The Fantasy Premier League season begins on Friday 21 August so, to help managers as you tinker with your teams before the deadline, we’ve gone through all 20 teams and analysed some of their assets.

Our four experts – Pras, FPL Heisenberg, Gianni Buttice and Holly Shand – have each chosen:

A talisman – each team’s key player and one to own, if you can afford the price.

A differential pick – a low-owned player who could end up being an FPL star.

A player to avoid – an asset unlikely to justify their price tag or be productive enough to win your league.

Talisman: Gabriel (£8m, defender)

Pras: The Brazil centre-back is easily the standout pick for the champions.

He finished as the top-scoring defender last season (209 points) and remains the most reliable, albeit expensive, way into the strong Arsenal‘s defence.

Differential: Ben White (£5.5m, defender)

Pras: The England right-back offers attacking threat and a realistic path to regular minutes while Jurrien Timber remains out.

White might not be a season-keeper but is a strong pick to start off with.

Player to avoid: Christos Tzolis (£6.5m, midfielder)

Pras: The new signing has talent and has been involved in quite a few pre-season goals, but manager Mikel Arteta’s rotation among the wide left attackers makes consistent starts far from guaranteed for the Greece international. Plus, they seem to be in the market for another left winger.

Talisman: Ollie Watkins (£8m, forward)

Holly: Watkins has seen a £1m price drop going into this campaign and will likely be Aston Villa‘s main man following the departure of Morgan Rogers to Chelsea in the transfer window.

He remains incredibly consistent, scoring on average 16 goals in his past four seasons at the club and he’s also potentially a penalty taker now Youri Tielemans has gone to Manchester United.

Differential: Matty Cash (£4.5m, defender)

Holly: Villa’s defence remains a consistent one for investment, with nine clean sheets last campaign. Cash sits in around 8% of sides, and is first choice as right-back.

He produced six goal involvements last season, three goals and three assists. He had 30 shots on goal and made 30 key passes, highlighting his routes to points.

Player to avoid: Alejandro Garnacho (£6m, midfielder)

Holly: Former Manchester United man Alejandro Garnacho may be well fancied after arriving at Villa on loan from Chelsea this summer, but Emi Buendia may be hard to displace in midfield.

Garnacho comes in kindly priced, but played just 1,261 minutes last season, providing one goal and four assists. There are more consistent options at this price point.

Talisman: Marcus Tavernier (£6m, midfielder)

Gianni: Since Antoine Semenyo left Bournemouth, you could argue they have no clear standout individual, and some would say that’s a strength of the team – the ability of the collective is all important.

But Tavernier is their chief creator and responsible for a lot of their set-pieces.

With 11 attacking returns last season he’s likely to be their talisman once again. Justin Kluivert (£6m) is set to be Bournemouth‘s penalty taker but, when the Dutchman is not on the pitch, expect Tavernier to step up.

Differential: Adrien Truffert (£5.5m, defender)

Gianni: At only 5% owned, left-back Truffert, who scored the second-most FPL points for the Cherries last season (165), may also be their best differential.

The Frenchman ghosts into dangerous advanced positions and carries open-play goal and assist threat as well as being good for defensive contributions and bonus points.

He is an all action hero.

Player to avoid: Evanilson (£6m, forward)

Gianni: There are a plethora of £6m forwards in FPL this year and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Igor Jesus and Brian Brobbey are just three that standout as better picks than Evanilson, who only scored six goals in his 32 league games last season.

Talisman: Igor Thiago (£8m, forward)

Heisenberg: Thiago is the clear talisman for Brentford after a sensational goal-scoring season, netting 22 league goals. The Brazilian finished the campaign with 181 FPL points, and his £8m starting price reflects just how much Brentford will rely on him again this season.

The concern is whether he can justify such a significant price rise, but the upside is obvious.

Thiago has the profile of a forward who can deliver in bursts, particularly against weaker opposition, and Brentford are likely to continue looking for him regularly inside the penalty area.

Differential: Dango Ouattara (£6.5m, midfielder)

Heisenberg: Ouattara is my favourite Brentford differential. He showed plenty of attacking promise last season, averaging more than five FPL points per start and producing four double-figure hauls.

