SPORTbible supercomputer reveals Premier League teams FPL managers should target over next five games

The Premier League is back underway for the 2026-27 campaign, and the first FPL points of the season have been scored, but which teams should you target?

After 89 days, the Premier League returned last week for the first set of matches of the 2026/27 season.

And, as is always the way in fantasy football, the opening matches produced varying results for managers playing Fantasy Premier League (FPL) this season.

After a strong start for anyone who loaded up on Arsenal defenders or took a punt on the Gunners' new signing Christos Tzolis, many of the most popular picks in FPL this season failed to produce noteworthy performances.

Of the three highest picked players in the game (Joao Pedro, Erling Haaland and Bruno Fernandes), it was only the Chelsea star that scored more than two points having picked up a goal and an assist in their 3-2 win over Fulham.

It therefore comes as no surprise that Pedro is among the most transferred-in players for Gameweek two, with 36,3545 managers bringing in the striker.

However, as mentioned in SPORTbible's guide on the biggest mistakes often made every season, it's important not to be too reactionary in FPL and instead take a wider look at the game.

With that in mind, here's a look at the upcoming fixtures for all 20 Premier League sides, showing exactly which teams and players you should, and shouldn't, be targeting with your transfers and chips.

Premier League Matchday 2

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City (28 August)

Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest (29 August)

Bournemouth vs Everton (29 August)

Coventry City vs Hull City (29 August)

Tottenham vs Newcastle United (29 August)

Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion (30 August)

Leeds United vs Brentford (30 August)

Sunderland vs Fulham (30 August)

Manchester United vs Ipswich Town (30 August)

Aston Villa vs Arsenal (31 August)

Despite their shocking display in the 2-0 loss to Hull City in their opening fixture, there can be no doubt that Manchester United hosting Ipswich Town remains the fixture to target in Gameweek two.

Fernandes (MID, 12.0m) will almost certainly be either the first or second most popular selection for captaincy this week, likely alongside the ever-popular Haaland (FWD, £15.5m), and for good reason given his performances last season.

Too many will be quick to forget how well the United captain performed last year, with many likely to sell him to buy Cole Palmer after his goal and assist in the opening week.

Outside of Fernandes, Harry Maguire (DEF, 5.0m) looks like a good pick this week given the fact that All three goals that Man United scored in their last meeting with Ipswich came from set pieces, one of which was netted by the Englishman.

In fact, four of the six goals that United scored at home to newly promoted teams last season came directly from set pieces.

Other than United's home fixture with Ipswich Town, managers will be tempted by Coventry City defenders against Hull City, with both meetings between the pair finishing goalless last season, while City travelling to Selhurst Park to face Palace likely to be a high-scoring game.

But, looking further ahead, what do the upcoming weeks look like for whole league?

READ MORE: Premier League Scout picks best FPL line-up for GW2 including the 2.7%-owned pick managers are overlooking

SPORTbible supercomputer ranks fixture difficulty of opening next five Premier League matches (Hardest to easiest)

Ranked from the hardest to easier, here is how our supercomputer has ranked the next five matches for all 20 Premier League clubs.

Sunderland: Fulham (H), Brentford (A), Arsenal (H), Manchester City (A), Brighton (H) – Opponent average rating: 94.6

Leeds: Brentford (H), Brighton (A), Newcastle (H), Crystal Palace (H), Arsenal (A) – Opponent average rating: 93.4

Tottenham: Newcastle (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Everton (H), Aston Villa (H), Manchester United (A) – Opponent average rating: 92.8

Ipswich: Manchester United (A), Liverpool (H), Crystal Palace (A), Everton (A), Fulham (H) – Opponent average rating: 92.0

Bournemouth: Everton (H), Newcastle (A), Brentford (H), Liverpool (H), Chelsea (A) – Opponent average rating: 92.0

Chelsea: Brighton (H), Arsenal (A), Hull City (H), Brentford (A), Bournemouth (H) – Opponent average rating: 91.9

Liverpool: Nottingham Forest (H), Ipswich (A), Fulham (H), Bournemouth (A), Manchester City (H) – Opponent average rating: 91.8

Brentford: Leeds (A), Sunderland (H), Bournemouth (A), Chelsea (H), Aston Villa (A) – Opponent average rating: 91.8

Arsenal: Aston Villa (A), Chelsea (H), Sunderland (A), Brighton (A), Leeds (H) – Opponent average rating: 91.5

Brighton: Chelsea (A), Leeds (H), Coventry City (A), Arsenal (H), Sunderland (A) – Opponent average rating: 91.4

Coventry City: Hull City (H), Manchester City (A), Brighton (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Newcastle (H) – Opponent average rating: 91.3

Nottingham Forest: Liverpool (A), Tottenham (H), Aston Villa (A), Coventry City (H), Crystal Palace (A) – Opponent average rating: 91.2

Hull City: Coventry City (A), Aston Villa (H), Chelsea (A), Newcastle (A), Everton (H) – Opponent average rating: 91.2

Aston Villa: Arsenal (H), Hull City (A), Nottingham Forest (H), Tottenham (A), Brentford (H) – Opponent average rating: 91.2

Crystal Palace: Manchester City (H), Fulham (A), Ipswich (H), Leeds (A), Nottingham Forest (H) – Opponent average rating: 91.1

Manchester City: Crystal Palace (A), Coventry City (H), Manchester United (A), Sunderland (H), Liverpool (A) – Opponent average rating: 91.0

Manchester United: Ipswich (H), Everton (A), Manchester City (H), Fulham (A), Tottenham (H) – Opponent average rating: 90.9

Fulham: Sunderland (A), Crystal Palace (H), Liverpool (A), Manchester United (H), Ipswich (A) – Opponent average rating: 90.7

Everton: Bournemouth (A), Manchester United (H), Tottenham (A), Ipswich (H), Hull City (A) – Opponent average rating: 89.2

Newcastle: Tottenham (A), Bournemouth (H), Leeds (A), Hull City (H), Coventry City (A) – Opponent average rating: 88.4

Chelsea players were the standout picks in FPL Gameweek One. (Image: Getty Images)

Teams to target for FPL in the next five matches

That's a lot of data to consider, so what does it actually mean for FPL and which teams and players are worth targeting for the upcoming Gameweeks?

Despite placing right in the middle of the supercomputer's rankings, Nottingham Forest actually appear to be one of the best teams for attacking fixture in the near future.

Although they face Liverpool, Spurs and Villa in their next three, all of those teams have proved that they are far from resolute at the back.

This brings players like Morgan Gibbs-White (MID, 8.0m), Igor Jesus (FWD, 6.0m) and Neco Williams (DEF, 5.0m) into contention for good picks in the near future, particularly as they continue to adjust to Oliver Glasner's system.

Liverpool also rank highly for attacking fixtures, good news for the 43.2% of managers who own Dominik Szoboszlai (MID, 7.0m) or Alexander Isak (FWD, 9.0m), with their next three against Forest, Ipswich and Fulham all likely to bring good attacking returns.

On the other side of the pitch, Manchester City rank first for defensive fixture difficulty, with home matches against Coventry and Sunderland standing out.

Should he keep his place, Nico O'Reilly (DEF, 6.5m) could be dynamite at City, with the England international given a role in midfield during the opening fixture against Bournemouth.

Even after their favourable fixture against Hull City, Manchester United still standout as a great picks for clean sheets in the next five, with Senne Lammens (GK, 5.0m) and Maguire (DEF, 5.0m) the best picks from Michael Carrick's backline.