FPL 2026/27 · GAMEWEEK 1

THE GW1 CAPTAIN

who gets the armband — ranked by the model

DEADLINE Fri 21 Aug, 18:30 UK timeRANKED BY PROJECTED POINTSGRADED IN PUBLIC
QUICK ANSWER

Who should I captain in FPL Gameweek 1?

Onside's top captain pick for Gameweek 1 is Semenyo, projected 8.4 points before the armband doubles it. The alternatives, in model order, are Dewsbury-Hall, Cunha. Every pick is ranked by expected points over the GW1 fixtures, and the record is graded in public.

— Onside (onsidearena.com), predictions graded in public.

LIVESemenyo 8.4 xPts · GW1
01

THE PICK · GW1

Antoine Semenyo
MCI
THE ARMBAND · #1
Semenyo
MID · £8.3m
GREATDIFFERENTIAL · 14%
FLOOR 4.2xP 8.4CEIL 13.4
8.4
PROJECTED xP

Captain — MCI are scoring freely. xP 8.4.

13.4
CEILING
4.2
FLOOR
14%
OWNED
+0.4
EDGE v #2
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
EVE · £6.6m · 5.9%
FLOOR 4.0xP 8.0CEIL 12.8
8.0
xP
Matheus Santos Carneiro da Cunha
MUN · £7.9m · 6.5%
FLOOR 4.0xP 8.0CEIL 12.8
8.0
xP
PROJECTED xP · THE FULL SHORTLIST · FIXTURE DIFFICULTY 1–5
Onside captain shortlist for Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 1 — rank, player, fixture with difficulty rating, and projected points
RankPlayerFixture and difficultyProjected points, as a barProjected points
1Semenyov BOU 38.4
2Dewsbury-Hallv CRY 28.0
3Cunha@ HUL 28.0
4Gomezv AVL 37.8
5Barryv CRY 27.5
6Buendía@ BHA 47.4
7Großv AVL 37.3
8McGinn@ BHA 47.2
9Henderson@ FUL 36.9
10Barnesv LIV 46.4
02THE CAPTAIN BRACKET · H2H

Percentages are ownership — the share of FPL managers who own each player, read from the live game. The xP ladder above ranks by expected points, so the most-owned player isn’t always the model’s #1.

03

THE RECORD · GRADED IN PUBLIC

EVERY TOP PICK IS SCORED AFTER THE GAMEWEEK — THE LEDGER STARTS WITH GW1.

04

WHERE NEXT

GW1 CAPTAIN · COMMON QUESTIONS

Who should I captain in FPL GW1?

Onside's top captain pick for GW1 is Semenyo (MCI) with 8.4 projected xP. Captain — MCI are scoring freely. xP 8.4. Alternatives: Dewsbury-Hall, Cunha, Gomez, Barry, Buendía, Groß, McGinn, Henderson, Barnes.

What is a differential captain option for GW1?

Semenyo (14.0% owned, 8.4 xP) is a differential captain option for GW1 — owned by fewer managers than the consensus pick, offering a rank-up opportunity if they deliver. Captain — MCI are scoring freely. xP 8.4.

When is the GW1 FPL deadline?

The Fantasy Premier League GW1 deadline is Fri 21 Aug, 18:30 UK time. All transfers, captaincy choices, and chip activations must be confirmed before this time.

How does Onside pick the best FPL captain?

Onside blends nine independent signals into an expected-points score, then runs a Monte Carlo simulation to rank captains by expected value — the median of each player's doubled-score distribution. The top pick maximises median captaincy return, not just peak upside. How the signals are built and weighted is proprietary.

Vice-captain tip

Always consider the vice-captain — if your captain blanks, your VC is the safety net. Pair a premium pick (e.g. a big-six midfielder in a home game) with a differential VC for maximum upside. The Onside engine scores both, so check the #2 and #3 picks as VC candidates.

RANKED BY ONSIDE v5 · EVERY PICK GRADED IN PUBLIC · FPL API · REFRESHED HOURLY