The Scout shows how to build a squad that contains Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) and Erling Haaland (£14.0m), the two most expensive players in 2025/26 Fantasy Premier League.
Although it is clearly possible to own both Liverpool's Egyptian king Salah and Manchester City's prolific striker Haaland, plenty of sacrifices have to be made in all positions to accommodate the duo.
In terms of structure, by picking Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m) - as an example of a premium-priced defender - as well as Salah and Haaland, you are only ever one transfer away from bringing in any outfield player in Fantasy, because every defender, midfielder and forward will be cheaper than your three top-priced picks.
However, you will otherwise have to shop in the budget bracket at the back, with Van Dijk the only defender costing more than £4.5m in the squad suggested below.
Meanwhile, the funds committed to both Salah and Haaland mean you are restricted to mid-price options in midfield and up front, with Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood (£7.5m) the most expensive pick alongside the premium pair.
Goalkeeper
Matz Sels (£5.0m): Nottingham Forest's No 1 was the second top-scoring goalkeeper in Fantasy last season and has a great early schedule. According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), where the difficulty of each fixture is ranked from one to five - with one being the easiest possible match and five being the hardest - Forest’s average of 2.67 over the first six Gameweeks is the joint-best of any side.
Defenders
Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m): The centre-back offers a secure route into a Liverpool side who kept a league-high 14 clean sheets last season. Van Dijk will also be among the main defenders to profit from the introduction of the new defensive contribution points.
See: What are defensive contribution points?
Micky van de Ven (£4.5m): Tottenham Hotspur’s schedule ranks joint-best alongside Forest's over the first six Gameweeks. Van de Ven is one of three £4.5m-priced defenders selected to rotate alongside the premium Van Dijk.
See: Who has the best and worst early fixtures?
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.5m): West Ham United’s wing-back is another great pick in the sub-£5.0m category. Wan-Bissaka produced five assists after Graham Potter was appointed head coach in Gameweek 20 last season, more than any other defender in Fantasy across that period.
Midfielders
Mohamed Salah (£14.5m): Liverpool’s talisman is owned by a massive 55 per cent of FPL managers and will dominate the captaincy conversation in the early stages of 2025/26.
Morgan Rogers (£7.0m): The midfielder offers a £2.0m saving over forward Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) for Aston Villa’s great opening run of opponents.
Villa's first seven fixtures 25/26
| GW | Opp. | FDR* |
| 1 | Newcastle (H) | 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Brentford (A) | 3 |
| 3 | Crystal Palace (H) | 3 |
| 4 | Everton (A) | 3 |
| 5 | Sunderland (A) | 2 |
| 6 | Fulham (H) | 3 |
| 7 | Burnley (H) | 2 |
*1=easiest possible fixture, 5=hardest possible fixture
Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m): Spurs’ summer signing is the most-selected midfielder under £7.0m, with an ownership of over 26 per cent.
Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m): Reclassified from a forward to a midfielder in Fantasy, the Everton star has a kind run of opponents and is also on penalties.
Forwards
Erling Haaland (£14.0m): Man City’s Norwegian faces just ONE of last season’s top eight sides in the first eight Gameweeks.
Chris Wood (£7.5m): The New Zealander was the fifth highest-scoring player in Fantasy last season on 200 points. Wood has back-to-back matches against promoted pair Burnley and Sunderland in Gameweeks 5 and 6.
Danny Welbeck (£6.5m): The Brighton & Hove Albion forward is among the standout picks in the budget bracket. Welbeck is now expected to be handed penalty duties following the transfer of Joao Pedro (£7.5m) to Chelsea.
Substitutes
Hakon Valdimarsson (£4.0m): The Brentford No 2 is an example of a £4.0m-priced goalkeeper, showing the cost-cutting required to afford Salah and Haaland.
Carlos Baleba (£5.0m): The Brighton star would have earned 32 points from defensive contributions in 2024/25. Only four midfielders managed more.
Ezri Konsa (£4.5m): Villa’s centre-back can rotate along with Van de Ven and Wan-Bissaka.
Maxime Esteve (£4.0m): The Burnley centre-back is a £4.0m defender who you can keep on your bench for emergencies.