FPL experts debate Haaland price, Chelsea options and early-season picks with three days to go
With three days remaining before the start of the Fantasy Premier League season, BBC Sport's FPL panel — Pras, Holly Shand, Gianni Buttice and FPL Heisenberg — set out five key selection questions in an article published on 18 August 2026. The piece also reminded managers they can join the BBC Sport League using the code bbcfpl before Friday's 18:30 BST deadline.
The debate opens with Manchester City's Erling Haaland, last season's top FPL scorer on 239 points who finished four points ahead of Bruno Fernandes and 33 short of his 2022-23 total; his price has risen from £14m to £15.5m, making him the most expensive FPL player ever. The experts weighed whether that cost is justified, with concerns raised about match fitness after Haaland played only 53 minutes in Manchester City's 3-0 Community Shield defeat by Arsenal and the possible effects of a truncated pre-season following a busy World Cup.
On Haaland's value the panel split on emphasis: Holly said he carries the potential to justify the price but warned the World Cup could affect his start because he has not had his usual full pre-season. Pras argued that at a record £15.5m Haaland still looks essential because captaincy returns are crucial early on and without him managers risk falling behind the template, while noting the World Cup hangover and the Community Shield minutes as caveats. Gianni highlighted the lack of other premium forwards and the captaincy advantage Haaland provides, and Heisenberg recommended starting with Haaland and selling later if his form or fixtures require it.
The experts identified several early-differential options beyond Fernandes, who is in nearly 50% of teams. Gianni favoured Bryan Mbeumo (£8m) alongside Fernandes to target Hull and Ipswich, citing a full pre-season and a likely central striking role, and suggested Luke Shaw (£4.5m) as a budget defensive route. Pras pointed to Hull away and Ipswich at home as clean-sheet opportunities and named Harry Maguire (£5m), Shaw and Senne Lammens (£5m) as viable picks, while Holly advocated for doubling or tripling up on players facing promoted sides and backed Lammens after his eight clean sheets last season. Heisenberg noted that Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha both had 14 attacking returns last season and slightly preferred Cunha for positional versatility, and suggested Maguire may be worth an extra £0.5m over Shaw for goal threat.
On Chelsea's new arrivals and how Xabi Alonso will use Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers, the panel offered differing starting strategies. Holly expects a 3-4-3 with Palmer and Rogers occupying the middle and Joao Pedro (£7.5m) leading the line, while flagging Palmer's need for fitness and Rogers's recent transfer as factors. Heisenberg described Palmer as arguably expensive at £9.5m but valued Rogers for the £2m saving and cited Alonso's comments about getting the best from both players. Pras recommended monitoring their pre-season minutes — Palmer missed a friendly and Rogers is easing back after England duty — and preferred starting with Joao Pedro; Gianni pointed out Alonso has used both a back four and back five in pre-season and rated Joao Pedro as the best value Chelsea attacker.
The panel also discussed the World Cup's impact on early-season selections and the effect of limited pre-season work for players involved deep in the tournament. Heisenberg said the Premier League's decision to push the season back to 21 August gives players more than a month after the World Cup final, which should help recovery, while Holly warned that players from clubs with participants who reached the latter stages may be risky early on. Pras recommended using the final pre-season friendlies as a checkpoint — anyone who logged 50 minutes or more there should be fine for gameweek one — and identified squad members from semi-finalist nations (Spain, France, England, Argentina) as higher-risk cases. Gianni said he was cautious about selecting players who lacked a full pre-season and mentioned Rayan Cherki (£7.5m) and Phil Foden (£7m) as examples he is weighing.
Affordable defensive and goalkeeping options were another focal point given Arsenal's defensive record last season. The Gunners kept 19 clean sheets in 38 games but will begin the campaign without William Saliba and Jurrien Timber. Gianni referenced Arsenal's expected goals conceded (xGC) of 27.45 last season versus Liverpool's 47.45 and said he is likely to double up on Arsenal defenders, naming Riccardo Calafiori and Christhian Mosquera at £5.5m. Heisenberg warned Saliba's absence could increase Arsenal's goals conceded, called Gabriel an attacking standout with three goals and five assists last season alongside 18 clean sheets, and suggested David Raya (£6m) and Mosquera (£5.5m) as affordable entries into the Arsenal defensive unit; Holly added that Raya has secured the Golden Glove for three consecutive seasons but cautioned Saliba's absence may have an impact.
Pras emphasised monitoring minutes and fitness across squads while finalising teams, noting specific checks such as Timber's fitness affecting Ben White's role and Piero Hincapie's (£5.5m) minutes influencing Calafiori's place. He recommended watching the last pre-season fixtures and the opening three gameweeks to gather evidence on players returning from international duty before making longer-term transfers.
Practical next steps for managers are clear: finalise squads and join the BBC Sport League with code bbcfpl before the Friday 18:30 BST deadline, bearing in mind that Haaland is expected to start Manchester City's opening game against Bournemouth and that the first few gameweeks provide opportunities to assess players returning from the World Cup.
