MY FPL 26/27 BEST PLAYER PICKS

With the Premier League season right around the corner, that can only mean one thing… FPL is back!

With four weeks still to go before the deadline, there’s plenty of time to tinker with your squad. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll probably rebuild your team a dozen times before you’re finally happy with it.

Now that the player prices have been revealed, I thought I’d share some of my favourite picks to help complete your squad. These are players that should give strong returns without breaking the bank.

Anderson – £6.5m

I actually can’t believe the price of Elliot Anderson this year, £6.5m seems low considering his returns last season.

The introduction of defensive contributions saw Anderson’s points total shoot up to 180, making him the eighth-highest scorer in the league. Those performances earned him a move to Man City, known for dominating possession and controlling games. They ranked top last season touches in the opposition box and accurate passes per match, and with Enzo Maresca sides adopting a similar possession-based style, there should be plenty of opportunities for Anderson to thrive creatively.

Defensively, Anderson’s stats are just as strong. Last season he averaged 2.81 tackles P/90, contributing to his strong DEFCON points. As a midfielder, Anderson also benefits from clean sheet bonuses. Man City kept 16 clean sheets last season, the second most in the league, and Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea side managed 11 during the 2024/25 campaign. If that pattern continues, Anderson has another reliable route to picking up points.

Anderson stood out in an underperforming Forest team, creating 54 chances across the season. The thought of him threading balls through to find Haaland, Doku and Semeyo is enough to get any FPL manager excited for this pick.

Hincapie – £5.5m

Hincapie was a key part of Arsenal’s solid defence last season, and with his move now made permanent, I think his place in the starting XI looks pretty secure. That only becomes more likely following William Saliba’s injury in France’s semi-final against Spain, with the defender expected to be out until at least October. That should give Hincapie a good run of starts at the start of this season.

Playing mainly as a left-back last season, he chipped in with a goal and two assists while creating 13 chances from just 20 starts. We all know how dangerous Arsenal are from set pieces too, and Hincapie is another player who can pose a threat from those.

Defensively, he averaged 3.17 tackles and 4.32 clearances P/90 minutes last season, helping him rack up plenty of DEFCON points. He is prone to committing a foul, averaging 1.32 fouls P/90, however, this only resulted in one card across the season.

Arsenal defenders are going to be very popular this year, after recording 19 clean sheets last season. Gabriel is understandably the number one choice, but at £8.0m he takes up a huge chunk of budget that could be spent elsewhere. Hincapie offers a much cheaper route into Arsenal’s defence, making him a very strong alternative.

Szoboszlai – £7.0m

This is my favourite pick of the bunch. At £7.0m, I can see Szoboszlai becoming one of the most popular midfielders this year.

He was Liverpool’s standout player last season, registering 13 goal involvements, including four free-kicks. He finished on 160 points but has only gone up by £0.5m, which screams value to me.

Liverpool will have a new look under Andoni Iraola, and I expect Szoboszlai to be at the heart of everything they do. He barely missed a minute last season, collecting 20 DEFCON points while also creating 14 big chances across the year. His ability to pick up points both creatively and defensively gives him another opportunity for a high points return this season.

He has cemented himself as Liverpool’s first-choice free-kick and corner taker, but with Salah leaving, reports suggest he’ll also be on penalties. He’s scored 20 of his 22 penalties taken in his career, which is a very appealing record. Adding penalties to everything else he already offers, £7.0m starts to look like a bargain.

Osula – £6.0m

The forward prices are really interesting this year, with Haaland the only striker priced above £10.0m. That tells me there’s a bargain waiting to be found, and my favourite of the bunch is Will Osula.

It’s no secret that Newcastle struggled for a consistent striker last season, with Yoane Wissa returning from a long injury, and the underwhelming performances of Nick Woltemade. That opened the door for Osula to have a run in the team, starting each of Newcastle’s final seven league games.

He made the most of his opportunity, scoring five goals during that run to finish the season with seven. Osula is still a young talent, but he’s always looking to get a shot away. Across his 24 appearances, he averaged 2.55 shots and 1.33 shots on target P/90. If he continues to get regular minutes, those numbers suggest the goals should keep coming.

The biggest question mark is rotation. However, Howe seems to prefer Woltemade in a deeper role, while Wissa hasn’t cemented himself as a starter yet. This gives Osula a great chance of proving himself as a regular starter. He has proven that when given the chance, he can be clinical infront of goal. At just £6.0m, he looks like a great budget option, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the season he really breaks out.