FPL Template Team 2026/27: A Projection-Led £98m GW1 Draft

Data current as of: 25 July 2026. Prices and ownership are live 2026/27 FPL data. Coverage: FPL Pilot projections cover Gameweeks 1 to 5. This template was built before Gameweek 1, when no 2026/27 matches had been played, so minutes and role assumptions carried preseason uncertainty that live GW1 data has since started to resolve.

The live game changes the template question. It is no longer about carrying last season’s prices into a new campaign. There are 558 players to choose from, Haaland costs £15.5m, and early managers have already formed a clear ownership core.

Ownership is useful evidence, but it is not a squad picker. A template full of popular £4.0m fillers can fit the rules without being strong. The better starting point combines players the market trusts with starters whose opening five fixtures project well, then keeps enough money back for the preseason information still to come.

The £98.0m opening draft

Draft cost

£98.0m

Fifteen projected starters, no more than two from one club, with £2.0m left for preseason changes.

Position	Players	Cost
Goalkeepers	Verbruggen, Dubravka	£8.5m
Defenders	N.Williams, Shaw, Kayode, Hume, Van Hecke	£23.5m
Midfielders	Szoboszlai, B.Fernandes, Ndiaye, Garner, Xhaka	£36.5m
Forwards	Haaland, Thiago, Calvert-Lewin	£29.5m
Total	15 players	£98.0m

This is a draft, not a team to copy on 25 July. Its job is to establish the price structure and expose the decisions that matter before the Gameweek 1 deadline on 21 August. The spare £2.0m can turn a £4.5m defender into a premium, move a £6.0m midfielder into the £7.5m tier, or absorb a preseason injury without rebuilding the whole squad.

Goalkeepers: pay £4.5m for the starter

Verbruggen is the cleanest balance of price and projected return. He costs £4.5m, sits in 15.9% of squads and projects 15.3 points across the first five gameweeks. That is effectively level with Pickford’s 15.4 at £5.5m.

Dubravka takes the second slot at £4.0m. He projects 14.2 points across five, but the £0.5m saving is the reason he is here. If his starting place looks uncertain in the final preseason week, moving to Leno or Petrović at £4.5m still keeps the draft under £100m.

Defence: five starters before one premium

The draft spreads £23.5m across five defenders rather than paying £8.0m for Gabriel immediately. That buys flexibility and avoids relying on non-playing £4.0m picks.

Player	Club	Price	GW1-5 projection
N.Williams	NFO	£5.0m	16.1
Shaw	MUN	£4.5m	15.9
Kayode	BRE	£4.5m	15.8
Van Hecke	TOT	£5.0m	15.5
Hume	SUN	£4.5m	15.3

N.Williams leads the five-week defensive projections among players in this price range. Shaw and Kayode sit only 0.2 and 0.3 points behind despite costing £4.5m. The gap from this group to the premium defenders is small enough that the extra money is more useful in midfield and attack for now.

Guéhi is the premium alternative. He is already in 25.5% of squads, costs £6.0m and has the best Gameweek 1 projection among defenders at 4.0 points. The draft can reach him in one move once Manchester City’s preseason defensive shape is clearer.

Midfield: the market and the projections agree on two

Szoboszlai and B.Fernandes are the strongest points of agreement. They are the two highest projected midfielders over the opening five and already sit in 39.1% and 47.3% of squads. Paying £19.0m for both gives the draft one premium and one mid-price anchor without needing a second £9.5m midfielder.

Ndiaye and Garner both project 15.7 points at £6.0m. Carrying two Everton midfielders is not a season-long commitment; it is a way to buy the opening run cheaply. Rogers at £7.5m is the higher-owned alternative, while Xhaka holds the fifth slot at £5.5m and can become the first upgrade if a better preseason role emerges elsewhere. For the full picture of what each midfield price band returned, see the best FPL midfielders by price tier.

Forwards: Haaland plus the projected leader

Haaland is the template. He costs £15.5m and is already in 72.9% of squads. His 3.8-point Gameweek 1 projection is the best among forwards, so the armband case protects the premium even though Thiago edges him 18.1 to 17.4 across five gameweeks.

Thiago is the useful counterweight. At £8.0m he leads every forward over the opening five without forcing the rest of the squad into minimum-price slots. Calvert-Lewin completes the line at £6.0m with a 15.8-point five-week projection.

João Pedro is the ownership alternative: 46.1% of managers have selected him at £7.5m. His current five-week projection is 14.2, below both Thiago and Calvert-Lewin. That does not make the crowd wrong, but it does make the £0.5m saving less automatic than the ownership figure suggests.

For how these three compare on played minutes and expected goals, see which FPL forwards are worth their price in 2026/27.

What to change before the deadline

The draft should move when the evidence moves. Four checks matter:

1. Confirm Dubravka starts. If not, spend £0.5m on a secure second goalkeeper.
2. Watch the £4.5m defenders for preseason minutes. One lost place can turn a deep defence into a false economy.
3. Recheck the two Everton midfielders. A changed role for either is a reason to diversify, not a reason to defend the draft.
4. Keep Haaland unless availability changes. At 72.9% ownership, fading him is both a squad decision and a captaincy bet.

Start with the GW1 squad builder, swap the uncertain slots, and set the XI and captain from the team you would actually enter. The builder keeps the squad inside FPL’s £100m, position and three-per-club rules while you make it yours.