The big appeal is the combination of price and attacking potential. At £6.5m, he does not need to become a premium-level scorer to represent excellent value, and his low ownership means you’ll get a nice rank boost if he hits the ground running.

Player to avoid: Callum Wilson (£5.5m, forward)

Heisenberg: Wilson is a former FPL favourite of mine, but I cannot see him getting many minutes for Brentford with Igor Thiago leading the line.

Even if Thiago gets injured at some point, then Brentford could use the likes of Outtara or Kevin Schade instead, meaning Wilson’s minutes would still be patchy.

Talisman: Pascal Gross (£5.5m, midfielder)

Pras: The veteran German midfielder is the safest Brighton option.

Gross is involved in all set-pieces, including penalties, and provides steady midfield returns.

And his price point makes him a great enabler too, allowing you to spend more cash elsewhere in midfield.

Differential: Luka Vuskovic (£5m, defender)

Pras: The new centre-back signing from Spurs should start regularly and offers the prospect of defensive contribution points (defcon) plus clean-sheet potential at low ownership.

Brighton managed 10 clean sheets last season, bettered by only six teams.

Player to avoid: Georginio Rutter (£5.5m, forward)

Pras: The Frenchman has been reclassified as a forward and is facing competition for minutes alongside Greek youngster Charalampos Kostoulas.

Rutter’s potential for consistent starts looks less secure and he will now earn fewer points when he scores.

Talisman: Joao Pedro (£7.5m, forward)

Holly: Cole Palmer might be Chelsea‘s most expensive FPL asset, but it is striker Joao Pedro who is the most popular pick, sitting in over half of teams going into Gameweek 1.

He produced 15 goals and nine assists last season and has had the summer off. He has made that count, with a hat-trick among his stash of pre-season goals.

Differential: Levi Colwill (£5m, defender)

Holly: Colwill seems kindly priced in the heart of Chelsea‘s defence, coming in a whole £1m cheaper than summer signing Maxence Lacroix.

He missed much of last season through injury but should be well suited to picking up defensive contribution points. A home game against promoted Hull in gameweek four shows potential.

Player to avoid: Enzo Fernandez (£7m, midfielder)

Holly: Fernandez’s World Cup run came to an ignominious end with a red card in the final, having had an impressive tournament, scoring two goals.

There are strong rumours he may leave Chelsea in the summer transfer window which provides uncertainty and he may be late to return anyway before gameweek one.

Talisman: Haji Wright (£5.5m, forward)

Gianni: The USA forward is Coventry’s main man up top and scored 17 league goals in the Championship last season.

Those on a stategy to bench boost in gamweek two will surely be interested in Wright who plays against Hull City at home. A word of warning though, he is often substituted around the 70-80 minute mark.

Talisman: Carl Rushworth (£4.5m, goalkeeper)

Gianni: At 1% owned Rushworth is worth a look if you’re going with two cheap rotating goalkeepers. He rotates really well with Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m) of Brighton.

Player to avoid: Milan van Ewijk (£4m, defender)

Gianni: The Dutch right-back is 15% owned and did catch the eye in the Championship last season with eight assists.

But there are lower-owned cheap defensive alternatives who will pick up defcon points regularly, such as club-mate Bobby Thomas (£4m).

Talisman: Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m, midfielder)

Heisenberg: Sarr was a hugely important part of Palace’s attacking game last season and he ranked highly for shots and big chances. He also has some penalty potential when Jean-Philippe Mateta is off the pitch.

At £6.5m, Sarr is potentially slightly underpriced and, if he continues to receive a large share of Palace’s shots and attacking transitions, he has the potential to be one of the standout mid-priced midfielders in FPL.

Differential: Daniel Munoz (£5.5m, defender)

Heisenberg: Munoz is arguably the most exciting Crystal Palace FPL asset because of the sheer number of routes to points. He can earn through clean sheets, defensive contributions, assists and goals, while his attacking positioning makes him much more than a conventional full-back.

Under previous manager Oliver Glasner, he was one of the most attacking defenders in the league (from open play). It’ll be interesting to see if this continues under Pierre Sage, so he’s one to monitor if you’re interested in starting the season with him in your FPL team.

Munoz has been subject of transfer rumours, but even if he switches teams in the Premier League he will remain an excellent option.

