Team guides · Everton
Everton FPL team guide 2026/27
Squad, fixture runs and rotation partners
Squad leaders
The fastest routes into this club's player pool.
Points and form from 2025/26.
Schedule pulse
Difficulty across the next 5 listed fixtures.
Attack vs defence
Bawler's own split — the same run can be kind to one end and cruel to the other.
Rated 1 (easiest) to 5 from the opponent's attacking and defensive strength, not the official single number. How it's built →
Squad
29 players in the FPL game, by position.
| Player | Owned | Pts | xPts | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | ||||
| PickfordNailed | 13.0% | 135 | 3.07 | £5.6 |
| TraversBackup | 0.1% | 0 | 0.14 | £4.2 |
| KingFringe | 1.2% | 0 | 0.00 | £3.9 |
| Defenders | ||||
| TarkowskiNailed | 12.6% | 170 | 3.60 | £5.8 |
| BranthwaiteNailed | 0.3% | 32 | 2.98 | £5.3 |
| O'Brien | 0.7% | 116 | 2.68 | £4.9 |
| Mykolenko | 0.7% | 95 | 2.31 | £4.9 |
| KeaneRotation | 3.1% | 131 | 1.14 | £4.5 |
| PattersonFringe | 0.0% | 22 | 0.48 | £4.4 |
| Coleman | 0.1% | 5 | — | £4.2 |
| AznouRotation | 0.1% | 0 | 0.34 | £4.2 |
| Welch | 0.1% | 0 | — | £3.8 |
| Midfielders | ||||
| Ndiaye | 4.7% | 128 | 3.08 | £6.3 |
| Grealish | 5.6% | 79 | — | £6.3 |
| McNeil | 0.1% | 53 | — | £5.5 |
| Gana | 0.1% | 83 | — | £5.4 |
| Dewsbury-HallNailed | 7.9% | 151 | 3.27 | £5.3 |
| DiblingRotation | 0.0% | 18 | 1.17 | £5.3 |
| GarnerOUT | 3.6% | 159 | 1.94 | £5.2 |
| AlcarazFringe | 0.1% | 29 | 0.59 | £5.2 |
| RöhlRotation | 0.0% | 36 | 1.93 | £5.0 |
| IroegbunamOUT | 0.0% | 68 | 0.00 | £4.8 |
| GeorgeRotation | 0.1% | 16 | 1.87 | £4.8 |
| ArmstrongFringe | 0.1% | 21 | 0.70 | £4.5 |
| Ebere | 0.0% | 0 | — | £4.4 |
| Bates | 0.1% | 0 | — | £4.3 |
| Forwards | ||||
| BarryBattle | 0.8% | 95 | 2.47 | £5.7 |
| BetoBattle | 3.3% | 104 | 2.24 | £5.1 |
| Graham | 0.0% | 0 | — | £4.5 |
Points from 2025/26. xPts is Bawler's projected points per gameweek — fixture-adjusted and weighted by how likely the player is to start. Full projections →
Rotation partners
Own one from each pair and start whichever has the kinder week.
Scored by taking the easier of the two clubs' fixtures each gameweek across the listed horizon.
Fixture run
Every listed fixture ahead, coloured by official FPL difficulty.
Latest updates
Jarrad Branthwaite started alongside Tarkowski in the final pre-season fixture on 15 August and made a key clearance from a dangerous Lille delivery. It follows the club's line that his absence at Newcastle in midweek was planned rather than a fitness problem.
FPL: Confirms the first-choice centre-back pairing is intact for the opener, which supports Everton's clean-sheet chances and makes Branthwaite and Tarkowski credible defensive picks.
Everton lined up Pickford; Röhl, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Hackney, Armstrong, Dewsbury-Hall; Dibling, Ndiaye, Barry. Ndiaye scored from the spot on 41 minutes after Dewsbury-Hall was fouled, before Hákon Haraldsson equalised in stoppage time. Moyes made a bank of substitutions on 64 minutes, introducing O'Brien, Keane, Patterson, George, Beto, Alcaraz, Travers and Brennan Johnson.
FPL: Ndiaye taking the penalty in the final warm-up strengthens the case that he is on spot-kicks, which lifts his points ceiling. Thierno Barry leading the line ahead of Beto in the dress rehearsal is a mild nod in the striker battle.
