Best Forwards for FPL 2025-26

A reliable forward line can turn a good Fantasy Premier League squad into a great one. Goals, assists, and bonus points often flow through these players, making them vital to your season’s success. In this guide to the best forwards for FPL 2025/26, we analyse fixtures, form, and underlying numbers to spotlight the strikers most likely to deliver consistent returns and big hauls from Gameweek 1.

Ollie Watkins

The football community must be accustomed to Aston Villa being a top side by now Unai Emery and his men have finished among the top six for the previous two consecutive seasons. This makes them a safe bet when it comes to fantasy investment.

Leading the Aston Villa frontline, and arguably the best forward option to start the new season with, is Ollie Watkins (£9m). Watkins followed up his exceptional 2023-24 campaign in which he bagged a huge 19 goals and 13 assists, with another 16 goals and eight assists in 2025-26.

Erling Haaland

Manchester City may have been below many expectations last season, but that didn’t really dampen their attacking threat. In fact, as well ranking second best overall for total goals scored, they also ranked second best for total shots on goal and total shots on target.

Many expect a similar if not better season from Pep Guardiola and his side. If that happens, then we are likely to see huge success from penalty taker Erling Haaland (£14m). The Norwegian produced a cool 22 goals and three assists in the Premier League last season, a campaign many thought he struggled throughout.

Sign up to your premium membership NOW, and get access for weekly team reveals and attacking return percentages for both FPL and UCL Fantasy.

Joao Pedro

Chelsea may not have convinced by finishing fourth place in the Premier League, but their end of season form, recent Europe Conference League win and their Club World Cup success suggests that they are a team who are on the rise.

Some of the success mentioned above is partly due to former Brighton man Joao Pedro (£7.5m). The Brazilian heads into the new season off the back of scoring five goals in just five features for Chelsea. The Blues also maintained some of the best underlying attacking metrics in the league last season, so with Joao Pedro leading the line, he could be very likely to benefit.

Jean-Philippe Mateta

Not many managers have had the same effect that Oliver Glasner has had on Crystal Palace in the previous two seasons. The Eagles went from being a side struggling for consistency to a side with an FA Cup and Community Shield trophy in their cabinet.

Glasner has also had a huge impact on players and their output. One of those players is Jean-Phillipe Mateta (£7.5m). The Frenchman hit an impressive 16 goals and five assists last season – making him a standout in his position. He also took and converted two penalties in the Community Shield final against Liverpool, suggesting he could take over as the designated penalty taker.

Jarrod Bowen

West Ham haven’t exactly been one of the most convincing sides in the Premier League over recent years. However, the Hammers have started to improve under new manager Graham Potter. Regardless of his West Ham’ form, Jarrod Bowen (£8m) seems to still produce the goods.

Many felt Bowen’ position change ahead of the new season would eradicate any appeal FPL managers have for him, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. This could be due to the lack of viable forward options, or the fact he bagged two goals and one assist during pre-season, either way, Bowen is his sides talisman, so will very likely be involved in a large proportion of their goals this season.

More Great Options

Whilst there are lots of options we need to monitor early on, there are still lots of forwards who could have a brilliant 2025/26 campaign, including: