Sideline Quant
Model feedLoading…

Accuracy record · 2026-27 · settled

Gameweek 1

In Gameweek 1 the model missed by 2.75 points a player across the 95 likely starters it scored, and the real team scored 59.

This page is published for every settled gameweek, good or bad, and is never edited after the fact. What follows is what the model projected before the deadline, what actually happened, how it did against the baselines on the same players, and what the real team scored.

Where Gameweek 1 went wrong

  • A worse week than usual: the model missed by 2.75 points a player, against 2.42 across the season so far.
  • Too optimistic overall: it predicted 332 points for 95 likely starters, who scored 302 — 10% high.
  • 11 points sat on the bench and did not count (no Bench Boost).
  • Captain Mbeumo scored 2 — tripled to 6 by the Triple Captain.
  • The best team the model could legally have bought scored 38 — 26% of the 148 a perfect-hindsight XI would have made.

What went right

  • The model was closer than last season's points per game on points per player: 2.75 to 2.93 on the 95 players both scored.
  • The model was closer than last season's points per game on the big misses: 3.35 to 3.38 on the 95 players both scored.
  • The model ordered the players better than last season's points per game: 0.29 to 0.27 on the 95 players both scored.
  • The team scored 59, 9 above the average manager's 50.

Not available this week

  • No haul figures for this week: the predictions it is scored against did not keep haul probabilities, so there is nothing to mark. Not a zero.
  • Gameweek 1 is marked against the predictions committed before the season started (the "seed"), because live runs were not being kept yet.
  • No top-10k sample was taken for this week, so there is no elite comparison.

League-wide accuracy

Scored over predicted E[minutes] > 60 (n=95 of 584 player-fixtures). Every figure below is this gameweek only; the season-to-date line beside each one is the pooled figure across all settled gameweeks.

MAE
2.75
season to date 2.42 · mean absolute error, points per player-fixture
RMSE
3.35
season to date 3.13 · punishes big misses harder
Rank corr.
0.29 (0.09–0.45)
Spearman: 1.00 orders the players exactly as the week did, 0 is no relationship. The bracket is a 95% row-bootstrap interval — a floor on the uncertainty.
Rows
95
player-fixtures scored in this gameweek's population
Σ projected
332
points the model projected over that population
Σ realised
302
points those players actually scored — the model was +30 on the total
P(≥6) AUC
not available — haul probabilities were not retained for this run
P(≥10) AUC
not available — haul probabilities were not retained for this run

Prediction vintage: 18 Aug, 21:51 UTC seed Predictions are the last model run before each gameweek's deadline (first kickoff minus 90 minutes). 'seed' marks gameweeks that predate run retention, scored against the committed pre-season bundle.

95% percentile intervals from a row-level bootstrap (1000 resamples, seeded). Player-fixtures within a gameweek share fixtures and clean sheets, so these intervals understate the true width — read them as a floor on the uncertainty, not the uncertainty. A haul AUC on fewer than 50 hauls is too few to claim.

The same error on every stated population

SPEC §1.6 lets the unconditional figure appear only beside the conditional one. All four are printed so a reader who prefers a different population finds ours already stated — and so a comparison with someone else's figure is made on the same rows or not at all.

PopulationnMAERMSESeason MAE
Every player-fixture with a prediction5841.492.561.25
Predicted E[minutes] > 05191.672.721.41
Played at least one minute (selected on the outcome)hindsight3012.213.402.01
Predicted E[minutes] > 60headline952.753.352.42

Reliability of the stated probabilities

In each bin of predicted probability, what fraction actually happened, with a Wilson 95% interval. A calibrated forecaster's observed column tracks its predicted column. The minutes model's P(60+) is read on every gameweek, the haul probabilities on the gameweeks whose run retained them.

P(plays 60+ minutes)
played 60+ minutes · every projected player-fixture with a retained p_start60 (n=584 of 584)
PredictedObserved95%n
1%1%0–5118
5%4%1–1257
8%34%23–4759
12%26%16–3858
18%41%30–5458
27%41%29–5359
38%53%41–6658
61%71%58–8158
80%85%73–9259

Against the comparators

Our error, next to something else's, on the same rows. An arm that cannot cover every row the model scored is compared only over the rows it does cover — with the model re-scored on exactly those rows, never against its headline figure for the week.

