Gameweek 1 Last Man Standing Picks
Honest picks, the teams to stay away from, and a bit of common sense for your survivor pool
Deadline
Friday, 21st August 2026 at 19:00 BST
The Strongest Picks
vs Coventry
Champions at home against a side that just came up. Saliba and Timber are out but they still put three past Man City in the Community Shield, and you only get Arsenal once this season so spending them on GW1 has a cost
vs Hull City
Carrick's side finished third and won four of their last five. Hull won the play-offs but this is still a gap in squad quality, and taking United now keeps Arsenal in the bank
vs Bournemouth
Haaland at home in Maresca's first league game should have too much. Eighteen draws last season is the LMS warning though, a stalemate here is how you go out
vs Spurs
Spurs finished 17th, De Zerbi is still patching a wrecked injury list, and Brentford are at home. This is a win you can take without burning a title contender
This Week's Fixtures
21 Aug at 20:00
Champions at home, Community Shield 3-0 still in the legs
22 Aug at 12:30
Play-off winners at home against a side that finished third
22 Aug at 15:00
13th vs 15th, both leaky, draw written all over it
22 Aug at 15:00
Promoted home side against a Europa League team
22 Aug at 15:00
16th vs 14th on opening weekend, stay out
22 Aug at 17:30
Spurs finished 17th and still have an injury list
23 Aug at 14:00
Villa are short of bodies, Brighton at home
23 Aug at 14:00
Haaland at home, but Bournemouth drew 18 times last season
23 Aug at 16:30
No Newcastle manager, Iraola's first league game away
24 Aug at 20:00
Monday night, Alonso's first league game, Fofana suspended
Stay Away From These
Away at St James' Park in Iraola's first league game, and they won one of their last five last season. Newcastle have no manager, which makes this chaos rather than a free win
Away at Forest in a 14th vs 16th fixture that screams draw. Opening-weekend away days like this are how last man standing ends
Finished two points above the drop and still missing van de Ven, Kulusevski, Solanke and Kudus. Do not touch them at Brentford
Alonso's first league game is a Monday night away at Fulham, with Fofana suspended and World Cup returnees short of minutes
If You've Burned Through the Good Teams
vs Ipswich
Seventh last season and into Europe, away at a side that just came up. Using Sunderland now is how you save Arsenal and Man City for weeks that actually need them
vs Aston Villa
Villa are missing bodies and several World Cup returnees have no pre-season. Home to a depleted side is a smarter spend than burning the champions
Man United
Hull are play-off winners at home but United finished third and won four of their last five. Taking them now keeps Arsenal in the bank for a week that actually needs the champions
Form Guide (Last 5 Games)
Arsenal
Last season closed with five straight wins as champions
Man United
Carrick's side won four of the last five to finish third
Man City
Ended last season with a loss, now Maresca's first league game
Liverpool
One win in the last five last season, Iraola inherits a stutter
Coventry
Championship run-in, went up as champions with 95 points
Bournemouth
Draw heavy to the end last season, sixth and into Europe
Stop reading and actually play. Join a competition and put these picks to the test.
View Active CompetitionsEntry from £20 • Real prizes • Live leaderboards
26
Arsenal league wins
Champions last season, five wins from the last five
18
Bournemouth draws
Most draws in the division, the LMS killer against Man City
95
Coventry Championship points
Title winners from the second tier, still a step down at the Emirates
17th
Spurs finishing position
Two points above the drop, and the injury list has not cleared
William Saliba
Arsenal
Jurrien Timber
Arsenal
Bruno Guimaraes
Arsenal
Rodri
Man City
Jeremy Doku
Man City
Conor Bradley
Liverpool
Wesley Fofana
Chelsea
Joachim Andersen
Fulham
Ryan Christie
Bournemouth
Micky van de Ven
Spurs
Dejan Kulusevski
Spurs
Dominic Solanke
Spurs
Mohammed Kudus
Spurs
Amadou Onana
Aston Villa
Joao Gomes
Aston Villa
Alejandro Garnacho
Aston Villa
Benjamin Sesko
Man United
Last updated: 19 Aug, 17:50