FPL Budget Picks: The Best MID Under £9.0

That's the best number in this entire bracket — more than players costing nearly two million more — and it comes with a favourable run of fixtures once Brighton get Liverpool away (LIV (A)) out of the way. Owned by 44.2% of managers, so you're not finding gold nobody else has spotted, but at this price you don't need to be clever. You need points per pound, and this is where they live.

The quick tour of the rest:

Rogers (CHE, £7.9m) — around 42 points over six, favourable fixtures starting with TOT (H). Owned by 47.3% of managers. The template pick, and the template is right.

Neto (CHE, £6.5m) — the quiet one. Roughly 32 points over six, same friendly Chelsea run, and owned by just 1.6% of managers. If you want a cheap pick almost nobody else has, this is it.

Mbeumo (MUN, £7.8m) and Cunha (MUN, £7.9m) — both facing a tough run despite BOU (H) next. Around 27 and 26 points respectively. Paying nearly £8m for that return is the kind of romance I'm paid to talk you out of.

Cherki (MCI, £8.0m) — owned by 37.0% of managers but only pegged for about 20 points over six. The most expensive player here with the lowest return in the bracket. That's a lot of managers holding the wrong City midfielder — Ndiaye (£5.8m) offers broadly the same points for £2.2m less.

Ødegaard (£6.8m) and Rice (£7.3m) — Arsenal pair, average fixtures, both in the low-20s for points. Fine, not exciting.

Dewsbury-Hall (£6.6m), Tavernier (£6.1m), Barnes (£6.1m) — all facing tough or very tough runs. Cheap, but cheap into Arsenal away and Manchester United away isn't value, it's just spending less to be disappointed.

The call: Groß is the top pick — best points in the bracket at £6.1m, and the money you save funds your premiums. Rogers is the best alternative if you've got £7.9m to spend and want the Chelsea fixtures. And if you're hunting something different, Neto gets you most of Rogers' run for £1.4m less and almost nobody owns him. Buy Groß first; everything else is negotiable.