Christian Nørgaard was again omitted from the matchday squad for the Lille friendly on 15 August. Signed from Arsenal on 5 August, he has now missed all of Everton's remaining pre-season fixtures while building fitness at Finch Farm and has yet to play for the club.
FPL: A cheap midfield option whose starting role is unproven — hold off until he actually features, because he may be eased in rather than starting the opener.
James Garner was absent from the Lille squad on 15 August, still recovering from surgery on a groin issue picked up in pre-season. Everton have targeted a return to first-team training around the opening week of the season, meaning he is expected to miss the 22 August visit of Crystal Palace.
FPL: Garner should be avoided for the opening games; his absence also opens midfield minutes for Hackney and Röhl, both of whom started against Lille.
Jordan Pickford started in goal at Hill Dickinson Stadium on 15 August, his first appearance since England's third-place finish at the World Cup, having only rejoined training on the Thursday. He completed the outing without issue, though he was penalised under the new eight-second rule for holding the ball, conceding a corner that Branthwaite headed clear.
FPL: The doubt over his readiness for the 22 August opener is now resolved — he is available and expected to start, so he can be treated as a normal premium goalkeeper pick again.
The club stated Branthwaite was left out at Murrayfield 'as part of his planned reintegration programme following the hamstring injury he sustained towards the end of last season', not because of a fresh problem. He returned to full training at Finch Farm and is expected to feature against Lille, having captained the side for 80 minutes against Stuttgart on 8 August.
FPL: No availability concern for the opener; his managed pre-season load was precautionary rather than a setback. Everton's centre-back pairing for the Palace game looks settled.
Everton confirmed Pickford has rejoined the group to prepare for 2026/27 after his extended post-World Cup break, having missed the Newcastle friendly on 12 August when Travers deputised. Preview coverage on 14 August had him expected to start today's final warm-up against Lille at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
FPL: The main doubt over his readiness for the 22 August opener has eased considerably, though he still has no pre-season minutes on the board. Worth softening, not removing, any damp until he is actually seen on the pitch.
The club published its senior list on 14 August: Johnson takes 22, Nørgaard 23, Hackney 30, George 19, Dibling 20, while Branthwaite moves to 4 and Dewsbury-Hall from 22 to 8. McNeil is absent following his Crystal Palace move, and the club stated it hopes 3, 7 and 14 can be filled by new signings before the 1 September deadline.
FPL: Confirms Johnson, Nørgaard and Hackney are registered and available for selection from GW1. The deliberately vacant numbers signal Everton still intend to add, so hold off on committing to their fringe midfield and full-back assets.
Tracked daily from cited sources. News for every club is on team news.
Manager & style
Defence-first and pragmatic. Base 4-2-3-1 (dropping to a 4-5-1 out of possession) which Everton used almost exclusively across 2025/26. More possession than under Dyche (468 passes/game vs 385.8; middle-third touches 250 vs 201.8) but still among the most direct sides in the league — Everton played more successful long passes than any other team in 2025/26. Moyes has pushed for more box entries and crosses (20/game vs 17.5 league average) while keeping take-on volume deliberately low. Set-pieces are a genuine weapon (Garner and McNeil the key deliverers). LIVE TACTICAL SHIFT: a back three/five was trialled in pre-season v Bolton (Branthwaite, Tarkowski, O'Brien, Aznou and Röhl all starting across the line) and per FFS 'remains under consideration' for the new campaign — this is unresolved. Rotation tendency unverified for 2026.
