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In this piece I am basically going to look at every viable forward in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) for the 26/27 season.
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Right, let’s get into it1
Much like a medieval monastery, this category has been invaded by Vikings.
I am not sure what else to say about Haaland that you don’t already know. He is the best striker in the league and has won the golden boot 3 times in the last 4 seasons. He plays for statistically the best attacking team in the league and he loves to score in the early months.
So, can you afford him at 15.5? Simply, yes. You can fit him and Bruno or him and Gab or just him in a squad with ease. Really you should be asking yourself, how will you make up the points if you don’t have him? It’s a really tough ask when you consider he is always a captaincy option.
The only other guy in the premium category is Alexander Isak. I LOVE Isak. I think he’s incredible and the only other guy on this list besides Haaland that could consistently hit a 20 goal season every year he plays. He actually hit 21 goals in 27 starts in 23/24 and 23 goals in 34 starts in 24/25.
I am not sure there will ever be a better moment to own Isak than right now – he’s fit, without Europe for a few weeks, has good fixtures and he has no real competition with Ekitike out. I think there is a real possibility that we are all going to be talking about how stupid we were to not own him but I just can’t find the money to get there.
At 8.0, my favourite option is Ollie Watkins. FPL managers like to talk up players with many routes to points which is probably why we do such a bad job in evaluating this guy. He doesn’t have pens, he just has open play threat. And for the last 4 years he has put up at least 15xG and at least 15 goals for a minimum of 167 points.
He almost certainly will not match his 228 point performance from 23/24 which is an outlier because he got about 15 FPL assists. However, he is a very good pick you can play every week – he even double digit hauled 4 times against top opposition last year.
Thiago at Brentford is the other guy here. It’s hopefully obvious to you but he is on pens. He scored 8 of them last season which is part of the reason why he amassed 20.6 xG and 22 goals. Don’t expect that kind of form to continue but, based on his one season of PL football, he is capable of hitting 14-16 goals and having a good season. He also has a pleasant opening four fixtures. I just don’t have as much trust in him as Watkins but I do think he is good.
Let’s face it, you already know who the best forward at 7.5 is don’t you? It’’s about a 50% chance he’s already in your team. It’s Joao Pedro. I have some thoughts about JP that some people do not like (he’s not as good as some people think and he only scores against bad teams). However, I will not deny that I think he could offer great value at this price point and he is capable of bagging 15 goals in a season.
The best thing about him is probably no European football but that’s not a factor until a later in the season and I don’t love his opening three fixtures. So, I plan to swerve him and free hit or wildcard him in gameweek 4. But, I totally understand why others are going there.
Gyokeres and Havertz are basically not options because one is likely to cannibalise the minutes of the other. If one of them gets injured though, you can rush to grab the other one with my blessing.
I know people like to say “ooh Gyokeres is shit” or “ooh, Havertz is so rubbish that’s why Chelsea sold him” but those people are wrong. Gyok scored 14 goals in 26 starts for Arsenal last year – those are great numbers. Havertz barely played last year but the year before he played 21 times and got 9 goals.
As covered above, Ekitike is injured but if he is fit and Isak isn’t later in the year then he will be a great pick.
Best is a bit of a stretch here. Neither Sesko or Marmoush are nailed, though I suppose Sesko’s expected mins are much better. He is only really competing with OOP Mbeumo, though I suppose Rashford could also do a job if they need him. Sadly Sesk doesn’t seem to be fit to start the season.
Marmoush is just a guy to get if Haaland is nailed.
It’s basically just Mateta chilling here by himself. I expect he and Strand Larsen (who is 6.0) will compete for mins or do the ol’ 70/20 dance every week and that will only get worse with Europe. So, again, I think you can only really go there if one or the other is injured.
Jackson is also 6.5 but it looks again like Chelsea are trying to ship him because they’re stupid. I know he is frustrating to watch because he is a bit of poor finisher but his ability to get in the right spaces is amazing which is why his xG is so good. So, if he makes a move somewhere and looks like he will play good mins then he could be a really good option. Until then, he is an awful pick.
At 6.0 we have Jesus, Jesus and 12 of their disciples.
Gabriel Jesus hasn’t been an FPL option for a couple of years now. He is never fit and he is basically third choice striker and third choice winger for Arsenal when he is fit. IGNORE.
Igor Jesus at Forest is more appealing because I think he is the first choice striker for them. His numbers aren’t incredible – 6 goals, 6 assists in 28 starts – but he’s alright. I don’t think Wood will play much so he isn’t an option.
Jesus’ done (what’s the plural of Jesus? Jesi?). Now we have a load of guys that are all question marks.
At Bournemouth I presume Evanilson is nailed for the time being but I can only imagine they bought Rodriguez to replace him because Evanilson has been a bit disappointing these past two years. So, I think I would just avoid this mess until I know more.
At Fulham, I think the story is the reverse and the new guy Garcia will immediately be the starter over the 5.5 Muniz. It’s exciting that Fulham is turning into Real Madrid B but this is probably not going to be like your most recent FM save. He’s probably going to be just okay and that’s why he has joined Fulham. He’s put up pretty weak shot numbers throughout his career so he will probably need to improve on that.
At Newcastle, who the fuck knows what is going on. Woltemade, Wissa and Osula are all 6.0. Osula was favoured towards the end of last season but they spent big money on Wissa and Woltemade at the start of last year. And, they have a new coach. Just avoid them all for a few weeks.
Solanke was in a lot of teams when the game launched but obviously that has changed now he looks to be injured again. That makes Richarlison a good short-term pick but nothing more.
Let’s move on to the more popular picks.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is FPL managers favourite pick at this bracket and I think they’re right. He could easily shit the bed again, just like he did a few years ago. But, in this Leeds squad he gets high volume which hides his shit finishing ability and pens. He’s good value at 6.0.
I also like Brobbey (mandatory: Brobbey, Brobbey, Brobbey). He is so fun to watch when he dominates a defence with his strength. However, I am down on Sunderland this year because they overperformed their underlyings by such a ridiculous amount and they have European football. Still, I wouldn’t say your crazy to pick Brobbey over DCL or just to have both – they are easily the best picks down here.
Finally, to finish off…
Welbeck is sadly now with Chelsea and probably just a bench option. And I covered Strand Larsen above with Mateta but basically don’t buy him.
With Welbeck going I think Georgino will start the season up front for Brighton. They don’t really have anyone that trustworthy I guess which is why they played the old man up their last season.
I think McBurnie is actually far more interesting because he is just completely nailed. Not good and plays for a bad team but nailed. I think that is more than we can say for fellow promoted side Coventry – Wright should be the starter but I don’t think he’s played a pre-season game yet. At Ipswich, I assume Emersonn is nailed as the starter but he is new to the club so maybe there are some questions there.
And then we have another rotation/starter conundrum in Beto and Barry. Both are fine but probably neither are good whilst the other one is fit. It’s like Harry Potter guys, “neither can live while the other survives.” Except, like Harry Potter, they both very clearly can live because both Harry and Voldie are alive when we find out about the damn thing.
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