LazyFPL: Five underpriced picks for your Fantasy team this season

The 2025/26 FPL game has launched, and even though it’s still July, it’s never too early to put together a Gameweek 1 draft (that you’ll inevitably change at least 17 times before the deadline).

We’ve partnered with LazyFPL* to give you five underpriced (and under the radar) players. No Haalands or Salahs to be found here: We’re going proper hipster. The aim of this article is to turn you into the sort of smug manager that says things like “Oh, you haven’t heard of him? He’s pretty vital” and “Yeah, I picked him up back when he was cheap”.

(*Btw, LazyFPL send a free, pre-deadline email newsletter that packs in everything you need to know into an easy, quick read sent 24h before every deadline. You can join their free prize league by clicking – here.)

Right, we haven’t got all day. We’ll do this like boarding a plane: start from the front and work backwards.

Jørgen Strand Larsen (Wolves, FWD, £6.5m)

Whilst everyone head-scratches over whether or not João Pedro is a trap, Strand Larsen is quietly poised to have his best ever FPL season. He finished last season strong, and has been bolstered by a transfer window that has cemented his place rather than introduced competition.

A burgeoning striker with talismanic potential, it might be time to finally take a Strand.

*Strand Larsen outperformed his xG in the Premier League last season*

Donyell Malen (Aston Villa, MID, £5.5m)

Decent budget midfielders are hard to come by this season, but Donyell Malen might well have slipped through the net where the Premier League’s pricing is concerned.

Having joined the club in January, Malen’s contribution last season was bit-part at best, but plenty of Villa fans expect him to play an important role this campaign.

If he starts regularly for Villa, he’ll occupy a similar role to Mohamed Salah at Liverpool. We’re not guaranteeing a similar FPL return (please don’t come at us when he’s benched), but the potential is certainly there. At £5.5m, you could do far worse than an attacking midfielder for Emery’s side.

Declan Rice (Arsenal, MID, £6.5m)

Bear with us here. Declan Rice hasn’t exactly carried our FPL teams in previous campaigns, but next season is a little different. That’s because of Defensive Contributions, the new rule that assigns additional points (a maximum of 2 per game) to players who tackle, intercept, clear and recycle.

It’s likely to contribute extra points to a player like Rice, who already benefits from set-pieces and an ever-increasing license to get forward. Plus, he was once the greatest free-kick taker in the world (for about 12 minutes).

*Rice player traits comparison (top five European leagues)*

Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton, DEF, £4.5m)

Every season, there’s a hot new Brighton fullback who we all get excited about. Last season it was the ill-fated Barco, and this season it’s Maxim De Cuyper.

But fear not: De Cuyper appears to be the real deal, even more so since Estupiñán’s departure to AC Milan. There’s also the possibility that he’s on some set pieces.

Maxime Estève (Burnley, DEF, £4.0m)

£4.0m defenders can be the difference between being able to afford the player you want or settling for a downgrade. They’re an essential part of balancing the tight £100m budget. The problem? They usually touch the turf about as often as we do.

Enter Maxime Estève, Burnley’s POTS (that’s Player of the Season, not aggressive kitchenware) in their promotion-winning season last year. A centre-back with plenty of Defensive Contribution potential, the Frenchman might be the budget enabler you’ve been dreaming of.

*Estève’s defensive numbers in the Championship 2024/25*

(Cover image from IMAGO)

For more handy FPL advice from LazyFPL, subscribe to their free newsletter – here