Player to avoid: Jorgen Strand Larsen (£6m, forward)

Heisenberg: Strand Larsen is a decent centre forward, but, if we assume Mateta is first choice then the Norwegian will find gametime hard to come by.

For FPL, certainty of minutes is key. If you are spending £6m on a forward, you could get the likes of Calvert-Lewin who is close to being guaranteed to play 90 minutes most weeks and on penalties.

Until the preferred number nine becomes clearer, I would rather avoid Strand Larsen and monitor the situation.

Talisman: James Tarkowski (£6m, defender)

Pras: The centre-back should continue to accumulate strong defcon numbers that netted 170 points last year as the fifth-highest scoring defender.

To a large extent Tarkowski is fixture agnostic as an FPL pick – he will accumulate points no matter the opposition so set him and forget.

Differential: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£6.5m, midfielder)

Pras: On the back of eight goals and seven assists last season, Dewsbury-Hall could play an essential role again in the Everton team.

The midfielder is on some set-pieces, which only adds to his appeal as an FPL pick.

Player to avoid: Beto (£5.5m, forward)

Pras: The striker’s minutes are shared with Thierno Barry and Everton‘s attack is unlikely to deliver enough consistent returns.

He only started 17 games lasts season, scoring nine goals, so just spend the extra £0.5m on a striker.

Talisman: Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m, forward)

Holly: Losing Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez in this transfer window leaves slim pickings in terms of a talisman at Fulham, with remaining striker Rodrigo Muniz among their most expensive assets.

New recruit Gonzalo Garcia comes in £0.5m more expensive to provide competition in the Fulham frontline, with Muniz producing one goal and one assist from 10 starts last season.

Differential: Antonee Robinson (£4.5m, defender)

Holly: Fulham‘s Robinson is an intriguing pick and seemingly good value at this price point. He had a quieter 2025-26 campaign, after registering 10 assists the previous season.

He certainly has the routes to points, with Fulham keeping nine clean sheets last season. There is also an outside shout of him being on penalties, following the departures from Craven Cottage in this window.

Player to avoid: Sander Berge (£5m, midfielder)

Holly: Berge started 34 games for Fulham last season, picking up three assists and defcon points on five occasions to finish the campaign on 91 fantasy points.

He has been repeatedly linked with a move away from Craven Cottage in this transfer window and so there is a reluctance to include him in gameweek one drafts.

Talisman: Oli McBurnie (£5.5m, forward)

Heisenberg: McBurnie is one of the most interesting £5.5m forwards in the game. His stoppage-time goal in the Championship play-off final secured Hull’s promotion, and he finished the Championship campaign with 17 goals and eight assists.

McBurnie comes in £0.5m cheaper than some popular forwards like Calvert-Lewin and Brobbey. However, I would rather spend a little more on one of those two rather than McBurnie as I will be avoiding all Hull’s assets to start the season.

Differential: Ryan Giles (£4m, defender)

Heisenberg: Giles recorded eight assists during Hull’s promotion campaign and remains capable of getting forward from left-back, however, he will potentially be competing with Matty Targett for regular starts in the team.

Another issue is Hull’s clean-sheet potential. It is slim pickings when assessing Hull’s assets, so it’s likely best to look at players from other clubs for your FPL teams at this point.

Player to avoid: Liam Millar (£5m, midfielder)

Heisenberg: I could have picked pretty much any Hull player as one to avoid, because in all honesty we should be avoiding most of their squad.

Hull are likely to face plenty of matches where their attacking opportunities are limited and they are unlikely to get many clean sheets.

If I was to choose a cheap Hull midfielder, then may as well save the £0.5m and suggest Regan Slater for £4.5m instead.

Talisman: Emersonn (£5.5m, forward)

Gianni: The Brazilian forward signed for a then-club record fee this summer from Toulouse. He will likely lead the line and could go on to become manager Gary O’Neil’s star man.

Differential: Daizen Maeda (£5.5m, midfielder)

Gianni: There have been lots of personnel changes to the Ipswich attack and wide forward Maeda, categorised as a midfielder, is a 0.4% differential to monitor after his summer signing from Celtic.

He scored 50 goals in 149 games in the Scottish Premiership and had an excellent World Cup for Japan.

Player to avoid: Chuba Akpom (£5m, forward)

Gianni: Akpom is likely to be an impact substitute.

