Elevens Premier League Round 1: Best Picks & Tips

Elevens Premier League round 1 preview: best buys, hidden gems and who to avoid

Elevens Premier League 2026/2027 opens on Friday night, and it is the rare fantasy game where you can simply pick the fifteen best footballers in the league. There is no budget, no club limit and no captain. That sounds easy. It is not — it means every manager can own Bruno Fernandes and Erling Haaland, so round 1 is decided by the eight or nine squad slots after the obvious two.

Our model has Bruno Fernandes as the highest-scoring player in the game for round 1 on 115.8 xP. Below we go through the whole squad: who to build around, the best pick in each position, the low-profile names that will quietly out-score household ones, and the players whose opening fixture makes them a bad start. Every number comes from the same model run — you can check the full table on our Elevens player picks page.

How Elevens scoring should change your picks

This matters before any player names, because Elevens does not score like the FPL-family games. A goal is worth +25 to every position, an assist +12, and a clean sheet +25 to goalkeepers and defenders. But the bulk of a typical score comes from the granular action list: shot on target +6, key pass +6, save +6, tackle +4, and +2 each for a shot, clearance, aerial duel won, ground duel won, accurate cross and successful dribble, plus +1 for every five accurate passes. A team win is +15. There are no appearance points.

Three consequences worth building a squad around:

• Minutes are king. With no appearance points but points for almost every action, a 90-minute player beats a 60-minute player of similar quality by a wide margin.
• Defenders and deep midfielders score without attacking returns. Tackles, clearances, aerials and passing volume add up fast. That is why our top 25 for round 1 is full of centre-backs.
• A busy goalkeeper is nearly as good as a clean-sheet goalkeeper. At +6 a save, a keeper facing five shots earns most of a clean sheet's value anyway.

New to expected points? Our guide on what expected points means in fantasy football explains how the projection is built.

Round 1 fixtures: where the points are

Round 1 runs from Friday night through to Monday. Arsenal open it at home against promoted Coventry City and it is the standout fixture of the weekend by a clear margin — an 81% win probability and 2.58 expected goals, the highest of the round. Manchester United's trip to Hull City is the second best, and Manchester City host Bournemouth on Sunday. The two games between established sides, Newcastle United - Liverpool and Fulham - Chelsea on Monday, are close to coin flips and are not where you want your defensive picks.

Looking past the opener, Manchester United have the best three-round run in the league: [A]Hull City → [H]Ipswich Town → [A]Everton, with a 70% win probability in each of the first two. Arsenal's programme is the opposite shape — a gift in round 1, then [A]Aston Villa and [H]Chelsea. Full fixture run in our Elevens fixture schedule, and the underlying odds on the market probabilities page.

The two players to build your XI around

Elevens has no captain, so there is no multiplier to chase. What you are doing instead is making sure the eleven players who actually score for you are the eleven highest projections you can assemble. Two names are in a tier of their own.

Bruno Fernandes (MID, Manchester United) — 115.8 xP, and it is not close; the next-best midfielder is on 85.6. He is projected for 89 minutes, holds a 99% penalty share, and the model gives him 0.48 expected assists at Hull City. Last season he played 3,066 Premier League minutes across 38 appearances and returned 9 goals and 21 assists from 10.80 xG and 12.10 xA — 0.67 xGI per 90. In a game that pays +12 an assist and +6 a key pass on top of the passing volume of a deep-lying playmaker, he is the single best asset in Elevens. His six-round line is 115.8 → 120.2 → 94.5 → 88.2 → 95.3 → 103.4, a weighted score of 381.9 — the highest in the game, and round 2 is even better than round 1.

Erling Haaland (FWD, Manchester City) — 103.5 xP at home to Bournemouth, from 0.86 expected goals and an 88% penalty share. Last season: 27 goals from 25.47 xG, 0.86 xGI per 90. His trajectory is 103.5 → 93.7 → 135.6 → 86.5 → 103.4 → 84.6, a weighted score of 369.8 — and note that round 3 spike, when Manchester City host Coventry City with a 79% win probability.

Everyone will have those two. The league is won in the rest of the squad.

