Brentford's Early Fixtures Alert FPL Managers

The fixtures are out, and Brentford have quietly stepped into the Fantasy Premier League spotlight.

Keith Andrews guided the Bees to ninth in his first season in charge. Now the calendar has handed him – and Fantasy managers – a chance to land an early punch in 2026/27.

Across the opening five Gameweeks, Brentford avoid every one of last season’s top five. They host Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland and Chelsea, and travel to Leeds United and AFC Bournemouth. On the official Fixture Difficulty Ratings, that run averages 2.8 – second only to Liverpool over Gameweeks 1-5.

For FPL, that matters. It points straight at Brentford’s key assets at both ends of the pitch.

Thiago, the penalty box magnet

Igor Thiago was one of last season’s revelations. Twenty-two goals, one assist, 181 points. All from a starting price of £6.0m.

That bargain has gone. The Brazilian will cost more this time, and rightly so.

Yes, nine of those 22 goals came from the penalty spot, a number that will make some managers twitchy. But strip away the spot-kicks and the underlying numbers still scream “focal point”.

Thiago racked up 41 big chances – 19 more than his nearest team-mate, Kevin Schade. He didn’t just finish moves; he made them. Six big chances created pushed his total big-chance involvement to 47. No one at Brentford came close. Dango Ouattara was next best on 30, Schade just behind on 29.

That gap matters. It shows where the attack flows and where the goals are most likely to come from.

The timing of those chances tells another story. Thiago was involved in a big chance every 69.8 minutes. Ouattara clocked in at 77.1 minutes, with Schade drifting further back at 94.6.

So the hierarchy is clear. Thiago is the premium pick, the one you build around if you’re backing Brentford’s attack for this opening spell. If you want to double up, the numbers tilt in Ouattara’s favour over Schade – similar involvement, but at a sharper rate.

In a season where every million counts, that kind of edge can define an early wildcard.

Kelleher’s conundrum

At the other end, Caoimhin Kelleher quietly finished as Brentford’s second-highest FPL scorer with 143 points – and as the second top-scoring goalkeeper overall.

That will not go unnoticed in the pricing room.

Kelleher started last season at £4.5m, the classic budget ‘set and forget’ candidate. A rise now feels inevitable. The question is whether he still offers value once that happens.

Look beneath the headline total and the picture changes. Ten clean sheets is solid, but not elite – five other goalkeepers did better, and he finished nine shutouts behind Golden Glove winner David Raya. Kelleher’s score leaned heavily on three penalty saves, a bonus that’s hard to bank on repeating.

So managers face a familiar call. Do you chase last season’s points and pay more for a keeper whose total was boosted by high-variance moments? Or do you treat Brentford’s defensive numbers with a little more caution, especially when their early appeal lies so clearly in attack?

What’s not in doubt is the opportunity. A kind opening schedule, a penalty-taking striker at the heart of everything, and a supporting cast with numbers to justify a second attacking slot.

For those willing to trust Andrews’ Brentford from day one, the fixtures have drawn a clear line. The only question now is how heavily you’re prepared to back the Bees.