Value hunting is about one ratio: xP per million. It tells you how much expected output you get for each slice of budget, and this week one club dominates that conversation.
What matters this week
Three things decide the value call for GW7:
- Brighton’s cluster of returns: De Cuyper, Vuskovic, Groß, Gomez, Yalcouyé, Kostoulas and Georginio all post strong xP/£m, which points to a favourable fixture or role for the club as a whole this week.
- Price versus output at the cheap end: Kinsky at £4.5m (xP 4.67) and Thomas at £4.0m (xP 4.12) show that budget tiers are not dead weight this gameweek, they are producing near-elite ratios.
- Ceiling at the top: Kostoulas leads every position with a 1.28 xP/£m ratio on a £5.6m price tag, well clear of the next best forward, Georginio at 1.03.
How to weigh it
When ratios cluster tightly, as they do among the top goalkeepers (1.04 down to 0.99) or the top defenders (1.12 down to 0.98), price and raw xP should break the tie, since the efficiency gap is marginal and a few extra tenths of expected points matter more than the ratio itself. But when one player separates clearly, as Kostoulas does at 1.28 against a chasing pack near 0.86 to 0.91, that gap is too wide to ignore and the pick makes itself. Use the tight clusters to choose between similarly priced options, and use the clear outliers to decide where your money goes first.
Best value pick overall
Kostoulas (BHA, £5.6m) is the standout. An xP of 7.15 against a 1.28 xP/£m ratio beats every other player in this dataset by a wide margin, making him the clearest value play in the gameweek regardless of position.
Top value by position
- Goalkeeper: Kinsky (TOT, £4.5m, xP 4.67, 1.04 xP/£m) edges Tzolakis (HUL, £4.7m, 4.84 xP) on efficiency despite the lower raw score.
- Defender: De Cuyper (BHA, £5.0m, xP 5.60, 1.12 xP/£m) leads comfortably, with Thomas (COV, £4.0m, 1.03 xP/£m) as the budget alternative.
- Midfielder: Groß (BHA, £6.0m, xP 6.03, 1.00 xP/£m) is the only midfielder to hit a 1.00 ratio this week.
- Forward: Kostoulas again, with Georginio (BHA, £5.3m, xP 5.45, 1.03 xP/£m) as a cheaper teammate option.
Squad-building takeaways for budget enablers
Thomas (£4.0m, 1.03 xP/£m) and Dasilva (£4.0m, 0.98 xP/£m) let you fund premiums elsewhere while still returning value in defense. Kinsky and Rushworth, both around £4.5m to £4.7m with ratios near 1.00, do the same job in goal. Stack these with the Brighton attacking options and you can build a team with both a strong floor and a high ceiling.
If you are unsure
Default to Kostoulas as your value anchor and pair him with one of the cheap Brighton defenders, De Cuyper if budget allows, Vuskovic if not. That combination covers the clearest ratio gaps in the data.
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