Fantasy Football Files - 2026/27 - Gameweek 1 - 'Prelude / Finding Tzolis'

The return of the Premier League is here, which means another season of FPL is upon us. And of course, that means the ‘Fantasy Football Files’ is back as I return with the trials and tribulations in the ‘Justice League’, where I will report on my head-to-head fixture every gameweek and my overall rank, there will also be tips and analysis too.

It was reported that FPL would now be live, which for some will not make a huge difference but it could eventually be detrimental for sites like livefpl.net, we shall see. This means that you can see how the FPL leagues you are in are affected immediately rather than waiting. The issue is that bonus points can always change so your excitement can quickly be destroyed. As usual there were numerous position changes for players and one of them was Eli Kroupi Jr., who last campaign was a forward but as he played in a floating role behind Evanilson, FPL registered him as a midfielder this time around. Kroupi was in my original draft however he got injured in training. I replaced him with Morgan Rogers and then just before the deadline I got Phil Foden in for Rogers, Foden was £0.5m cheaper and his low ownership drew me in as I wanted some opening weekend differentials. A knee-jerk change I made was taking out Josko Gvardiol when I saw Manchester City comprehensively beaten in the Community Shield to get Daniel Munoz, that I again changed and got the cheaper Tyrick Mitchell.

This was the very first draft I made for the season on July 23rd

As usual preparing the Justice League was an unnecessarily complex task. Despite organising the league’s eighth season from the exact day that the new season was launched it took until a few hours before the deadline to get everyone in. Ridiculous I know, annoyingly this is the stress I get put under every single season. Two players decided not to join this campaign, and they were replaced by two men from the waiting list. Leon (Bear) who came top of my ‘free’ classic league, ‘League of Gentlemen’ last season and Jeddy who came 4th last term in the same league. Solid new additions as I try to keep the competitive levels up.

With no-one knowing who their opponent is in the first week it is an anomaly. You just hope that your XI has enough to get it done. Many looked to their ‘Bench boost’, I chose to keep mine for a later date. When the deadline passed, I found out my opposition was my D&D Football Factory co-host ‘Big’ Sam. Sam had Rogers and come Monday I knew that was going to come back to bite me.

The gameweek action began on Friday as the champions Arsenal hosted the winners of the Championship, Coventry. A straightforward victory was expected for the Gunners and that was exactly what transpired as it ended 3-0. Sam’s scoring was underway when Kai Havertz (£7.5m) netted the opener after poor defending by the Sky Blues. Popular new signing Christos Tzolis (£6.5m) gained a ‘fantasy’ assist as his ball was pushed into the path of Bukayo Saka for the second which got my opponent further points. Ben White (£5.5m) laid on the third for Martin Odegaard (£6.5) as non-Gabriel Magalhaes owners were jubilant as he was the lowest scoring Arsenal defender as he got booked. At £8m Magalhaes has been left out by a decent number of managers compared to last season. Riccardo Calafiori (£5.5m) assisted the opener by Havertz.

On Saturday, Manchester United who had been deemed to have the easiest start to the campaign as they were away to Hull and then at home to Ipswich were undone at the first hurdle. Hull, who ‘controversially’ came up through the playoffs deservedly triumphed 2-0. Both goals came from set pieces as many who had doubled or tripled up on United players were left gobsmacked. Both goals came from set pieces as possibly now fantasy managers will look for Hull enablers to put on their bench. This meant I escaped a Bryan Mbeumo haul as Sam will be frustrated at a second half chance he had saved by Konstantinos Tzolakis (10 points). Bruno Fernandes is at a whopping £12m after breaking the Premier League assist record and his performance was wildly maligned. One thing to keep in mind with Fernandes is that 6 of his assists in the league were to Casemiro last season who has since obviously left the club.