Usual shape: 4-2-3-1 (established base); back three/five actively under consideration after pre-season trials
Summer transfers
In
| Player | Pos | From | Fee | Expected role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayden Hackney | DM/CM | Middlesbrough | £16.5m base — add-ons conflict: Wikipedia '+£8m', footballfancast 'rising to ~£25m', Sports Mole flat £16.5m | Signed to inherit Idrissa Gueye's vacated deep-midfield role outright. Championship Player of the Season; progressive deep-lying midfielder. Fee signals immediate starter. Missed Dundee and Bolton friendlies with a knock carried over from 2025/26, started v Stoke 28 Jul. |
| Tyrique George | LW/RW | Chelsea | CONFLICT: Wikipedia '£18m + £6m'; Sports Mole 'undisclosed'; footballfancast 'in excess of £20m, loan made permanent' | Permanent deal. Competing for a wide starting berth vacated by Jack Grealish's loan expiry. Started v Stoke 28 Jul. |
| Merlin Röhl | CM/AM | SC Freiburg | CONFLICT: Wikipedia '~£17m (obligatory purchase triggered by avoiding relegation)'; Sports Mole '£18m'; footballfancast '~£22m' | Loan made permanent. Has started both major friendlies and was used WIDE in the back-five trial v Bolton — check his FPL position classification, as wide-in-a-five would be cheap defender eligibility with attacking touches. |
| Zach Lee | GK | Kendal Town | Free | Development/depth. Single-source (Wikipedia). |
| Arthur Barratt | Unverified | Chelsea academy | Undisclosed | 16-year-old prospect. Single-source (footballfancast) — low confidence. |
Out
| Player | Pos | To | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idrissa Gueye | CM | Al-Diriyah (Saudi Pro League) — expected, 1yr + option | Free (contract expired end of June, not renewed) |
| Séamus Coleman | RB | Released | Free |
| Jack Grealish | LW/AM | Manchester City (2025/26 loan expired June 2026, returned to parent club) | Loan expiry |
| Tyler Onyango | CM | Unspecified | Free |
| Isaac Heath | LW | Cambridge United | Undisclosed |
| Coby Ebere | LW | FK Čukarički | Free |
| Frankie Okoronkwo | ST | Doncaster Rovers | Free |
| Goodness Gospel-Eze | Academy | Stockport County | Undisclosed |
| Demi Akarakiri | Academy | Cagliari | Undisclosed |
Current injuries
| Player | Issue | Expected return |
|---|---|---|
| James Garner | Groin surgery during pre-season | Back in first-team training around Premier League opening week; Goodison News (25 Jul) says he is 'almost certain to miss' Crystal Palace on 22 Aug. Treat as OUT / major doubt for GW1. |
| Jarrad Branthwaite | Hamstring (curtailed 2025/26); returned ahead of schedule | Already back — played 45 minutes v Bolton 25 Jul, rested v Stoke as a precaution. Targeting full fitness for 22 Aug. Trending positive. |
| Tyler Dibling | Minor knock | Missed Bolton, expected back v Stoke. Not a long-term concern. |
| Hayden Hackney | Knock carried over from end of 2025/26 | Missed Dundee and Bolton; started/expected debut v Stoke 28 Jul. Effectively available. |
Injury picture as of 30 July 2026 — availability moves fast in pre-season, so confirm against official team news.
Expected XI & selection battles
Formation: 4-2-3-1 (base) — back five genuinely possible
- GK Jordan Pickford
- RB Jake O'Brien (a centre-back filling in; club actively seeking a specialist RB)
- CB James Tarkowski (c)
- CB Jarrad Branthwaite
- LB Vitalii Mykolenko
- CM Tim Iroegbunam
- CM Hayden Hackney / Merlin Röhl
- RW Tyler Dibling
- AM Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
- LW Iliman Ndiaye (subject to Al-Hilal interest)
- ST Thierno Barry / Beto
Battles to watch
- STRIKER — Thierno Barry vs Beto, genuinely wide open. Barry 8 goals in 38 PL and Beto 7 in 37 in 2025/26; the club is actively pursuing Liam Delap (Chelsea, ~£30m). Avoid the whole slot until resolved.
- RIGHT-BACK — Everton's biggest hole. Coleman released, Nathan Patterson in talks with Eintracht Frankfurt, and Jake O'Brien is a converted centre-back who was inconsistent there. Club has openly acknowledged needing 'a right-back (or two)'.
- LEFT-BACK — Vitalii Mykolenko vs Adam Aznou. Aznou (Bayern, 2025 signing, 1 senior appearance in 2025/26) started v Bolton — a real pre-season push.
- CENTRE-BACK PARTNER — Branthwaite vs Michael Keane alongside Tarkowski. Branthwaite's fitness return pushes Keane to the bench; FFS explicitly flags Keane's security as questionable.