Comparator arm
Last season's points per game

Each player's total FPL points last season divided by his appearances — the yardstick a human reaches for before a ball is kicked.

Rows covered. This arm scored 95 of the model's 95 rows for this gameweek, with none of the model’s rows excluded. Every “model” number in this table is the model re-scored on exactly the 95 rows the arm covers, which is the only like-for-like comparison.

Population: reference arm's predicted E[minutes] > 60, imposed on every arm (n=95 of 403 player-fixtures); players with a prior-season appearance only

Last season's points per game against the model on the 95 rows both cover, Gameweek 1
MetricModel · these 95 rowsLast season's points per game
MAE
model ahead
2.752.93
RMSE
model ahead
3.353.38
Spearman rank correlation
model ahead
0.290.27
Haul AUC, 6+ points
not carried by this arm
Haul AUC, 10+ points
not carried by this arm

“—” means the payload carries no figure for that metric on this arm; it is not a zero. “No direction stated” means the payload does not say which way is better for that metric, so this page does not call a winner on it.

Comparator arm
Top-10k effective ownership

How heavily the sampled top-10k managers held each player at the last capture before the deadline, captaincy counted — the crowd's ranking of the field. A rank, not a points forecast.

Different rows, stated plainly. This arm scored 0 of the model's 95 rows for this gameweek; 95 of the model’s rows are excluded because the arm has nothing to say about them. Every “model” number in this table is the model re-scored on exactly the 0 rows the arm covers — so its headline error for the gameweek (2.75, over 95 rows) is not the figure to read against this arm.

Population:

Top-10k effective ownership against the model on the 0 rows both cover, Gameweek 1
MetricModel · these 0 rowsTop-10k effective ownership
MAE
not carried by this arm
RMSE
not carried by this arm
Spearman rank correlation
not carried by this arm
Haul AUC, 6+ points
not carried by this arm
Haul AUC, 10+ points
not carried by this arm

“—” means the payload carries no figure for that metric on this arm; it is not a zero. “No direction stated” means the payload does not say which way is better for that metric, so this page does not call a winner on it.

Comparator arm
FPL's own projection (ep_next)

The expected-points figure FPL publishes for each player before the gameweek, captured between the previous deadline and this one. Scored as a rank: it is per gameweek, so it says nothing about a double's second fixture.

Different rows, stated plainly. This arm scored 0 of the model's 95 rows for this gameweek; 95 of the model’s rows are excluded because the arm has nothing to say about them. Every “model” number in this table is the model re-scored on exactly the 0 rows the arm covers — so its headline error for the gameweek (2.75, over 95 rows) is not the figure to read against this arm.

Population:

FPL's own projection (ep_next) against the model on the 0 rows both cover, Gameweek 1
MetricModel · these 0 rowsFPL's own projection (ep_next)
MAE
not carried by this arm
RMSE
not carried by this arm
Spearman rank correlation
not carried by this arm
Haul AUC, 6+ points
not carried by this arm
Haul AUC, 10+ points
not carried by this arm

“—” means the payload carries no figure for that metric on this arm; it is not a zero. “No direction stated” means the payload does not say which way is better for that metric, so this page does not call a winner on it.

How the arms are scored Lower is better for MAE and RMSE; higher is better for Spearman and haul AUC (every metric states its own direction in `metrics`). Each baseline is scored on the model's own likely-starter rows (predicted E[minutes] > 60) and reports the model's score over exactly those rows, so the two numbers are like for like even when the baseline cannot cover every row. Overall Spearman and AUC are means over the gameweeks where BOTH arms have a value — never a cross-gameweek pool, which would rank a GW1 blank against a GW7 haul.

Legal-squad Team of the Week

Picked from the last model run before the deadline, at the prices captured before it, then scored on what actually happened.

Not comparable with the real entry. A fresh £100.0m squad, bought from scratch every gameweek: it pays no transfer hits, carries nothing over from last week and banks no price rises. It is a weekly mark on the model's picks under the real squad rules — not a strategy any manager can run, and not comparable with a managed entry on equal terms.

