It’s not long until we’ll be able to pick our squads for the 2026/27 FPL season, and after we looked at the teams to target a few weeks back, it’s time to turn our attention to the teams to avoid in the game at the start of the campaign. There is still heaps of transfer action to come, but form, fixtures and current squads don’t lie and these four clubs are the ones we’ll be skipping when it comes to drafts for the opening weeks of the season.
Newcastle
Newcastle look a team to avoid in FPL at the start of the 2026/27 season. Having lost Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali to Barcelona and Tottenham respectively, experienced Kieran Trippier departed on a free transfer, and it’s rumoured that Bruno Guimaraes and Tino Livramento could also depart. They’ve replaced Gordon and Tonali with Bazoumana Touré and Sean Steur but both are unproven at Premier League level and may take time to bed in. Touré is worth a look though, he scored five goals in the Bundesliga last season, performed well in Ivory Coast’s World Cup run and much is expected of him.
Pressure is on Eddie Howe after a difficult finish to the 2025/26 season and their first four fixtures are against Liverpool, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Leeds. A tough start beckons and Newcastle are a definite ‘wait and see’ rather than drafting their players in from the start of the campaign.
Outlier: Bazoumana Touré
Coventry
Coventry return to the Premier League for the first time in 25 years under the guidance of Frank Lampard, but they run the gauntlet at the start of the campaign, with away trips to Arsenal and Manchester City in gameweek 1 and 3 respectively. They also travel to Tottenham in gameweek 7, and while home matches with Hull and Fulham may offer some respite, it looks a tough start for the Sky Blues as they look to avoid heading straight back down.
Haji Wright was highlighted as a player to watch and looks the best attacking prospect from the newly promoted clubs, but Coventry defenders look ones to avoid at all costs given the difficulty of their opening run.
Outlier: Haji Wright
Fulham
The Cottagers’ long-serving manager Marco Silva left for Benfica after a steady reign in West London, and his replacement Alvaro Arbeloa faces a baptism of fire. Untested at Premier League level and a questionable caretaker reign at Real Madrid spark concerns, as does Fulham’s opening run of fixtures in which they face Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United in the first five weeks.
Their only major arrival so far is 18 year old Jonah Kusi-Asare from Bayern Munich. More arrivals are certain but last season’s FPL gem Harry Wilson has left for Leeds, which must sting, main striker Raul Jimenez departed and Samuel Chukwueze, who had a solid loan spell, has returned to AC Milan.
It all looks a little disjointed at Craven Cottage and they’re another to swerve at the start of FPL 2026/27.
Outlier: Antonee Robinson
Hull City
No surprise that another newly promoted club are one to avoid but Hull are worthy of a place on this list. They fell into the play offs, picking up just three wins from their last 12 games in the Championship 2025/26 as they finished sixth, before grinding out wins against Millwall and Middlesbrough to go up.
Jack Butland is the only major arrival so far, while only two players managed double figures last season, Oli McBurnie and Joe Gelhardt, who has returned to Leeds following a good loan spell. Hull face Manchester United, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Newcastle in their first five matches, with the only respite being a trip to Championship winners Coventry.
Things do get a little easier from gameweek 8 but the Tigers are definitely on the avoid list for the early part of the season.
Outlier: Regan Slater
Check back next week as we provide more pointers for the FPL season ahead and check out our FPL Golden Rules here.