Nine clubs, nine new managers
Nine of the twenty Premier League clubs start 2026/27 under a manager appointed over the summer — a record, by the Premier League’s own count. Enzo Maresca replaced Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Andoni Iraola left Bournemouth for Liverpool, and Marco Rose took his place at Bournemouth. Xabi Alonso took over at Chelsea. Oliver Glasner left Crystal Palace for Nottingham Forest, and Pierre Sage replaced him at Palace. Álvaro Arbeloa replaced Marco Silva at Fulham, Gary O’Neil replaced Kieran McKenna at Ipswich, and Matthias Jaissle replaced Eddie Howe at Newcastle in August, days before the season.
Two more start their first full season in charge: Michael Carrick, interim at Manchester United from January 2026 and now permanent, and Roberto De Zerbi at Tottenham. The table on this page shows where each of the nine stands, read from the live game.
Who has started best
After Gameweek 5 the gap between the nine is already wide. Maresca’s Manchester City have won all five and top the table. Iraola’s Liverpool are unbeaten with three clean sheets. Jaissle’s Newcastle and O’Neil’s Ipswich sit mid-table, and Alonso’s Chelsea have been the most open side in the division, scoring ten and conceding twelve.
At the other end, Glasner’s Forest have scored four in five, Sage’s Palace have conceded eleven, Rose’s Bournemouth are without a win and Arbeloa’s Fulham are nineteenth. Five games is a small sample — but for FPL it is enough to say which new systems are producing points and which are not yet.
The FPL pick under each new manager
Manchester City: Erling Haaland, first on penalties, and Joško Gvardiol. Liverpool: the defence — Virgil van Dijk and the £5.0m Jeremy Jacquet — with Alexander Isak for goals. Chelsea: the attack (João Pedro, Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer), not the defence. Newcastle: Lewis Hall on the set pieces and Harvey Barnes.
Forest: Morgan Gibbs-White, on penalties and free kicks. Bournemouth: Marcus Tavernier, with Evanilson while Alex Scott is injured. Palace: Tyrick Mitchell at £4.5m. Fulham: Josh King and Timothy Castagne for the kindest run of fixtures in the league. Ipswich: Leif Davis, a £4.0m defender with two goals and two assists. Each club guide linked from the table has the full case, with live prices and flags.
How to treat a manager change in FPL
A new manager changes three things that matter for FPL: who starts, who takes the set pieces, and how many chances the side gives away. All three show up in the first month of results faster than in any pre-season preview, which is why this page now reads the table rather than predicting it.
The practical rule: buy the roles, not the reputations. A player who starts every game and takes the penalties under a new manager is a safer pick than a star whose place in the new system is still unclear. The spotlight cards on each club guide show who has actually been playing.