XI projected
54.6
with captain 61.0
XI realised
38
with captain 40
Capture
26%
of the 148-point hindsight XI — a ceiling with no budget and no club cap, not a squad
Spend
£100.0m
of £100.0m · 4-5-1
The legal-squad Team of the Week for Gameweek 1
PlayerClubPosPoints
RayaArsenalGK6
GabrielArsenalDEF5
O'ReillyMan CityDEF2
VirgilLiverpoolDEF2
TarkowskiEvertonDEF6
Mbeumo(C)Man UtdMID2
B.FernandesMan UtdMID2
SzoboszlaiLiverpoolMID8
RiceArsenalMID3
WirtzLiverpoolMID2
WatkinsAston VillaFWD0
Bench (does not score)
DubravkaSpursGK0
DiopIpswich TownDEF2
DestanHull CityFWD0
Walle EgeliIpswich TownFWD1

Against the real entry

TOTW
40
XI with the captain doubled
Entry
59
before hits; none were taken this week
Difference
−19
not a like-for-like contest

Read this as a mark, not a match. A fresh £100.0m squad, bought from scratch every gameweek: it pays no transfer hits, carries nothing over from last week and banks no price rises. It is a weekly mark on the model's picks under the real squad rules — not a strategy any manager can run, and not comparable with a managed entry on equal terms.

Deadline 21 Aug, 17:30 UTC · prediction 18 Aug, 21:51 UTC (seed) · prices 18 Jul, 13:53 UTC21 Aug, 17:01 UTC (241 from an earlier capture) · pool 587 of 587 predicted · 587 of them had no earlier appearance to read position and club from, so those came from this gameweek

The real entry · Sideline's Team

The squad the model actually ran — with transfer hits, bench points and continuity, all of which the Team of the Week above is free of.

Points
59
no hits taken
vs average
+9
field average 50 (FPL publishes it net of hits)
vs top 10k
no top-10k capture for this gameweek — not a zero
Overall rank
1,987,556
gameweek rank 1,987,559
Projected
65.7
Σ multiplier × xP over 15 of 15 picks, from the committed pre-season seed bundle (18 Aug, 21:51 UTC)
Bench
11
left on the bench
Transfers
0
0 paid · chip: TC
Squad value
£99.5m
£0.5m in the bank · captain Mbeumo
The entry’s squad in Gameweek 1
PlayerClubMinsBonusPoints
RayaArsenal9006
GabrielArsenal9005
O'ReillyMan City6202
VirgilLiverpool9002
CalafioriArsenal8009
TarkowskiEverton9006
B.Fernandes(V)Man Utd9002
SzoboszlaiLiverpool9018
WirtzLiverpool6202
Mbeumo(C)Man Utd9002
João PedroChelsea90211
PhillipsbenchHull City000
TavernierbenchBournemouth90310
Walle EgelibenchIpswich Town1001
Kusi-AsarebenchFulham000

Cumulative after this gameweek: 59 · captured 28 Aug, 17:08 UTC · 25 squad captures

Where these numbers come from

Predictions are the last model run before each gameweek's deadline (first kickoff minus 90 minutes). 'seed' marks gameweeks that predate run retention, scored against the committed pre-season bundle.

Population scored: predicted E[minutes] > 60 (n=95 of 584 player-fixtures).

This page is a slice of the same /performance/live payload that drives the full record — one derivation, so a gameweek page and the season page cannot disagree. The projections themselves are published in full at /data/gw/1.

The exact rows this gameweek was scored on — the last run before the deadline, as served — are at fpl-quant-api.fly.dev/performance/live/gw/1/predictions with sha256 4d566e22…dc02. The digest is of the rows array alone as compact JSON (no whitespace), rows sorted by player then fixture — the response says so beside it. Recompute any number on this page from them.

What this record measures, on which rows, against which comparators and at which checkpoints was fixed in advance: the pre-registration (sha256 27307797…ba4f, checkpoints GW10, GW19, GW38).

Every settled gameweek has a page: GW1, GW2, GW3.