The Best Value FPL Players for the 2020/21 Season

Finding value can be difficult at the start of a new FPL campaign yet it is crucial to make the most of our £100m budgets so the following list of players have the potential to offer the most value at the start of the 2019/20 season.

The players below all cost 6.5m of less on the Official Premier League Fantasy Football game but they would also all be good options for any FPL game this season including FanTeam’s €1,000,000 season long league.

Although everybody enjoys picking their premium players the most, the cheaper options are often the ones that make the difference in your mini-leagues with a lot of differentials on offer. That is why the best cheap options on FPL form an important part of our Fantasy Football tips for the upcoming season.

 

Goalkeepers

We’re going to start with the goalkeepers in FPL 2020/21 and with popular choice and highest scorer from last season Nick Pope now into the premium price range at 5.5m, what are the cheaper goalkeepers you could use for this season?

 

Orjan Nyland (4.0m) – Aston Villa

Perhaps not the most interesting start, but a useful option nonetheless. Aston Villa’s Orjan Nyland was dropped at the tail end of last season after a series of unconvincing displays but may be in line to retake his place between the sticks.

Villa’s first-choice shot-stopper, Tom Heaton, remains sidelined through injury, and Pepe Reina has returned to parent club AC Milan. This leaves the door open for Nyland to start the season and provide some value, at least temporarily.

At best, he can rotate with another cheap keeper in your FPL squad, at worst, he’s likely to be a playing back-up at the cheapest available price point.

 

Alex McCarthy (4.5m) – Southampton

Our second keeper pick has a far higher ceiling and comes at just 0.5m more. Alex McCarthy secured his place as Southampton’s no.1 in Gameweek 11 last season and hasn’t looked like relinquishing it since.

In FPL terms, McCarthy averaged over 3.5 points per game over the course of the season. With Southampton looking much improved after the restart, he could be a great choice at just 4.5m.

Southampton have a promising run of fixtures to kick off the season, allowing managers to set and forget with McCarthy. The Saints come up against Crystal Palace, West Brom, Aston Villa, and Newcastle in their opening eight matches.

 

Defenders

We’re into the defenders next and away from the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold (7.5m) and Andy Robertson (7.0m), there are some strong choices for budget defenders. Playing your cards right can also see you use rotation to ensure you avoid playing too many of the top 6 through the season. Using two of our options here in Ruben Vinagre and Charlie Taylor in rotation means you only play the traditional top 6 a couple of times all season.

 

James Justin (4.5m) – Leicester

Leicester right-back James Justin looks likely to offer plenty of early-season value. Justin started each of Leicester’s last nine league games as a result of Ricardo Pereira’s ongoing injury. No Foxes defender played more minutes after the restart to the last campaign, highlighting his security as a budget FPL option this season.

Brendan Rodgers’ side were solid defensively for the most part of the season. Their 13 clean sheets were only bettered by three other Premier League sides (Manchester City, Liverpool, and Burnley).

Leicester have one of the best runs of fixtures on paper, facing West Brom, Burnley, West Ham, and Aston Villa in their first five matches.

 

Rúben Vinagre (4.5m) – Wolves

In a similar vein to Justin, Rúben Vinagre’s value has been significantly boosted by an injury to a teammate. Jonny Otto’s long-term absence means Vinagre will take his place at left wing-back unless a replacement is signed imminently.

Should he start the season as expected, Vinagre would be the cheapest route into a Wolves defence that kept several clean sheets post-restart.

The Portuguese defender will come up against West Ham, Fulham, Leeds, Newcastle, and Crystal Palace before Gameweek 7.

 

Charlie Taylor (4.5m) – Burnley

Our final FPL budget recommendation in defence is Burnley’s, Charlie Taylor. The Clarets defensive picks have received a price increase on the most part after a successful 2019/20. Goalkeeper Nick Pope and centre-back James Tarkowski are each priced at 5.5m, making Taylor’s value even better.

Only Tarkowski and Ben Mee featured more last season in the Burnley back four. 15 clean sheets last season was a better return than any side outside the top two.

A blank Gameweek 1 may put off some managers but the likes of West Brom, Newcastle, Brighton, and Crystal Palace in their next eight games make him worthy of consideration.

Read More: First draft of our FPL 2020/21 team.

 

Midfielders

The obvious choices in midfield are the expensive ones and the Official FPL game have moved the goalposts a bit this season, making the likes of Mason Greenwood (7.5m) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (12.0m) midfielders rather than strikers. Those two players are priced too high for our FPL budget options, but they will be very popular midfield choices none the less.

 

Tomas Soucek (5.0m) – West Ham

A popular pick before the fixture list was released, Tomas Soucek’s stock has fallen since then. The West Hm midfielder scored three goals in his final seven appearances of the season since joining the East London side in January.

Those goals put the Czech international on a lot of people’s radars a but a tough run of fixtures has put off a lot of people. It may be a case of wait and see with Soucek but at just 5.0m he may still be worth selecting.

Whether you decide to navigate the first seven weeks featuring Arsenal, Wolves, Leicester, Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool or not, Soucek should provide good value at some stage.

 

Stuart Armstrong (5.5m) – Southampton

Another Southampton player features here with the value coming from Stuart Armstrong this time. Armstrong recorded a nine-goal involvements last season, eight of which came in 2020. He averaged a very impressive 4.8 points per game after the restart and would be fantastic value if he can maintain that.

There are few more attractive picks at his 5.5m price point. Southampton’s previously mentioned run of strong fixtures makes Armstrong one to consider from the off.

 

Phil Foden (6.5m) – Manchester City

After scoring well post-restart, Phil Foden is worth a look. David Silva’s departure means Foden’s game time should increase once again this season. Many expect this to be Foden’s real breakout season which could translate into Premier League Fantasy Football value.

Rotation is undeniably a risk when it comes to Manchester City and Pep Guardiola but at 6.5m there could still be good value.

Manchester City begin their campaign in Gameweek 2 before coming up against Wolves, Leicester, and Arsenal in the next four fixtures, It’s not the ideal start for would-be fantasy investment but the ceiling is certainly high with Foden.

Read More: How should you navigate the blank Gameweek 1 in FPL 2020/21?

 

Forwards

Onto the budget forward options for FPL 2020/21 now and it will be interesting to see how FPL managers play the opening few gameweeks. Sergio Aguero has a blank GW1, as does Tony Martial. Danny Ings’ price has gone up to 8.5m which might put people off but Wolves’ Raul Jiminez (8.5m) looks to be a very popular choice with a 21% selection rate at this time. However, we’re looking at the budget forward options today and the following two players stand out.

 

Aleksander Mitrovic (6.0m) – Fulham

Championship goals don’t always translate to Premier League goals but Aleksander Mitrovic is no stranger to England’s top flight. The Serbian striker was top goalscorer last season in the Championship after scoring 11 league goals for Fulham in his last Premier League season.

The Cottagers have a welcoming set of opening games featuring Leeds, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, West Brom, and West Ham in their first eight. At 6.0m, few attackers have numbers like Mitrovic who could be a great cheap option.

 

Rhian Brewster (4.5m) – Liverpool (for now)

We conclude our value picks with a potential gem. Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster comes it at just 4.5m and could well be starting for a Premier League club this season. Whether he gets regular game time or not will depend on his proposed loan move.

The young attacker has been linked with several Premier League clubs after a solid end to the season with Swansea. Should he get his move, Brewster will be a very cheap enabler in many manager’s front lines.

 

Play FPL for CASH this season

If you like to play cash leagues in Fantasy Football, then FanTeam might be a good option for you. The platform is very similar to the Official FPL site with similar rules and scoring systems. The only difference is that you can play for real money and their season long league comes with a €200,000 top prize.

There are also options to play Fantasy Football week by week, picking squads for a specific gameweek and joining our Fantasy Football Whatsapp group to chat about FPL this season.

Join FanTeam using one of our special links and you can also get a 150% deposit bonus added to your account!

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