Finding the right budget players can often make the difference between a good Fantasy Premier League team and a great one. While premium assets take up a significant chunk of the budget, managers still need cheaper midfielders and forwards capable of delivering consistent returns.
The obvious strategy is to follow the crowd. Popular budget options such as Pascal Gross, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Enzo Le Fee, Iliman Ndiaye, Brian Brobbey and Igor Jesus are already attracting plenty of attention among FPL managers.
But what if you want to take a different route?
For managers willing to take a little more risk, low-owned players can provide a significant advantage. A goal or assist from a player owned by less than 2% of managers can have a much bigger impact on rank than a return from an asset sitting in thousands of similar teams.
The challenge, of course, is finding differentials who are not simply different for the sake of it. Ideally, they should combine low ownership with encouraging underlying numbers, a strong record from last season or favourable upcoming fixtures.
Here are 17 differential midfielders and forwards priced at £6.0m or below who could be worth considering in FPL 2026/27.
Midfielders
Ryan Gravenberch – £6.0m
Ryan Gravenberch might not immediately spring to mind when looking for an FPL midfielder because of his deeper role for Liverpool, but his numbers from last season suggest he deserves far more attention.
The Dutch midfielder scored five goals and provided five assists on his way to 144 FPL points. Importantly, 17 of those came through bonus points, highlighting that Gravenberch does not necessarily need a goal or assist to put himself in contention for additional returns.
There could also be potential for points through defensive contributions. Gravenberch generally operates as a deeper-lying midfielder and is regularly involved in tackles, interceptions, recoveries and other defensive actions. That gives him another possible route to FPL returns through the DEFCON system, particularly in matches where Liverpool are required to do more defensive work.
His attacking ceiling will naturally be lower than that of £6.0m midfielders operating as wingers or No.10s. However, that needs to be balanced against the security of playing for one of the strongest teams in the league. Five goals and five assists last season showed that Gravenberch can still contribute in the final third despite starting from deeper positions.
Liverpool’s favourable opening run of fixtures further strengthens his case as an early-season differential. Managers looking for a relatively secure £6.0m midfielder rather than chasing the explosive potential of a winger could find plenty to like.
Kevin Schade – £6.0m
Kevin Schade arguably possesses one of the strongest statistical cases among the midfielders on this list.
Schade finished last season with eight goals and five assists, producing 13 attacking returns. More importantly, his xGI stood at an impressive 14.13 – the highest among midfielders available for £6.0m or less.
He is also ranked 25th on the ICT Index.
Despite those numbers, Schade’s ownership is only 2.0%, keeping him within differential territory. There is another factor working in his favour: fixtures.
Schade has a particularly attractive run of opponents until Gameweek 4. Managers looking for an early-season punt could therefore consider starting with him and reassessing after the opening few weeks.
At £6.0m, he is slightly more expensive than some of the other options on this list, but his underlying numbers justify the additional investment.
Yankuba Minteh – £6.0m
Yankuba Minteh is another £6.0m midfielder who could offer excellent differential potential.
He scored three goals and provided eight assists last season, while recording an xGI of 8.87. Minteh is also ranked 24th on the ICT Index, putting him ahead of several similarly priced alternatives.
His ownership is particularly appealing at just 0.7%.
The fixtures are also reasonably encouraging. Minteh has a good run until Gameweek 7, although meetings with Chelsea in Gameweek 2 and Arsenal in Gameweek 5 complicate matters slightly.
Managers willing to rotate him for those difficult fixtures could potentially extract plenty of value from the remaining matches.
Brenden Aaronson – £5.5m
Brenden Aaronson could be one of the more interesting £5.5m midfield options for managers looking beyond the obvious picks.
He registered four goals and eight assists last season, meaning he was directly involved in 12 goals. Those are respectable numbers for a player available at this price point.
Aaronson also recorded an expected goal involvement (xGI) of 8.13 and sits 34th on the ICT Index. However, the biggest attraction from a differential perspective is his ownership.
At just 0.8%, very few FPL managers currently have Aaronson in their squads. His combination of creativity and goal involvement makes him an option worth monitoring, particularly for managers who want a cheap fifth midfielder with genuine attacking potential.
Mikkel Damsgaard – £5.5m
If Kevin Schade looks attractive but the additional £0.5m is difficult to find, Mikkel Damsgaard provides an alternative route.
Damsgaard recorded four goals and four assists last season and has an xGI of 8.04. He is ranked 31st on the ICT Index, while his ownership currently stands at only 0.7%.