Goalkeepers: the flattest position in the game

Be honest about how little this choice matters. The best goalkeeper for round 1 projects 47.4 xP and the tenth best projects 37.4 — a ten-point spread on a scale where outfield players score 60 to 115. Do not spend your thinking here.

David Raya (Arsenal) is the pick at 47.4 xP, on a 58% clean sheet chance. The backing is strong: Arsenal conceded just 0.75 xG per game last season and kept 19 clean sheets in 38 — the best defensive record in the division by a distance.

Jordan Pickford (Everton) is the best goalkeeper over the six-round horizon (161.0 weighted, the highest of any keeper) and is projected 2.8 saves against Crystal Palace. He was available for all 38 of Everton's league games last season, which in a game with no appearance points still matters — it is a full match of action points, every week.

Caoimhin Kelleher (Brentford) is the interesting one, and the clearest illustration of Elevens scoring. His clean sheet chance is only 24%, yet he projects 44.3 xP, because the model has him making 3.5 saves against Tottenham — roughly 21 points of save volume before anything else happens. A busy keeper in a mid-table side is a perfectly good pick here. The same logic applies to Robin Roefs (Sunderland) at 44.3 xP.

Defenders: five slots, and they score like midfielders

This is the position that decides Elevens squads. Clean sheets pay +25, but the tackles, clearances and aerial duels pay every week regardless of the scoreline.

Gabriel (Arsenal) is the best defender for round 1 at 81.9 xP — higher than every midfielder in the game except Bruno Fernandes. A 55% clean sheet chance against Coventry City, 89 projected minutes, and an aerial and defensive-action profile that Elevens pays generously for.

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) is the best defender across the horizon: 75.7 xP in round 1 and a weighted score of 273.8, comfortably the highest of any defender, with a trajectory of 75.7 → 76.8 → 79.2 → 78.9 → 72.3 → 69.3 — the flattest, most dependable line of any outfield player. He played 3,420 minutes across all 38 games last season. If you want one defender you never think about again, it is him.

Then a tight cluster, all projected for 89 minutes: Harry Maguire (Manchester United) at 74.2 xP with a 43% clean sheet chance at Hull City, James Tarkowski (Everton) at 72.4 xP (3,330 minutes last season, 250.4 weighted), Dan Ballard (Sunderland) at 71.8 xP, and Nathan Collins (Brentford) at 66.1 xP. One caveat on Maguire: he played only 1,655 minutes across 37 appearances last season, so he is the one name in that group where the projection is ahead of last year's usage. Check the Elevens predicted lineups before the deadline.

Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City) at 70.3 xP rounds out the strong round-1 options.

Midfielders: Bruno, then a genuine gap

After Bruno Fernandes, the round-1 board is led by two Arsenal players whose numbers collapse immediately afterwards — see the one-round wonders section below before you commit to either.

The best midfielder to actually hold is Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool): 72.3 xP in round 1 and a weighted score of 259.4, second only to Bruno, with a trajectory of 72.3 → 72.8 → 77.6 → 75.3 → 65.7 → 61.4. He played 3,233 minutes last season at 0.32 xGI per 90 — not spectacular attacking output, but 87 projected minutes of Elevens action points every single week is exactly what this scoring system rewards.

Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest) at 75.9 xP is the best attacking midfield option outside the elite clubs. He scored 15 goals last season from 10.75 xG in 3,110 minutes, carries an 81% penalty share in the model, and Forest are at home to Leeds United.

Elliot Anderson (Manchester City) at 75.0 xP is a volume pick in the purest sense — 3,334 minutes across 38 games last season, only 0.21 xGI per 90, and yet 84 projected minutes in a 65% win puts him top five in the position.

Forwards: three slots, more depth than you would expect

Bryan Mbeumo (Manchester United) at 79.9 xP is the cleanest pick behind Haaland: 75 projected minutes, and 11 goals from 11.81 xG last season at 0.58 xGI per 90 — output that matched its underlying numbers almost exactly.

Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City) at 78.8 xP has the best combination of security and fixture in the position after Haaland: 83 projected minutes, 17 goals last season, and 3,289 minutes played. His weighted score of 256.9 is the best of any forward outside Haaland.

