The current FPL leader made a clever move by triple-captaining a defender that only 3.1% of players picked.
A Fantasy Premier League (FPL) fan who triple-captained Brighton’s defender-turned-winger Maxim De Cuyper in Gameweek 1 is now the top FPL player in the world with 116 points!
So far, De Cuyper is the best performer in GW1, scoring 17 points after grabbing a goal, an assist, and a clean sheet in Brighton’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa.
He’s outscored everyone, including his teammate Jack Hinshelwood (16 points), Hull City’s Nobel Mendy (15), and others like Mamadou Sangare, Semi Ajayi, Anton Stach, and Michael Kayode.
Thanks to injuries to Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh, Fabian Hurzeler gave De Cuyper a more attacking role on Saturday, which really paid off for FPL managers everywhere.
Although De Cuyper is officially a full-back and listed as a defender on the FPL site, he showed he can contribute a lot going forward.
Only 3.5% of FPL players picked the £4.5m De Cuyper for GW1, including Saif Ali, who made a bold move by triple-captaining him and earned a huge 51 points!
Saif Ali’s team also includes Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai, who scored 12 and 8 points, plus Arsenal stars Ben White (11), Martin Odegaard (11), and Kai Havertz (6).
Thiago, Brentford’s priciest FPL player at £8.0m, had a tough week after missing a penalty in their 3-0 win over Spurs. He scored 0 points for Ali but remains the world number one overall.
Before Friday’s Premier League kickoff between Arsenal and Coventry, FPL announced position changes for several players.
Junior Kroupi, Patrick Dorgu, and Omar Marmoush are among the players with new positions this season.
Kroupi is now listed as a number 10 instead of a forward, reflecting how he mostly played behind Evanilson for Bournemouth last season.
Dorgu moved from defender to midfielder after playing a more advanced role under Michael Carrick in 2025/26.
Marmoush switched from midfielder to forward after spending most of last season as a centre-forward under Pep Guardiola.
Here’s the full list of FPL position changes for 2026/27: