FPL budget picks by position for Gameweek 7: the best cheap keepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards

Why the cheap end decides squads

A Fantasy Premier League squad is 15 players on a 100.0m budget, with no more than three from one club. The premium players everyone owns cost the same for everyone, so the budget that separates one squad from another sits at the bottom: the fifth defender, the fourth midfielder, the third forward, the backup keeper. A cheap player who starts every week and scores frees the budget to upgrade somewhere that matters.

This guide ranks the cheap end of each position for the five gameweeks after the Gameweek 7 deadline (Saturday Oct 17, 11:00 AM UK time). The price caps are 4.5m for goalkeepers and defenders, 5.5m for midfielders and 6.0m for forwards. Every player listed has started at least 60 percent of his team's matches and is listed fit or nearly fit, because a cheap player who does not start is not cheap, he is empty.

All projections are Parlae's own, as of Oct 13. They move as minutes, injuries and prices change; the live versions are on each player's page.

Goalkeepers at 4.5m or less

Verbruggen is the clear pick. Brighton have conceded 5 goals in six matches and face Crystal Palace at home first, the easiest grade on the board this week. He has played all 540 minutes and already has 32 points, the most of any keeper at this price. Rushworth, owned by fewer than one manager in a hundred, is the differential: Coventry concede more, which also means more saves, and saves score a point for every three.

Defenders at 4.5m or less

The two Coventry defenders lead because of defensive contribution points, the rule that pays 2 points to a defender who makes 10 clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles in a match. Thomas averages 12.6 of those actions per 90 minutes and has reached 10 in four of his six matches, which is worth more over five weeks than a clean sheet chance at a side that concedes. At 4.0m he is within 0.1m of the cheapest defender in the game.

Justin has the most season points in this group, 32, and Leeds have conceded only 5 goals in six. Ajer has the kindest fixtures, three home matches graded 2 in five weeks.

Midfielders at 5.5m or less

McGinn tops the group even though all five of his fixtures are graded 3 or 4, because he starts every week and his expected goal involvement holds up. Diego Gomez is the one with the fixtures: Brighton are the league's best attack by Parlae's measure (1.42 times league average), and their run after Gameweek 9 gets easier still.

Forwards at 6.0m or less

Barry is the best cheap player on the board at any position: 6.2 projected points this week, more than every midfielder above and every keeper and defender too, at home to Chelsea, who concede 1.17 times the league average. He is owned by 8.6 percent of managers, which makes him a differential as well as a budget pick.

How to use this

Pick the position where your squad is weakest, then take the highest projection you can afford there. Check two things before you buy: that he started last week (the player page shows his last eight matches) and that the price has not just risen. The transfers page lists the players managers are buying today, and the budget picks with rising ownership are the ones most likely to cost 0.1m more tomorrow.

Related pages

Every number here updates on parlae.io/fantasy/soccer: the captain projections, the differentials under 10 percent owned, and the fixture grid behind the difficulty grades.