Like Schade, Damsgaard also benefits from a strong run of fixtures until Gameweek 4.
The £5.5m price tag could prove particularly useful. That £0.5m saving might allow managers to upgrade another position without sacrificing too much attacking potential in midfield.
He may not possess Schade’s ceiling based on last season’s numbers, but Damsgaard offers an interesting balance of price, fixtures and extremely low ownership.
Diego Gomez – £5.0m
At just £5.0m, Diego Gomez is one of the cheapest midfielders on this list.
Gomez produced five goals and one assist last season and finished with an xGI of 7.96. His ownership currently stands at only 1.9%.
His price could be particularly important for managers trying to squeeze another premium player into their squad.
Gomez is also £0.5m cheaper than his more popular Brighton teammate Pascal Gross. For managers who want exposure to Brighton’s attack without following the crowd, Gomez could therefore represent an alternative.
At this price, managers do not necessarily need huge returns every week. Regular starts and occasional attacking contributions could be enough to make Gomez valuable.
Anton Stach – £6.0m
Leeds midfielder Anton Stach is another name who could fly under the radar during the opening stages of the campaign.
Stach recorded five goals and six assists last season, giving him 11 direct goal involvements.
His xGI of 7.35 is not quite as impressive as Schade’s, but his actual attacking output demonstrates that he can contribute at both ends of the goal-assist equation.
Leeds also have a favourable run of fixtures until Gameweek 5, potentially making Stach an early-season differential.
At £6.0m, there is plenty of competition, so managers will need to decide whether his combination of fixtures and previous output offers enough upside. However, he is certainly one of the less obvious midfield names worth keeping on the watchlist.
Harvey Barnes – £6.0m
Harvey Barnes is perhaps one of the most intriguing names on this entire list.
The Newcastle midfielder still managed seven goals and an assist last season despite it being far from his best campaign. His xGI stood at 9.56, demonstrating that he continued to get into dangerous attacking positions.
The major issue with Barnes has traditionally been minutes.
However, Anthony Gordon’s departure could potentially open the door for Barnes to receive considerably more playing time this season. If that happens, a £6.0m price tag could suddenly look very attractive.
Barnes is currently owned by only 1.2% of managers.
Unlike some budget differentials whose appeal is largely based on price, Barnes has already demonstrated that he can score regularly at Premier League level. If his minutes increase significantly, he could become one of the standout options in the £6.0m bracket.
Ephron Mason-Clark – £5.5m
Promoted players can be difficult to judge in FPL because Championship numbers do not always translate directly into Premier League returns. However, Ephron Mason-Clark’s numbers deserve attention.
The Coventry City midfielder finished last season with 10 goals and six assists.
Sixteen attacking returns from midfield is an impressive total, particularly for a player entering FPL at only £5.5m.
His ownership is also remarkably low at just 0.3%.
Coventry’s attacking output at Premier League level will obviously be a key factor, but Mason-Clark could emerge as one of their most interesting fantasy assets if he retains a prominent attacking role.
For managers searching for a genuine differential rather than simply a moderately low-owned player, his 0.3% ownership makes him particularly interesting.
Victor Torp – £5.5m
Victor Torp provides another route into Coventry City’s midfield.
Torp recorded 10 goals and seven assists last season, meaning his 17 attacking returns actually exceeded Mason-Clark’s tally.
Despite those numbers, he is currently owned by only 0.2% of FPL managers.
At £5.5m, Torp could become an interesting enabler if Coventry adapt well to Premier League football.
There is inevitably additional risk attached to selecting attacking players from newly promoted sides. However, that uncertainty is also one of the reasons their ownership remains so low.
Managers willing to gamble on Coventry performing better offensively than expected could therefore consider Torp as one of the most aggressive differential selections.
Forwards
Evanilson – £6.0m
Evanilson stands out as one of the strongest forward options in the £6.0m-and-under category based on his underlying numbers.
The Bournemouth striker scored six goals and supplied seven assists last season after registering 10 goals and five assists in 2024/25.
His xGI of 12.12 is particularly noteworthy. It is the third-highest among forwards priced at £6.0m or below, behind only Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Danny Welbeck.
Despite that, Evanilson is owned by only 2.0% of managers.
Bournemouth’s opening fixture against Manchester City is an obvious problem, so managers selecting him may need a rotation option for Gameweek 1. However, their fixtures improve significantly between Gameweeks 2 and 4.