The Arsenal graduate is a familiar name that some managers might be drawn to, having done well at Middlesborough in 2022-23, but he will struggle for minutes.

Talisman: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6m, forward)

Holly: Calvert-Lewin comes in at a tempting price point following his 14 goals and two assists last season and he is being backed by around a quarter of fantasy managers.

He managed to stay consistently fit last campaign, making 35 appearances in his debut season with the club. With penalties too, it is clear to see why he is dominating the budget forward category.

Differential: Harry Wilson (£6.5m, midfielder)

Holly: Wilson sits among some high-profile signings for the club over the summer, with the former Fulham man producing 19 goal involvements last season, 10 goals and nine assists.

If he becomes a regular in the Leeds United attack then he could be a key man for them and potentially dominating set-pieces too. His price tag, at £0.5m more than Calvert-Lewin, may be a sticking point.

Player to avoid: Jaka Bijol (£5m, defender)

Holly: Leeds kept eight clean sheets last season, which is a figure they will aim to improve on with the arrival of former Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford this summer.

There are cheaper routes into the Leeds United defence than Bijol at £5m, with Joe Rodon’s minutes looking secure for just £4.5m. He produced 20 defensive contribution points last campaign.

Talisman: Dominik Szoboszlai (£7m, midfielder)

Pras: The Hungary international is the strongest Liverpool option.

He offers consistent minutes, set-piece involvement and solid all-round output which explains why nearly half of managers already own him.

Differential: Florian Wirtz (£7.5m, midfielder)

Pras: Wirtz’s creative quality gives him a high points ceiling if the system clicks under new manager Andoni Iraola, where he will be a lot closer to the goal.

FPL managers should expect him to easily better last season’s return of five goals and four assists.

Player to avoid: Jeremy Jacquet (£5m, defender)

Pras: Returning from a long-standing injury, limited pre-season games and the recent loan signing of Ronald Araujo all point to a slow integration into the Premier League for the France Under-21 defender.

Talisman: Erling Haaland (£15.5m, striker)

Gianni: The Norwegian has a record-breaking starting price and will again be the highest-owned player in the game.

Playing 90 minutes versus Bournemouth on the opening weekend is far from guaranteed given his lack of pre-season but with Crystal Palace and Coventry fixtures following that, you are a brave manager going without the best talisman in the game.

Differential: Phil Foden (£7m, midfielder)

Gianni: Foden has had a full pre-season and looks set to start against Bournemouth but if he has a bad game the risk of being dropped is fairly high given City’s squad depth. At 7% owned he’s a fun differential that has a high ceiling.

Player to avoid: Marc Guehi (£6m, defender)

Gianni: Guehi is the fourth most popular defender in the game but not guaranteed a starting spot under Enzo Maresca who has been complimentary about Ruben Dias (£5.5m) and Josko Gvardiol (£5.5m), both also centre-backs.

Talisman: Bruno Fernandes (£12m, midfielder)

Heisenberg: Fernandes produced 235 FPL points last season, including 24 assists, and has now been given a deserved price increase to £12m. His set-piece involvement, penalties and creative responsibility give him multiple routes to huge hauls (and he’s excellent on the bonus points system too).

The opening fixtures make him particularly attractive as United face Hull and Ipswich in weeks one and two.

The price is a major drawback, but his combination of reliability, captaincy potential and fixture quality makes him an excellent pick.

Differential: Matheus Cunha (£8m, midfielder)

Heisenberg: Cunha is arguably the best differential at United. He’s currently in just 12.7% of FPL teams compared to Bryan Mbeumo’s 23.9% ownership. He finished last season strongly, scoring four goals and providing an assist in his final seven matches of the season.

Cunha has the ability to play across the frontline which makes him particularly dangerous (although there’s a chance he could share minutes with other attacking options).

Player to avoid: Benjamin Sesko (£7m, forward)

Heisenberg: Sesko is probably the hardest United player to assess.

The Slovenian has enormous potential and finished his first Premier League season with a respectable 11 goals.

However, my big concern last season was security of minutes and that remains the case, especially as United will have more fixtures this season given Champions League involvement.

The temptation is obvious given United’s opening fixtures and Sesko’s undeniable potential, but Cunha and Fernandes currently offer more established routes into the attack – at least to start the season.