In the 3pm kick-offs; I got off the mark as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£6.5m) smashed in a superb strike just before half-time to give the Toffees the lead at home to Crystal Palace. Thierno Barry grabbed a second goal as Everton won 2-0. Dewsbury-Hall went on to get 11 points as he got maximum bonus points. The caveat was Sam had James Tarkwoski (£6m) in his team, and it could have been even worse as Jarrad Branthwaite was on his bench. Ipswich got a late win over Sunderland thanks to a late Jack Clarke goal. Nordi Mukiele did not play so I would get a solitary point off my bench from Mitchell, having Dara O’Shea as my last substitute was a mistake as he got 4 points thanks to his defensive contributions. Brian Brobbey thankfully blanked.

Leeds won 1-0 at Nottingham Forest thanks to a late free-kick from Anton Stach (£6m). Neither of us got anything here as Morgan Gibbs-White did not return for Sam and I got nothing from Harry Wilson. In the 5.30pm contest, new-look Tottenham were blown away by Brentford. All the goals came in just 49 minutes. The first by Keane Lewis-Potter was assisted by debutant Mamadou Sanagre (£5.5m) who totalled 14 points as he also got defensive contributions. Igor Thiago (who was on Sam’s bench) missed a penalty or it would have been even worse for Spurs. I left Antonin Kinsky on my bench as I did not want to double up on Tottenham players, and it was a good decision. Despite conceding three, Andy Robertson (£4.5m) got Sam and I 3 points, again showing the importance of defensive contributions.

Sunday saw Brighton demolish Aston Villa with four first half goals. Bart Verbruggen got me a welcomed clean sheet; all could have been different as Emiliano Buendia missed a great chance whilst it was goalless. Defender Maxim De Cuyper (£4.5m) operated in a more advanced role and Jack Hinshelwood (£6m) are the ‘sleepers’ when it comes to Seagulls, and another one to watch in midfield is Diego Gomez (£5m). Manchester City’s late show squeezed them past Bournemouth. I was left to rue my decision to ease my investment in City after their Community Shield loss as Rayan Cherki came off the bench to assist twice and the winner he laid on was for Gvardiol, I was fuming but this is what can happen in the first gameweek when you overthink. Gianluigi Donnarumma was Sam’s keeper so at least nothing there. My opponent still prevailed in the fixture as my captain Erling Haaland wasted his opportunities, literally every time I am up against someone who does not have Haaland and I captain the Norwegian he does not score, it is absolutely killing me as not many are brave enough not to have him.

I needed my Liverpool trio to get the job done at Newcastle to create breathing space. Sam had Florian Wirtz and I had Virgil van Dijk, Dominic Szoboszlai and Alexander Isak. After a lovely tribute for the great late Kevin Keegan, things could not have got off to a worse start as Anthony Elanga gave the Magpies the lead after just 5 minutes. Cody Gakpo levelled in the second period, only for the Reds to be caught on the break again as Joe Willock restored the home side’s lead. Andoni Iraola’s men looked destined for a defeat when new signing Vicor Munoz was fouled by Lewis in injury time. Up stepped Szoboszlai to convert an emphatic penalty under pressure to steal a point for the Merseysiders. Isak wanted to take the spot-kick however it was better he did not as it was evident he had been rattled by the boos from the Tyneside faithful. After expecting nothing Szoboszlai netted to help but I had needed much more as I entered Monday only 5 points ahead, 43-38, and Sam had Maxence Lacroix and Morgan Rogers left and I had no-one.

The local Derby between Fulham and Chelsea ended the gameweek. The Cottagers were sloppy to begin the game and gifted the Blues the lead as Cole Palmer found Joao Pedro who finished well. Alvaro Arbeloa’s men levelled through Josh King (£5.5m) who could be a decent cheap pick as he likes to shoot, and Arbeloa named a very attacking lineup in his first game. Rogers restored Chelsea’s lead and it was over for me as that wiped my small lead out. It ended 3-2 as in the second half, Palmer scored from a pass by Pedro on the break and then Gonzalo Garcia pulled a goal back. That Chelsea front three may all be worth having, the only thing that may deter some early on is the fact that they play Arsenal in gameweek 3.

A defeat for me then as Sam won 52-43, my very first draft would have won this but sucj is ‘FPL life’.  In my disappointment I made my free transfer on Monday night, I will not reveal who it is until next week’s edition though. Sometimes I need to stick with my initial thoughts and not procrastinate.

@DubulDee