- DEEP MIDFIELD — Hackney vs Iroegbunam vs Harrison Armstrong, opened up by Gueye's exit and Garner's surgery. Hackney was bought to replace Gueye.
- WIDE/ATTACKING MIDFIELD — Dibling, McNeil, Tyrique George, Carlos Alcaraz and Röhl for two or three slots.
- FORMATION ITSELF — 4-2-3-1 vs back three/five is unresolved and changes the defender count and clean-sheet model.
Set-piece takers
FPL winners & losers
Research calls from the sources below, not model output — the model's numbers for these players are on predicted points.
Key uncertainties
The honest list — what this guide could not pin down as of 30 July 2026. Any of these can change the FPL picture before Gameweek 1:
- FORMATION: 4-2-3-1 vs a back three/five is genuinely unresolved — FFS (27 Jul) says the back five 'remains under consideration'. This changes the defender count, wing-back returns and the clean-sheet model.
- ILIMAN NDIAYE'S FUTURE is the highest-impact open item. Al-Hilal have opened talks and personal terms are reportedly agreed; Everton want £70m; no formal bid yet. Determines both Everton's best attacker and the penalty taker.
- RIGHT-BACK is an unfilled hole: Coleman released, Patterson in talks with Frankfurt, O'Brien a converted centre-back. Everton have openly said they need one or two.
- STRIKER identity: Barry vs Beto unresolved, Liam Delap (Chelsea, ~£30m) pursued with Everton reportedly 'front of the queue', and Nottingham Forest circling for Beto. Could be a different player entirely by 1 September.
- James Garner's GW1 availability — 'around opening week' is deliberately vague and Goodison News says he misses Palace. Drives set-piece assignment.
- Branthwaite's durability — returned early from the hamstring problem that wrecked his 2025/26 and has already been rested once as a precaution.
- Jack Grealish: loan expired and he returned to Man City, but he reportedly still wants Everton and Enzo Maresca has not ruled out keeping him. Unresolved — do NOT price him as an Everton asset.
- Transfer fees for all three main signings (Hackney, George, Röhl) conflict materially across Wikipedia, Sports Mole and footballfancast — treat no single figure as authoritative.
- SOURCE CONFLICT ON THE MANAGER: one render of the FFS 'ultimate pre-season guide' (29 Jul 2026) stated 'Sean Dyche continues as manager'. This is contradicted by the Premier League's own official 20-club manager list (13 Jul 2026) and every beat outlet. Assessed as a stale template or summariser error — David Moyes is confirmed.
- Moyes' job security: described as 'on thin ice' with the fanbase after 13th and a seven-game winless finish, facing a tough opening run (Palace, Bournemouth, Man Utd, Tottenham). In-season managerial change is a non-trivial risk.
- The window closes 1 September 2026, AFTER GW1 — the GW1 XI may not survive to GW3.
- FIXTURE NOTE: Everton's GW1 is Saturday 22 August 2026, 15:00 vs Crystal Palace (home) at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, not 21 August.
- Moyes' rotation tendency could not be quantified from any 2026 source — unverified.
- Post-World Cup rest (not injury) kept Pickford, Ndiaye and Patterson out of early pre-season; their absence from friendly XIs is not a fitness flag.
Sources
- 2026–27 Everton F.C. season (Wikipedia) — 2026-07-30
- Everton set Iliman Ndiaye price amid exit links (The Hard Tackle) — 2026-07-29
- Stoke City vs Everton — match lineup (ysscores) — 2026-07-28
- Why Idrissa Gueye's Diriyah move could help Al Hilal seal Ndiaye deal (The National) — 2026-07-28
- Stoke City 1-0 Everton friendly report (VAVEL) — 2026-07-28
- FPL pre-season: Saliba + Garner latest, Everton back three (Fantasy Football Scout) — 2026-07-27
A point-in-time research snapshot compiled 30 July 2026, showing the six most recent of the sources the research drew on. It does not update in real time — line-ups, fitness and transfers can all move before the deadline, so always confirm against official team news. All 20 club guides are on team guides.
FPL is a free fantasy game — this is squad research, not betting advice.
Updated 16 August 2026, 06:56 UK · Source: Official FPL API