Talisman: Nick Woltemade (£6m, forward)

Holly: It has been a dismal summer for Newcastle United with key player departures and a managerial change, leaving Nick Woltemade as the main target for fantasy potential.

The striker produced eight goals and four assists from 24 starts last season, and will look to stay ahead of Yoane Wissa for minutes coming into this campaign.

Differential: Malick Thiaw (£5m, defender)

Holly: Historically, the Magpies have been a sound defensive outfit. However, seven clean sheets last season was a little wide of the mark, with Thiaw their highest scoring defender.

He scored four goals in 33 appearances, while also racking up defensive contribution points on 12 occasions. He will justify his price tag if he can repeat that in this campaign.

Player to avoid: Lewis Hall (£5m, defender)

Holly: Full-back Lewis Hall produced 47 fantasy points fewer than Thiaw last season, despite creating three goal involvements from a similar number of appearances as his team-mate.

His output was less suited to the scoring matrix and he’s also been linked with a move away from St James’ Park in this window, making him an early season avoid.

Talisman: Morgan Gibbs-White (£8m, midfielder)

Pras: Gibbs-White was Forest’s key creator and goalscorer last season and should thrive under new manager Oliver Glasner in the left-sided number 10 role.

Can he replicate the 15 goals and four assists that made him the third-highest-scoring FPL midfielder in 25-26?

Differential: Neco Williams (£5m, defender)

Pras: Williams is likely to get some attacking returns from wing-back in Glasner’s formation, plus he does well for defcon and takes some set-pieces.

That all makes him excellent value in the five-at-the-back system his new manager likes to play – remember how well Daniel Munoz did under Glasner last season?

Player to avoid: Chris Wood (£6m, striker)

Pras: The New Zealand striker faces increased competition up front, especially from Brazil forward Igor Jesus (£6m) who has been on form in pre-season.

That reduces his minutes security, especially given he is 34 years old and spent a large part of last season injured.

Talisman: Enzo le Fee (£6m, midfielder)

Heisenberg: Le Fee enjoyed a decent first Premier League season, returning five goals and six assists, while also picking up points through defensive contributions.

At £6m, Le Fee offers a very appealing combination of price, minutes and multiple routes to FPL points (including penalties potentially).

Sunderland have several exciting attacking players, but Le Fee looks like the player most capable of consistently contributing across the season.

Differential: Granit Xhaka (£5.5m, midfielder)

Heisenberg: Xhaka will not score you many goals, but he is one of Sunderland‘s most reliable FPL assets. He produced one goal, six assists and 26 defensive contribution points from 32 starts last season, giving him several routes to points.

The other major attraction is Sunderland‘s opening run. They visit Ipswich in gameweek one before hosting Fulham, giving Xhaka an excellent opportunity to produce immediately.

Player to avoid: Wilson Isidor (£5.5m, forward)

Heisenberg: Isidor is a classic FPL trap at the moment. His price is appealing and he has shown that he can score goals, but Sunderland have competition for the central striker position, most notably Brian Brobbey.

Unless Isidor can force his way above Brobbey in the pecking order, he is an avoid for me. Also, there are plenty of other cheap forwards to choose from before resorting to Isidor.

Talisman: Pedro Porro (£5.5m, defender)

Gianni: The right-back is the closest player Spurs have to a clear talisman. He is their highest-owned asset and was their standout player last season.

Off the back of an excellent World Cup for Spain, he is going to be very popular heading in to gameweek one.

Both striker Dominic Solanke (£6m) and James Maddison (£6.5m) could end up offering excellent value at times this season but with their injury struggles they are a wait and see to start the season.

Differential: Mathys Tel (£6m, midfielder)

Gianni: The Frenchman is under 0.5% owned and seems to be a favourite of manager Roberto de Zerbi.

He ended last season in great form high and wide on the left and looked sharp pre-season scoring a 30-yard direct free kick against Sydney FC.

Player to avoid: Marcos Senesi (£6m, defender)

GIanni: The Argentine was one of the FPL performers of the season last time out, for Bournemouth but he is an easy avoid for the time being.

There is uncertainty over how De Zerbi will line up, and Senesi is at risk of being benched given Tottenham‘s depth at centre-back.