Fantasy Premier League 2026/27: Key Positional Changes

The Fantasy Premier League game board has been quietly shuffled ahead of 2026/27 – and a handful of positional switches could redraw how managers build their squads.

At the heart of it are three names with the power to warp templates: Junior Kroupi, Patrick Dorgu and Omar Marmoush.

Kroupi: From finisher to Fantasy goldmine

Bournemouth’s Junior Kroupi was already on the radar. Now he might become a problem for anyone who doesn’t own him.

Reclassified from a forward to a midfielder, the 19-year-old’s new tag finally matches how he actually played last season. Rather than leading the line, Kroupi spent his breakout campaign operating as a No 10, buzzing in the space behind centre-forward Evanilson.

That role didn’t blunt his edge. It sharpened it.

Across 33 appearances in 2025/26, Kroupi struck 13 goals. He averaged a goal every 134.0 minutes – more than 50 minutes quicker than Antoine Semenyo, whose 188.2 minutes per goal was the best return among regular starting midfielders.

Now those same goals are worth more.

As a midfielder, Kroupi’s strikes will bring an extra point each compared with his forward classification, and he’ll also pick up clean-sheet bonuses. The reclassification doesn’t just reward what he did; it amplifies what he could do next.

For managers hunting for a high-ceiling, centrally positioned attacker who’s scored at an elite rate, Kroupi suddenly sits near the top of the list.

Dorgu: Carrick’s winger gets a new label

At Manchester United, Patrick Dorgu’s shift is more subtle on paper, but it carries real weight.

He moves from defender to midfielder for 2026/27, a direct response to how Michael Carrick used him in the run-in. Once Carrick arrived in Gameweek 22, the Dane barely featured – only three starts – but those minutes told a clear tactical story.

Dorgu was pushed high as a left winger. And he delivered.

He scored in all three of those starts, finding the net against Arsenal and Manchester City, then producing a goal and an assist against Brighton & Hove Albion. That is not defender territory. That is attacking midfielder output.

When you line him up against United’s other midfield threats under Carrick, he holds his own. Dorgu’s 33.2 minutes per shot was the sharpest of the trio when compared with Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo. He also matched Cunha’s tally of three big chances, despite playing more than 800 minutes fewer than the Brazilian.

The defensive clean-sheet points have gone. In their place, though, is a midfielder with winger-level involvement and a nose for big moments. If Carrick leans back into that left-sided experiment, FPL managers will be watching.

Marmoush: Guardiola’s striker, Fantasy’s forward

Omar Marmoush heads in the opposite direction.

After operating as a midfielder in Fantasy terms, the Manchester City attacker is now listed as a forward, reflecting how Pep Guardiola used him in his final season in charge.

Guardiola pushed the Egyptian up front, and Marmoush responded with three goals and three assists. It wasn’t a headline-grabbing haul in raw numbers, but the positional context matters. He was trusted through the middle in a side that still monopolised chances, and his new tag aligns him with that responsibility.

The change strips away the midfielder perks – the extra point per goal, the clean-sheet crumbs – but it also clarifies his role for managers: if you buy Marmoush now, you’re buying a striker in one of the league’s most potent attacks.

The wider reshuffle

Around them, the board keeps moving. Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal) and Lamare Bogarde (Aston Villa) step up from defence into midfield. Keane Lewis-Potter (Brentford) does the same. Mats Wieffer (Brighton & Hove Albion) drops back from midfield into defence, while Georginio Rutter at Brighton goes the other way, shifting into a forward slot.

Rio Cardines (Crystal Palace) and Eric Moreira (Nottingham Forest) both switch from midfield to defence, while Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham) is now classed as a defender after his own advanced deployment last term.

Each of these tweaks nudges value around the game. Some players lose clean-sheet potential, others gain goal bonuses, a few suddenly fit cleaner into popular formations.

But it’s Kroupi’s new midfield label, Dorgu’s winger recognition and Marmoush’s centre-forward status that will shape early drafts.

The numbers are set. The only question now is which of these reclassified pieces Fantasy managers will trust to define their season.