Rather than judging Evanilson on the opening weekend, he could therefore be a player to target either from Gameweek 2 or as part of a planned rotation strategy.
Richarlison – £6.0m
Richarlison’s potential FPL appeal is closely connected to Dominic Solanke’s fitness.
He recorded 11 goals and four assists last season, while his xGI of 10.10 ranks fourth among the forwards in this price category.
Those numbers demonstrate considerable attacking potential if he receives regular minutes in a central role.
The uncertainty surrounds exactly that: minutes and position.
If Solanke is fit and starting regularly, Richarlison’s appeal diminishes. However, if Solanke faces an extended spell on the sidelines, Richarlison could quickly become one of the most attractive differential forwards available.
This is therefore not necessarily a player managers need to select immediately. Instead, Richarlison is one to monitor closely. Any significant Solanke injury update could dramatically change his FPL prospects.
Haji Wright – £5.5m
Haji Wright arrives in the Premier League after finishing as Coventry City’s leading Championship scorer last season.
The forward found the net 17 times and also registered one assist.
At £5.5m, Wright provides managers with a relatively inexpensive route to a regular starting striker, while his 1.8% ownership keeps him comfortably within differential territory.
Coventry face Arsenal in Gameweek 1 and Manchester City in Gameweek 3, which makes their immediate schedule challenging.
However, outside those two fixtures, their run of opponents until Gameweek 13 is relatively encouraging.
Managers could therefore rotate Wright during the most difficult games rather than completely dismissing him because of Coventry’s early schedule.
Oli McBurnie – £5.5m
Hull City’s Oli McBurnie is another promoted striker coming into the Premier League after an excellent Championship campaign.
McBurnie scored 17 goals last season and added seven assists, giving him 24 direct goal involvements.
That combination of goals and creativity could make him particularly interesting at £5.5m.
His ownership currently stands at just 1.6%.
Promoted strikers are always risky FPL investments because their teams will naturally face stronger defences than they did in the Championship. Nevertheless, regular starting forwards at £5.5m can be extremely useful for squad construction.
If McBurnie remains Hull’s primary attacking focal point, he could offer more routes to points than simply relying on goals.
Brandon Thomas-Asante – £5.0m
For managers who want an even cheaper Coventry forward, Brandon Thomas-Asante enters the conversation at just £5.0m.
He recorded 13 goals and four assists last season and is expected to start regularly.
Thomas-Asante is £0.5m cheaper than Haji Wright, which could be significant when building an FPL squad. That saving could be used to upgrade a defender or midfielder elsewhere.
His ownership is also only 0.8%.
Wright’s 17-goal campaign may make him the more obvious Coventry striker, but Thomas-Asante’s lower price creates a different type of appeal.
If both receive regular minutes, managers will need to determine whether Wright’s greater goalscoring potential is worth the additional £0.5m.
Ellis Simms – £5.0m
Ellis Simms gives FPL managers yet another £5.0m Coventry City forward to consider.
Simms scored 13 goals and supplied two assists last season, while his ownership currently stands at only 0.6%.
Like Thomas-Asante, his biggest attraction is price.
Finding a £5.0m forward capable of receiving meaningful Premier League minutes can create substantial flexibility elsewhere in an FPL squad.
The obvious complication is competition within Coventry’s attack. With Wright, Thomas-Asante and Simms all options, managers will need to pay close attention to team selection and minutes.
If Simms establishes himself as a regular starter, though, his £5.0m price could make him an excellent budget enabler.
Emersonn – £5.5m
Emersonn could be one of the more unfamiliar names for FPL managers heading into the season, but the newly signed Ipswich Town forward is worth monitoring.
The 22-year-old has emerged as Ipswich’s new No.9 and recently scored against Rayo Vallecano during pre-season.
He arrives after making 27 Ligue 1 appearances for Toulouse last season, including 18 starts. Emersonn scored six goals and registered two assists during that campaign.
His ownership currently stands at only 0.3%, making him one of the biggest differentials on this list.
Ipswich’s schedule also provides reasons for optimism.
Manchester United in Gameweek 2, Liverpool in Gameweek 3 and Manchester City in Gameweek 7 are difficult fixtures, but outside those matches, Ipswich have a relatively favourable run stretching all the way until Gameweek 17.
At £5.5m, Emersonn does not need to become one of the Premier League’s leading scorers to provide value. If he establishes himself as Ipswich’s first-choice striker and translates his pre-season promise into competitive matches, his combination of price, fixtures and extremely low ownership could make him a useful FPL differential.