Alexander Isak (Liverpool) at 72.9 xP and Cody Gakpo at 72.3 xP are both credible, with Gakpo the better six-round hold (251.7 weighted).

Noni Madueke (Arsenal) deserves a mention as the highest-variance pick of the round: 79.4 xP, but on a starter factor of 0.58 and just 42 projected minutes. Per 90 he is projected at 105.9 — elite. It is close to a coin flip whether he starts, and Elevens has a four-man auto-substitute bench, so he is a defensible bench gamble rather than a guaranteed starter.

Hidden gems: the picks that actually separate squads

With no ownership data published in Elevens, "differential" here means low profile rather than low owned — players outside the famous clubs whose projections beat much better-known names.

• Thiago Rodrigues (FWD, Brentford) — 76.9 xP, and the best pure value in the game. He scored 22 goals from 20.57 xG last season in 3,284 minutes (0.62 xGI per 90), holds a 97% penalty share, and projects 87 minutes. A weighted score of 255.1 puts him third among all forwards. If you only take one name from this article, take this one.
• Jack Hill (DEF, AFC Bournemouth) — the third-best defender in the game over six rounds at 254.7 weighted, on 89 projected minutes. But his round 1 is away at Manchester City with a 9% clean sheet chance. This is a round 2 buy, not a round 1 buy — his trajectory is 66.7 → 75.9 → 71.6 → 74.8 → 67.9 → 65.8, so bring him in for the [H]Everton fixture and then keep him.
• Marcus Tavernier (MID, AFC Bournemouth) — same story, 235.8 weighted with 71.3 xP in round 2. He managed 0.45 xGI per 90 last season (7 goals and 4 assists from 9.06 xG and 4.60 xA) and carries a 36% penalty share.
• Enzo Le Fee (MID, Sunderland) — 67.5 xP, 86 projected minutes, a 63% penalty share, and 2,934 minutes last season at 0.34 xGI per 90. Sunderland kept 11 clean sheets last season, more than Brentford or Chelsea managed.
• Malick Thiaw (DEF, Newcastle United) — 57.4 xP in round 1 is modest, but 222.0 weighted with a 73.4 spike in round 5 against Hull City. 2,964 minutes last season.
• Luka Vuskovic (DEF, Brighton & Hove Albion) — 70.9 xP at home to Aston Villa, seventh among all defenders for the round.

Penalty share is a bigger edge in Elevens than in most games, because a goal is 25 points regardless of who scores it. Check the full list on our Elevens penalty takers page.

One-round wonders: start them, then move them on

Three of the best round-1 scores in the game belong to players you should not plan to keep. Arsenal's opener is so favourable that it distorts their projections, and all three fall off a cliff in round 2 when Arsenal travel to Aston Villa.

• Viktor Gyökeres (FWD, Arsenal) — 94.3 xP, the second-highest score in the game for round 1, and Arsenal's penalty taker on a 53% share. Then it ends: 94.3 → 40.4 → 43.6 → 38.6 → 37.7 → 45.8. He also carries real minutes risk right now — a starter factor of 0.68 and 60 projected minutes, which matches last season's pattern of 14 goals from 12.36 xG but across only 2,230 minutes in 38 appearances. Excellent for one week, nothing beyond it.
• Martin Ødegaard (MID, Arsenal) — 85.6 xP, the second-best midfielder in round 1. His six-round line is 85.6 → 53.3 → 52.1 → 45.8 → 41.2 → 46.5, a weighted score of just 212.8, which is only twelfth among midfielders. He also played only 1,370 minutes across 35 appearances last season.
• Declan Rice (MID, Arsenal) — 81.7 xP with a 54% clean sheet chance, then 48.5 in round 2. He recovers somewhat later, but round 1 is the peak by 18 points.

With one free transfer per round and extra transfers costing 4 points, you can afford to spend round 1 on a fixture-specific pick and correct it afterwards. Just do it deliberately, and know you are paying for it later.

