Ahead of the new season in Fantasy Premier League, The Scout looks at players who could have a major impact on their team and the role they could play.

The appointment of Andoni Iraola as Liverpool‘s new head coach gives Rio Ngumoha the opportunity to make a big impact in the first season of their post-Mohamed Salah era.

Similarly to the Reds’ new left winger Victor Munoz, Ngumoha has the pace, dribbling and ball-carrying ability that looks a perfect fit for the high-pressing tactic Iraola adopted while in charge of AFC Bournemouth.

Although the versatile Ngumoha predominantly earned minutes on the left under previous head coach Arne Slot, he could well occupy the role on the right vacated by Salah’s departure. 

Kind early fixtures

Notably, Liverpool have one of the very best early schedules this season, which suggests managers could be rewarded by investing in their key attackers for the opening gameweeks of 2026/27.

Iraola’s side avoid all of last season’s top 10 sides across Gameweeks 1-4, visiting Newcastle United and promoted Ipswich Town, while hosting Nottingham Forest and Fulham.

This run of opponents is also shown by the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), a tool based on a complex algorithm developed by FPL experts, where the difficulty of each fixture is ranked from one to five, with one being the easiest possible match and five being the hardest.

The Reds’ opening four fixtures have an average difficulty of just 2.5, according to the FDR.

Liverpool’s opening four matches

GW
Opp.
FDR*

1
Newcastle (A)
3

2
Nott’m Forest (H)
3

3
Ipswich (A)
2

4
Fulham (H)
2

*1=easiest possible fixture, 5=hardest possible fixture

Strong all-round potential

In terms of price for 2026/27 Fantasy, Ngumoha’s total of two goals and an assist last season should ensure he comes in at no more than £6.5m. 

The teenager only started five matches under Slot in 2025/26, though, appearing a further 14 occasions as a substitute.

When compared with his midfield team-mates Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz last season, Ngumoha’s potential for both goals and assists fares very well. 

In terms of goal threat, his average of 40.9 minutes per shot and 59.5 minutes per shot in the box in 2025/26 BOTH rank top in the analysis below.

Although Szoboszlai had 71 shots last season, just 19 of them were inside the box – his average of 170.1 minutes per shots in the box was not far off being three times slower than Ngumoha.

Ngumoha’s assist potential also holds up here, with the trio more or less identical when it comes to frequency.

As Liverpool’s main set-piece taker, Szoboszlai created a chance every 41.0 minutes – an average matched by the teenager, despite his own lack of dead-ball duties. 

And when it comes to creating big chances – situations where a player is expected to score – Ngumoha comes out on top.

Indeed, he crated a big chance once every 218.3 minutes, which was more than twice as fast as Wirtz. 

Midfielder comparison, 25/26

Mins per
Ngumoha
Szoboszlai
Wirtz

Shot
40.9
45.5
46.9

Shot in box
59.5
170.1
66.5

Chance created
41.0
41.0
40.0

Big chance created 
218.3
230.8
478.6

FPL point
15.2
20.2
19.1

Monitoring Liverpool’s pre-season friendlies will be vital, with the Reds one of eight clubs who are heading into 2026/27 with a new manager. 

If Ngumoha can impress over the summer and secure a regular role, he can offer strong potential for both goals and assists in Iraola’s new-look attack.