The best midfield options for £6.5m or less

We pick out and compare some of the best midfield options for £6.5m or less. Using the Fantasy Football Scout Members Area we can use stats and the Fantasy Football Scout fixture ticker to give us an indication of this.

FPL managers will very likely have to dip into the £6.5m and less midfielder bracket due to the sheer cost of the heavy premium players and defenders. Making sure we pick the right midfielder in this area could be vital as the template appears to be strong this season already in terms of ownership.

The options

We take a look at comparisons between:

• Rashford (£6.5m)
• Saint-Maximin (£6.5m)
• Bruno Guimaraes (£6m)
• Harrison (£6m)
• Martinelli (6m)
• Eze (£5.5m)
• Wissa (£5.5m)
• Neto (5.5m)

Minutes played in 21/22

This is key in finding out which players are nailed for their teams and can also be a good indicator of how injury prone a player is too, lets see where they rank:

Rashford (£6.5m) – Fifth
Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) – First
Bruno Guimaraes (£6m) – Second
Harrison (£6m) – Second
Martinelli (6m) Third
Eze (£5.5m) – Seventh
Wissa (£5.5m) – Fourth
Neto (5.5m) – Eighth

The Newcastle man takes the win here with Harrison close behind. Martinelli came third but injury plagued Neto and Eze fell short at the bottom. Bruno Guimaraes was a new signing midway through the season so that had a massive impact on his data.

Distribution -Chances created

Rashford (£6.5m) – Seventh
Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) – First
Bruno Guimaraes (£6m) -Fifth
Harrison (£6m) – Second
Martinelli (6m) – Third
Eze (£5.5m) – Sixth
Wissa (£5.5m) – Eighth
Neto (5.5m) – Fourth

The top three were exactly the same which reflects in their minutes. Interestingly Neto played the least minutes but still came fourth, impressive. Wissa and Rashford sink to the bottom.

Chances created per 90 minutes

Here we can see if the players that lacked minutes were still creative when on the pitch, lets see how they fair:

Rashford (£6.5m) – Seventh
Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) – Third
Bruno Guimaraes (£6m) – Sixth
Harrison (£6m) – Fifth
Martinelli (6m) – Second
Eze (£5.5m) – Fourth
Wissa (£5.5m) – Eighth
Neto (5.5m) – First

Although Neto didn’t play as much last season he was ahead of the rest for chances created when he was playing. Saint Maximin and Martinelli still very much in the top three. Wissa continues to lack at the bottom with Rashford.

Big chances created

Rashford (£6.5m) – Sixth
Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) – First
Bruno Guimaraes (£6m) – Fourth
Harrison (£6m) – Third
Martinelli (6m) – Second
Eze (£5.5m) – Seventh
Wissa (£5.5m) – Eighth
Neto (5.5m) – Fifth

Saint Maximin comes out top again with Martinelli behind and Rashford in third. Wissa comes in last whilst Neto although playing the least minutes climbs.

Assists

Rashford (£6.5m) -Third
Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) – Second
Bruno Guimaraes (£6m) – Fourth
Harrison (£6m) – Fourth
Martinelli (6m) – First
Eze (£5.5m) – Fourth
Wissa (£5.5m) – Fifth
Neto (5.5m) – Fourth

Martinelli tops assists even after having played less minutes than some. Saint-Maximin hits top two again.

Goal threat- Total attempts

Rashford (£6.5m) – Sixth
Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) – First
Bruno Guimaraes (£6m) – Fifth
Harrison (£6m) – Third
Martinelli (6m) – Second
Eze (£5.5m) – Eighth
Wissa (£5.5m) – Fourth
Neto (5.5m) – Seventh

Saint Maximin takes the win again, Martinelli not far behind as the pattern shows. Neto and Eze come bottom but also played the least minutes so does not come as a suprise.

Total attempts per 90 minutes

Rashford (£6.5m) – Sixth
Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) – Fourth
Bruno Guimaraes (£6m) – Fifth
Harrison (£6m) – Seventh
Martinelli (6m) – Second
Eze (£5.5m) – Eighth
Wissa (£5.5m) – Third
Neto (5.5m) – First

Neto again with the win in per 90 minutes. Martinelli consistently making the top three. Wissa rises in goal threat whilst Eze sinks to the bottom again.

Big chances total

Rashford (£6.5m) – Second
Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) – Second
Bruno Guimaraes (£6m) – Third
Harrison (£6m) – Third
Martinelli (6m) – First
Eze (£5.5m) – Sixth
Wissa (£5.5m) – Fourth
Neto (5.5m) – Fifth

Martinelli was way ahead here with Rashford surprisingly close to the top of the list. Eze again falls to the bottom whilst Saint-Maximin continues to perform amongst the top.

Big chances total per 90 minutes

Rashford (£6.5m) – Second
Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) – Fifth
Bruno Guimaraes (£6m) – Second
Harrison (£6m) – Sixth
Martinelli (6m) – First
Eze (£5.5m) – Seventh
Wissa (£5.5m) – Fourth
Neto (5.5m) – Third

Martinelli tops of the list again with Saint-Maximin falling down to fifth. Neto’s 90 minute stats continue to perform.

Goals

Rashford (£6.5m) – Fifth
Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) – Fourth
Bruno Guimaraes (£6m) – Fourth
Harrison (£6m) – First
Martinelli (6m) – Third
Eze (£5.5m) – Sixth
Wissa (£5.5m) – Second
Neto (5.5m) – Sixth

Wissa and Harrison do well in terms of shots and goal threat. Martinelli takes third and the Newcastle boys equal each other.

Expected goal involvement per 90 minutes

Rashford (£6.5m) – Fourth
Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) – Sixth
Bruno Guimaraes (£6m) – Third
Harrison (£6m) – Seventh
Martinelli (6m) – Second
Eze (£5.5m) – Eighth
Wissa (£5.5m) – Fifth
Neto (5.5m) – First

Neto takes another per 90 minutes stat, Bruno takes his third top three in a row and Martinelli stays consistent.

Fixtures

An easy way to filter out the best options in any comparison is their fixtures. We will take a look at the first eight game weeks which is where many managers will Wildcard due to the fixture swing and international break. Using the Fantasy Football Scout season ticker we can determine the best options to help pick in that period.

Rashford (£6.5m) – Fourth
Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) – Fifth
Bruno Guimaraes (£6m) – Fifth
Harrison (£6m) – Third
Martinelli (6m) – First
Eze (£5.5m) – Sixth
Wissa (£5.5m) – Second
Neto (5.5m) – Fifth

Conclusion

Eze lacks in most departments and the fixtures are poor in the first eight game weeks for Crystal Palace.

Although the first eight fixtures are ok the stats are quite underwhelming for Harrison and Wissa so fall out of the pecking order. Rashford has ok stats in some areas but poor in others, it does not help that Rashford’s minutes are not assured and his fixtures aren’t the best.

Saint-Maximin and Bruno do well in lots of different stats but if it wasn’t difficult enough to pick between the Newcastle men they both also have tough fixtures in first part of the season.

Neto dominates most of the per 90 minute stats with less than good fixtures but actually has fantastic fixtures in the first six game weeks and we know he will play every game. Neto could be a great option but not seeing enough of him last season may just put people off, combined with the fact that Wolves didn’t create or score many goals last season.

Martinelli stands out as the best option. Arsenal are top of the fixture ticker in the first eight game weeks which is a key factor. Although his minutes were shared last season Martinelli still dominated some key stats and against players who had played a lot more minutes.

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For more cheap FPL options check out our budget head turners article here.