Brentford's Fantasy Revolution: Key Players and Insights from Gameweek 1
Brentford’s Fantasy revolution has a new ally this season.
The club has linked up with Fantasy Football Scout for 2026/27, arming managers with data-driven tips, gameweek pointers and tactical advice aimed at keeping them ahead in their mini-leagues. And on the opening weekend, Keith Andrews’ side provided the perfect early case study.
Bees blitz Spurs – and FPL
Brentford tore into Tottenham Hotspur, three up by the 50-minute mark and never really loosening their grip.
New signing Mamadou Sangaré (£5.5m), flagged in last week’s preview for his potential to rack up defensive contributions (DefCon) points, delivered exactly that – and more. On debut, he hit the DefCon threshold and laid on two assists, walking away with 14 points.
His first major involvement was all about speed and precision. A sharp one-two with Dango Ouattara (£6.5m) opened Spurs up, Ouattara drilling a cutback that Keane Lewis-Potter (£5.5m) swept home for the opener.
The second came from Brentford’s relentlessness. Vitaly Janelt (£5.0m) reacted fastest to a rebound after Mathias Jensen’s (£5.5m) shot was kept out, smashing in to double the lead. Janelt, like Sangaré and Kristoffer Ajer (£4.5m), also hit the DefCon mark, underlining just how dominant the Bees were out of possession.
Any hope Spurs had of a reset after the break vanished almost instantly. Early in the second half, Antonín Kinský (£4.5m) could only push out Sangaré’s effort, and Michael Kayode (£4.5m) arrived to bury the loose ball from close range.
Even when Igor Thiago (£8.0m) struck the post from the spot, it felt like a footnote. The miss carried no weight on the result, only on the 1.5 million Fantasy managers who had backed him.
Kayode steps into the spotlight
Sangaré took the headlines with 14 points, but Kayode was only one behind him.
Where Ajer and Nathan Collins (£5.5m) both had chances to add goals to their clean sheets, it was Kayode who repeatedly appeared in decisive areas. He read the chaos, attacked the right spaces and cashed in.
The numbers behind Brentford’s performance were brutal. They forced 13 set-piece attempts – more shots from dead balls than half the Premier League managed in total efforts in Gameweek 1. Overall, they outshot Spurs 20-4 inside the box. Four of those Brentford efforts belonged to Kayode alone.
That attacking edge is no fluke. Last season, Kayode led all defenders for take-ons (107) and successful long throws into the box (38). He carries threat from open play, from set pieces and from touchline routines. For FPL managers, that profile is gold.
Brighton, Hull and the early FPL shocks
While Brentford stole one storyline, the biggest individual FPL hauls came from Brighton.
Maxim De Cuyper (£4.5m) and Jack Hinshelwood (£6.0m) posted 17 and 16 points respectively, as the Seagulls ripped into Aston Villa. By half-time, Brighton were 4-0 up, with De Cuyper – listed as a defender – starring high on the left wing and punishing anyone who had overlooked him.
Elsewhere, Hull City produced the shock that jolted every Fantasy squad.
The play-off winners surged into a 2-0 lead at home to Manchester United, both goals coming from centre-backs: Semi Ajayi (£4.0m) and Nobel Mendy (£4.0m). They held that advantage to the end, turning the game into a graveyard for premium assets.
Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) both blanked. So did Manchester City duo Erling Haaland (£15.5m) and Antoine Semenyo (£8.5m). Four of the most-owned attackers in the game, no returns.
City still found a way out against Bournemouth. Marc Guéhi (£6.0m) and Joško Gvardiol (£5.5m) stepped up to rescue the champions, underlining again how defenders can swing a gameweek.
New bandwagons: Calafiori, Tzolis, Ødegaard, Palmer
The rush to react has already begun.
Riccardo Calafiori (£5.5m) didn’t score on opening night, but his assist for the first goal of the 2026/27 season has pushed him into the “most bought” bracket ahead of Friday’s 6.30pm BST deadline. Operating from left-back, he offered both width and delivery.
Arsenal’s second goal in that game came from another emerging FPL favourite. Christos Tzolis (£6.5m), fresh from seven pre-season assists and 23 in his final campaign at Club Brugge, slipped in the final pass again. His creative numbers are turning early interest into serious investment.
Martin Ødegaard (£6.5m) added Arsenal’s third, reminding managers of his reliability as a mid-priced midfielder who can stack returns quietly but consistently.
Then came Monday’s statement scores. Chelsea’s Cole Palmer (£9.5m) and João Pedro (£7.5m) both delivered double-digit hauls, instantly entering the conversation for early wildcarders and aggressive transfer planners.
Sangaré and De Cuyper now sit alongside them on countless watchlists, the first-week heroes that could define early rank swings.
Armband anxiety – but Haaland and Fernandes still rule
For all the drama, the captaincy picture may barely move.
Despite frustrating their backers in Gameweek 1, Haaland and Fernandes – last season’s top two FPL performers – are still poised to carry the bulk of the armbands in Gameweek 2.
Haaland’s blank was notable: it was the first time he has failed to score on a City opening day. But Crystal Palace, City’s next opponents, are enduring a troubled summer, and managers know how quickly he can erase a poor week.
Fernandes, even in defeat at Hull, still produced underlying numbers that keep faith alive. He fashioned three chances for himself and created three more for teammates. Next up is a home fixture against another promoted side, Ipswich Town.
One gameweek in, panic transfers are flying, new bandwagons are forming and early chips are being whispered about. The question now is simple: who has the nerve to hold their course, and who will chase last week’s points into an early-season spiral?
