The pricing feels vastly different in Fantasy Premier League this season, with significant cost changes for the essential Erling Haaland (£15.5m), Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) and Gabriel (£8.0m).But alongside the popular names, there’s plenty of value to be had in the game, with kind pricing almost everywhere and across all positions.So, who are the best budget options we need to be choosing on the fringes of our squads to pick up differential points and also allow us to afford the big premiums?GoalkeepersIt feels like we’ve been quite fortunate in recent seasons to have starting goalkeepers at the base price point of £4million but this time around, it is slim pickings.Don’t be fooled by the high ownership of Martin Dubravka (£4.0m) following his move to Tottenham Hotspur: he’s set to be their third-choice behind Antonin Kinsky (£4.5m) and Guglielmo Vicario (£4.5m), albeit the latter’s Spurs future is currently uncertain.It’s Kinsky who is grabbing the most attention in the £4.5million bracket, which seems like a steal for Tottenham’s number one goalkeeper. Their consecutive 17th-place finishes in the Premier League may curb that enthusiasm but we do expect significant improvements from them this time under head coach Roberto De Zerbi.There’s also Brighton & Hove Albion’s Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m), who kept 10 clean sheets last season, at this price point. Brighton have a busy start to the campaign as they play in the UEFA Conference League’s final round of qualifying in the midweeks before and after Gameweek One. However, Verbruggen represents great value.DefendersThe big headline going into this campaign is that all of the currently listed defenders at the three promoted clubs are the same low price, so there’s plenty for FPL bargain-hunters to pick from.Coventry City kept 17 Championship clean sheets last season (only Millwall, with 19, had more), which has captured the attention of fantasy managers, who have shown early investment in right-back Milan van Ewijk (£4.0m) and centre-back Bobby Thomas (£4.0m).Van Ewijk provides plenty of attacking threat from the right side, producing eight assists in the 2025-26 Championship. However, Thomas will perhaps provide more consistent points via defensive contributions. He also managed three goals and four assists last campaign.The downside to picking Coventry defenders from the outset is that they face champions Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the league’s opening game of the season next Friday, but they do follow that with fellow newcomers Hull City at home in Gameweek 2.At £4.0m, Coventry centre-back Thomas could be worth including in your squad (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)Ipswich Town have a much kinder opening fixture, against visitors Sunderland at Portman Road, with new signing Issa Diop (£4.0m) the most popular pick in the game at this price point.We expect Diop, who has made 173 Premier League appearances for West Ham and then Fulham, to regularly hit the 10 defensive contributions threshold needed to earn two bonus points, but it might be his likely centre-back partner Dara O’Shea (£4.0m), a player just shy of his own century of top-flight games with West Bromwich Albion, Burnley and now Ipswich, may be even more prominent.However, momentum is quickly in favour of the more-attacking Leif Davis (£4.om) after he scored twice last weekend in a 3-0 pre-season win against Rayo Vallecano. The left-back managed six goal involvements last season.John Egan (£4.0m) looks the best bet among Hull’s defenders but a tricky opener against Manchester United means benching the Republic of Ireland international or investment elsewhere is probably wise.The next price bracket up is a much richer fishing ground.An unspecified injury that reportedly has Brentford’s Sepp van den Berg (£5.0m) facing a couple of months out means that Kristoffer Ajer (£4.5m) is set to start the campaign in the team. He produced defensive contribution points in nine of his 20 appearances last season and Brentford have some favourable opening fixtures, including Leeds United (A) and Sunderland (H) in gameweeks two and three, respectively.Nottingham Forest are set to play with wing-backs under new coach Oliver Glasner, which means Ola Aina (£4.5m) could play high on the right. He comes in cheaper than Neco Williams (£5.0m) on the opposite flank.At Manchester United, Luke Shaw (£4.5m) represents excellent value, having started all 38 Premier League games last season. They also kept six clean sheets in 17 league matches following Michael Carrick’s appointment as head coach in January.MidfieldersIt’s slim pickings as things stand in the basement £4.5million category for those FPL managers intending to set up in a 3-4-3 or 4-4-2 formation, which perhaps feeds the motivation for an early Bench Boost strategy.Crystal Palace’s Will Hughes has the early ownership momentum, while Hull options Regan Slater and Matt Crooks are worth a look as things stand. Slater has multiple routes to points with defensive contribution potential and the odd attacking return, while Crooks is more explosive if he can get consistent minutes, having scored four times with five assists last season.Moving up in price slightly, we find a promising selection of midfielders costing £6million or under.Heading that list is Sunderland’s Enzo Le Fee (£6.0m), who is a safe bet for returns. He got five goals and six assists last season, and scored defensive contribution points on eight occasions. His appeal comes in that he shares set pieces, including penalties. It’s a promising start to the campaign for Sunderland too, facing Ipswich (A) and Fulham (H).Sunderland midfielder Enzo Le Fee is already very popular in FPL at £6.0m (George Wood/Getty Images)Brighton’s Pascal Gross (£5.5m) comes in slightly cheaper and, again, provides plenty of routes to points. He produced one goal and six assists in 19 appearances last season after rejoining his former club in January, taking a good share of set pieces, and the recent departure of forward Danny Welbeck to Chelsea means that he may also be on penalties.ForwardsFinding a £4.5million starting forward in FPL has long been an urban myth, although Junior Kroupi, who is now priced at £7.5m and has also been reclassified as a midfielder, proved it could be done last season, when he scored 13 goals for Bournemouth.There are two who have emerged with some potential for minutes: Ipswich’s Sindre Walle Egeli (£4.5m) and Fulham’s Jonah Kusi-Asare (£4.5m).Egeli made 28 appearances in the Championship last season, producing four goals and one assist. He mainly operates on the right wing.Kusi-Asare, meanwhile, came from Bayern Munich last season, initially on loan, and with Raul Jimenez’s departure this summer, plus Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m) managing just one goal in 25 appearances all campaign, the 19-year-old could break through. However, Fulham have signed Gonzalo Garcia (£6.0m) from Real Madrid for €40million (£34m; $46m) to shake up their forward line.Increasing the pricing, we see Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m) of Leeds making the Gameweek One ‘template’ squad — he’s already an extremely popular pick.Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Leeds is kindly priced at £6.0m (Daniel Bartel/Getty Images)Calvert-Lewin stayed fit for the majority of 2025-26, scoring 14 league goals, and he’s also on penalties, which provides a further route to points. He will surely benefit from a full pre-season after being a free agent until the middle of August a year ago.Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey (£6.0m) should also be under consideration after establishing himself in the Premier League in his debut season last time, with seven goals and two assists in 31 games. Brobbey helped Regis Le Bris’ promoted team finish seventh, so they will now have midweek Europa League involvement to contend with from mid-September until at least the end of January.Keep an eye on Nottingham Forest’s Igor Jesus (£6.0m) too at this price point, after he produced six goals and six assists in the Premier League last season as a newcomer to English football.