FPL midfielders to win your mini-league including best budget £5.5m pick

The five best midfielders to add to your Fantasy Premier League teams have been named, and one stands out as the perfect pick for managers looking for an exciting punt to start the season.

Despite the fact that the World Cup feels like it ended only days ago, the 2026/27 Premier League season is rapidly approaching, with only eight days to go until Arsenal host Coventry City for the season opener.

With that in mind, the final planning for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is now well underway, as some managers put the finishing touches on their teams while others quickly put together their first drafts.

No matter where you are in your FPL planning, SPORTbible has you covered with a series of articles ranking the best players to consider for your FPL drafts as well as the hidden gems to watch in the final matches of pre-season.

Having already looked at the best forwards in FPL this season, it's now time to consider the midfielders, a position that historically is the most important in the entire game.

Here are five that stand out among the rest as the best picks in the game right now, including one pick flying under the radar despite being one of the Premier League's most exciting players.

Bruno Fernandes (MUN, £12.0m)

Just like Erling Haaland's place in the list of the best forwards to own in FPL this season, Fernandes' place here should come as no surprise.

As the second most expensive player in the game, some may be tempted to go without the Manchester United captain this season, but doing so is a massive risk.

In 2025/26, Fernandes had one of the best FPL seasons to date, with nine goals and 24 fantasy assists, breaking the Premier League assists record (21) in the process.

Any time that United attack, Fernandes is involved and across the final 17 matches of last season he was actually the highest-scoring player in FPL, with a total of 129 points, an average of 7.6 points per match.

Across the whole season, the United captain tops the table for big chances created (30), which is 11 more than Manchester City's Rayan Cherki in second.

Manchester United start the season with back-to-back matches against newly promoted sides in Hull and Ipswich and have a largely favourable run in the opening eight gameweeks.

Bryan Mbeumo (MUN, £8.0m)

With this favourable run of fixtures in mind, a double-up of United attackers could be a fantastic way to start the season.

Both Mbeumo and teammate Matheus Cunha, who is also priced at £8.0m, are great options, but of the two, Mbeumo’s stats appear to be more promising.

Unlike the other players on this list, Mbeumo is an example of a forward who actually benefits from being classed as a midfielder in FPL, offering a chance for far more points.

Across all FPL midfielders, only Fernandes recorded a higher non-penalty expected goal involvement than Mbeumo, with Mbeumo actually finishing ahead of Fernandes and Cunha for expected goals.

In reality, the winger produced 14 goal involvements across 31 starts.

Although a double-up with Fernandes may be hard to fit within your budget, it's certainly an interesting strategy that could hugely pay off.

Both Mbeumo and Fernandes are two of the best midfielders to start the FPL season. (Image: Getty Images)

Dominik Szoboszlai (LIV, £7.0m)

Szoboszlai's ownership in FPL has rocketed up to 44.1% since the game launched, making him the fourth most-owned player in the game.

The Liverpool midfielder scored 160 points last season, scoring six goals and providing seven assists under Arne Slot, and is widely seen as one of the best value picks heading into 2026/27.

Szoboszlai created 15 big chances, the 4th most of any midfielder in the game, last season and, under a new attacking-focused manager in Andoni Iraola, we can expect these numbers to increase in the upcoming campaign.

Add to this the fact that he's one of the most reliable players in the league, started in 36 of the Reds’ 38 league matches, being taken off early only once, and is on most of Liverpool's set-pieces, and it's easy to see why Szoboszlai has become so popular.

Phil Foden (MCI, £7.0m)

At the same price as Szoboszlai, Manchester City's Foden offers the more daring FPL managers a chance at one of the biggest and most exciting differentials in the game right now.

As it stands, Foden is owned by just 6.6% of managers, a shockingly low number given his potential despite a relatively disappointing 2025/26 campaign.

Last season, the City midfielder averaged around 4 points per match with seven goals and five assists from just 23 starts, and a total of 131 points.

Without a doubt, the biggest concern with Foden is rotation, with Cherki (£7.5m) currently favoured by FPL managers after being selected by 9.0% of managers.

But after being described as a player that new manager Enzo Maresca considers to be one of 'three central pillars' at City, alongside Haaland and Josko Gvardiol, now feels like as good a time as any to take a punt on Foden.

Hopefully the Community Shield against Arsenal on Sunday (August 16) will provide a clear idea of what we can expect from Foden this season.

Pascal Gross (BHA, £5.5m)

As is always the case in FPL, it's necessary to have at least one budget-friendly player that you can trust to start most weeks in your drafts.

To start the season, it looks like Brighton talisman Gross could be that player.

The surprise departure of Danny Welbeck has opened up a world of possibilities for the German international, as it is now expected that the 35-year-old will be on all set-pieces, including penalties.

And that's not the only appealing fact about Gross, as it's the various different routes to points that has led to him finding a place in 10.3% of FPL teams, while also being nailed for minutes playing 85+ in 18 of his 19 appearances.

Gross averaged 7.97 defensive contributions per 90 minutes following his return to Brighton in January, getting DEFCON points in 11% of the matches he started and also picking up bonus points on several occasions.