPL squad for the opening gameweeks, we have brought a possible best FPL squad for the first three gameweeks of the new FPL season.

Just like previous seasons, the opening gameweek of the FPL 2025/26 has started with a budget of £100.0m. As the players’ valuations have risen significantly, especially the top consistent players in recent seasons, it is very tough to build a solid Fantasy Premier League squad under the budget, where 15 players have to be selected.

An FPL squad

In the 15-member FPL squad, the manager has to select two goalkeepers, five defenders, five midfielders, and three forwards. After selecting the 15-member FPL squad, the manager can set an FPL team for a gameweek, where the playing XI can be built with one goalkeeper, at least three defenders, and at least one forward. There are various formations available to set an FPL team for a gameweek, while selecting the captain and vice-captain is very important for the manager, as a captain brings double points, while a vice-captain replaces the unavailable captain (the selected captain who hasn’t gotten any gametime in the entire match) to generate double points.

How to Build the Best FPL Squad for Opening Gameweeks

From the very first gameweek of the season, every manager aims to set the best FPL squad that can deliver the highest points. It is very tough to build the best FPL squad, which can be created in many ways, but the top strategies, experiences, skills, and patience are required.

It is very challenging to set a 15-member FPL squad for the opening gameweeks of a season, while form, fitness, and team formations are very crucial to set the best FPL squad. To bring a possible best FPL squad example for the opening gameweeks, we have especially focused on FPL FDR (Fixture Difficulty Ratings), mainly putting importance on the lower FDRs (2 and 3) for the upcoming early gameweeks. Furthermore, we have looked at the players who have consistent records or who recently performed strongly in the pre-season fixtures. For the defence (including goalkeeping), we recommend not selecting more than one player from each team for the opening gameweeks, as the teams’ defence performances will be very uncertain for the early period of the season.

Best FPL Squad 1 for Gameweeks 1-3

Goalkeepers (Selected Budget: £10.0m-£9.5m)

Jordan Pickford (Everton): £5.5m/Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest): £5.0m

Kepa Arrizabalaga (Arsenal)/Bart Verbruggen (Brighton & Hove Albion): £4.5m

Defenders (Selected Budget: £24.0m)

Nikola Milenković (Nottingham Forest): £5.5m

Vitalii Mykolenko* (Everton)/Nathan Collins (Brentford): £5.0m

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham United): £4.5m

Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton & Hove Albion): £4.5m

Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa)/Lucas Digne (Aston Villa)/Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace): £4.5m

* According to FPL, Vitalii Mykolenko has a 75% chance of playing in Gameweek 1

Midfielders (Selected Budget: £44.0m)

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool): £14.5m

Cole Palmer (Chelsea): £10.5m/Bukayo Saka (Arsenal): £10.0m

Alex Iwobi (Fulham): £6.5m

Ismaïla Sarr (Crystal Palace)/Enzo Fernández (Chelsea)/Mitoma Kaoru (Brighton & Hove Albion): £6.5m

Tomáš Souček (West Ham United)/Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford): £6.0m

Forwards (Selected Budget: £22.5m-£22.0m)

Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa): £9.0m

Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United): £8.0m/Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest)/João Pedro (Chelsea): £7.5m

Joël Piroe (Leeds United): £5.5m

Best FPL Squad 2 for Gameweeks 1-3

Goalkeepers (Selected Budget: £10.0m-£9.5m)

Jordan Pickford (Everton): £5.5m/Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest): £5.0m

Kepa Arrizabalaga (Arsenal)/Bart Verbruggen (Brighton & Hove Albion): £4.5m

Defenders (Selected Budget: £29.5m-£25.5m)

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool): £6.0m

William Saliba (Arsenal)/Gabriel (Arsenal): £6.0m/Daniel Muñoz (Crystal Palace): £5.5m

Marc Cucurella (Chelsea): £6.0m/Nathan Collins (Brentford): £5.0m

Joško Gvardiol (Manchester City): £6.0m/Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham United): £4.5m

Nikola Milenković (Nottingham Forest): £5.5m/Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton & Hove Albion): £4.5m

Midfielders (Selected Budget: £42.0m-£38.0m)

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool): £14.5m/Cole Palmer (Chelsea): £10.5m

Phil Foden* (Manchester City): £8.0m

Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth): £7.0m

Alex Iwobi (Fulham)/Ismaïla Sarr (Crystal Palace)/Enzo Fernández (Chelsea)/Mitoma Kaoru (Brighton & Hove Albion): £6.5m

Tomáš Souček (West Ham United)/Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford): £6.0m

*According to FPL, Phil Foden has a 75% chance of playing in Gameweek 1

Forwards (Selected Budget: £22.5m-£22.0m)

Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa): £9.0m

Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United): £8.0m/Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest)/João Pedro (Chelsea): £7.5m

Joël Piroe (Leeds United): £5.5m