The 2026/27 season starts tomorrow. Rather than predicting the table on instinct, we did something different: we counted how many highly rated players each club has according to our model, and set that against what happened over the summer.
The results tell several stories, one of them genuinely surprising.
How we counted
We took every available player at each club and checked how many rate 85 or higher — the level at which a player actually changes outcomes. It is a more robust measure than an average, because it does not depend on how large a squad the club registered.
One caveat up front: this is not a league table prediction. Our model rates a player’s usefulness in Fantasy Premier League — minutes, attacking and defensive output, fixtures. A club can win the league without fantasy stars, and the reverse is equally true. This is a snapshot of squad strength, not a forecast.
Out in front: City and Liverpool
Both clubs have five players rated 85+ and five in our Top 30 — the most in the league.
For Manchester City that means Antoine Semenyo (90, one of only two Strong Buys in the game), Erling Haaland (89), Nico O’Reilly (88), Elliot Anderson (88) and Marc Guéhi (88). The summer’s spending shows up plainly in the numbers.
Liverpool match them for depth: Dominik Szoboszlai (89), Virgil van Dijk (88), Cody Gakpo (86), Florian Wirtz (85) and Ryan Gravenberch (85).
The surprise: Leeds alongside the elite
This is the most interesting number in the whole exercise. Leeds have three players in our Top 30 — exactly as many as Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.
- Harry Wilson (£6.5m) — rated 89, owned by just 7%. The same rating as Haaland, nine million cheaper.
- Anton Stach (£6.0m) — 86 at 1% ownership.
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m) — 86, the cheapest forward of that class in the game.
All three together cost £19.0m. Haaland alone costs £15.5m. If you are looking for a place where the market has not caught up with quality, this is it.
Newcastle: the end of an era
The other side of the coin is a club with zero players rated 85+ and none in the Top 30.
We followed that unravelling all summer. Newcastle lost Bruno Guimarães to Arsenal for £75m, Tonali to Tottenham and Gordon to Barcelona before that, and finally Eddie Howe walked away, replaced by Matthias Jaissle.
A club that lifted the Carabao Cup not long ago starts the season without its spine and without the manager who built it. The numbers merely confirm it.
Fulham and the promoted three: empty at the bottom
Fulham are the only established club without a single player rated 80+. One above 75 is not enough to build a fantasy squad around.
Lower still sit Ipswich, Coventry and Hull. None of them has a player rated 75, and their squad averages are 21.9, 20.2 and 19.0 respectively — against roughly 60 at the top. We covered this in a separate piece on promoted sides: the model rewards proven Premier League minutes, which newly promoted clubs by definition lack.
That has a practical consequence for tomorrow: defenders and goalkeepers facing those three are a commodity worth hunting all season.
Arsenal: champions with a hole at the back
The title holders have three players rated 85+ — Declan Rice (87), Bruno Guimarães (86, now in Arsenal colours) and Gabriel (85).
The problem lies elsewhere: two centre-backs are injured with no return date, which explains the sudden £50m move for Ezri Konsa two days before kick-off.
Mid-table: hidden value at Everton and Chelsea
Everton have three players in the Top 30 — Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (87 at 3.5% ownership), James Tarkowski (85) and Iliman Ndiaye (85). The least obvious trio in the whole list.
Chelsea under Xabi Alonso start with Enzo Fernández (88 at 5% ownership), João Pedro (87) and Morgan Rogers (87), signed in the summer for a British record £117m.
The full table: players rated 85+
| Club | 85+ | 80+ | 75+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| Liverpool | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Chelsea | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Leeds | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| Arsenal | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Manchester United | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Everton | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Tottenham | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Brentford | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Nottingham Forest | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Sunderland | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Aston Villa | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Crystal Palace | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Bournemouth | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Newcastle | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Brighton | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Fulham | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ipswich | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Coventry | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hull | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What it means for tomorrow
Three practical conclusions before the 18:30 deadline:
1. Do not pay for the badge. Leeds have as many Top 30 players as Arsenal at a fraction of the price. Wilson at £6.5m and rated 89 is the best value in the game.
2. Newcastle need patience. Without Guimarães, Tonali and Gordon, and with a new manager, this side is still finding its shape. Our fixture analysis showed their opening run is a difficult one anyway.
3. Hunt the fixtures against promoted sides. Three squads averaging under 22 rating points are three clean sheet opportunities in every round you face them.
Full ratings for every player are in the FPL AI Player Rankings, and the method behind them is set out in our methodology.
Compiled from data read on 20 August 2026, before the season’s opening round. The 0–100 ratings come from our AI model, which analyses data from the official Fantasy Premier League API. The model rates a player’s usefulness in the fantasy game rather than a club’s league strength — this is not a table prediction. Ratings shift during the season with form and fixtures. Fantasy PL Edge is an independent site, not affiliated with the Premier League or the official Fantasy Premier League game.