Who to avoid in round 1

• Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) — 36.9 xP, a starter factor of 0.46 and 38 projected minutes. His quality is not in doubt (7 goals, 5 assists and 0.58 xGI per 90 last season) and his projection climbs to 74.1 by round 3 and 76.9 by round 6, so he is a genuine target — just not for the opener.
• Anyone from Coventry City or Hull City. Coventry have a 5% win probability and 0.54 expected goals at Arsenal; Hull have 11% and 0.78 against Manchester United. Both concede heavily on the model, so even the defensive-action floor will not rescue them.
• Bournemouth assets for round 1 specifically. A 16% win probability at Manchester City and a 10% clean sheet chance. The Bournemouth players named above are round 2 onwards, not now.
• Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton) — projects 65.7 xP, but played just 681 minutes in 35 appearances last season. Tarkowski is the safer Everton defender at a higher projection anyway.

Formation and squad shape

Elevens gives you 15 players — 2 goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders and 3 forwards — of whom 11 start, with a four-man auto-substitute bench and seven formations to choose from. We solved the best possible round-1 XI for each:

The honest read: 1-3-4-3 is optimal, but the gap from best to worst is 30 points out of roughly 900 — about 3%. Pick the players first and let the formation follow. A single wrong call on an 80-point outfield slot costs more than any formation decision.

One structural point specific to this game: because there is no club limit, stacking is completely legal. Arsenal have both the best fixture of the round and the best defensive record in the league, so pairing Raya with Gabriel doubles down on the same 58% clean sheet — a correlated bet worth taking when the fixture is this good. What you should never do is add a second player from a team purely for the correlation if he is not a good pick on his own merits.

Our solver builds the exact optimal squad live against the current projections — see optimal teams for Elevens Premier League, plan your transfers in the Elevens team planner, and dig into the underlying per-player numbers on the Elevens player data page.

Round 1 summary

Bruno Fernandes and Haaland are the two you build around, and everyone knows it. The round is decided elsewhere: taking Thiago Rodrigues over a more famous forward, using Raya and Gabriel to attack the best fixture of the weekend, being honest that Kelleher's save volume makes him as good as almost any keeper, and recognising that Gyökeres, Ødegaard and Rice are one-week rentals rather than season holds. Leave Bournemouth alone until round 2, and leave Saka alone until round 3.

More rounds and analysis in our Elevens Premier League preview hub. If you also play the official game over the same fixtures, our FPL tips and previews cover the same Premier League matches under different scoring, and there is more background reading in our fantasy football guides.

FAQ

Who is the best player to pick in Elevens Premier League round 1?

Bruno Fernandes, on 115.8 xP — the highest projection of any player in the game and more than 30 points clear of the next-best midfielder. He is projected for 89 minutes at Hull City, holds a 99% penalty share, and produced 9 goals and 21 assists in 3,066 Premier League minutes last season. Erling Haaland is second on 103.5 xP.

Does Elevens Premier League have a captain?

No. Elevens has no captain and no vice-captain, so there is no points multiplier to plan around, and no chips either. That changes your strategy: instead of chasing one big score you are maximising all eleven starting projections at once, which makes the mid-tier squad slots far more important than they are in FPL-style games.

Which are the best hidden gems for Elevens round 1?

Thiago Rodrigues of Brentford at 76.9 xP is the standout — 22 goals from 20.57 xG last season, a 97% penalty share and 87 projected minutes. Enzo Le Fee of Sunderland (67.5 xP, 63% penalty share) and Luka Vuskovic of Brighton (70.9 xP) are the other strong low-profile picks. Caoimhin Kelleher at 44.3 xP is a smart goalkeeper pick purely on 3.5 projected saves.

Who should I avoid in Elevens Premier League round 1?

Bukayo Saka (36.9 xP, 38 projected minutes on a 0.46 starter factor), every Coventry City and Hull City player, and all Bournemouth assets for this round only — Bournemouth have a 16% win probability and a 10% clean sheet chance at Manchester City. Gyökeres, Ødegaard and Rice are strong for round 1 but should be moved on for round 2.

Which formation is best in Elevens round 1?

1-3-4-3 gives the highest possible round-1 total at 915.9 xP, just ahead of 1-4-3-3 on 912.4. But the spread across all seven formations is only about 3%, so formation is a minor lever — choose your fifteen players first and fit the shape to them.

This preview was written by TheFantasyTool AI - verified by Nicolai @ TheFantasyTool