At last, the beginning of the 16/17 Premier League season is here and time is running out to get your first FanDuel team locked in for the opening weekend.

With £100m budget to spend on ensuring your team is strong enough to win you some cold, hard cash, it’s important to analyse the biggest point scoring players at the best possible price. Fantasy Football games are all about being quite shrewd with your decisions, and FanDuel is no different.

Of course, there are always going to be Premium Players everyone’s going to pick. Player prices change each week, so it’s always worth taking time working out who can get you real value for money – literally.

For the Saturday contests on this opening weekend, Heurelho Gomes is the game’s most expensive goalkeeper at £8.5m. Watford travel to Southampton on Saturday, but his form last season – averaging 3.2 saves per game - makes him a premium selection this season already

The rest of the field is dominated by Manchester City players, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Nicolas Otamendi (£9.7m), Kevin De Bruyne (£14m) and Sergio Aguero (£14m) are the most expensive players in their respective positions.

4 pricey players (1)

Pep Guardiola’s men host Sunderland on Saturday and are clearly expected to make easy work of David Moyes’ men.

But picking the most expensive players isn’t always the most effective strategy, especially when there’s real money at stake. Picking differential players could be the difference between taking home some beer money or going home with your tail between your legs.

So instead of going big too soon, we’ve taken a look at cheaper but equally effective options for you to consider for your FanDuel team this weekend.

Head to head pricey vs bargain (with stats clarification)

In goal, Stoke’s Jack Butland is £0.2m cheaper than Gomes but averaged a better Savers Per Game ratio in 15/16 (3.3). Stoke travel to newly promoted Middlesbrough this weekend and most will be backing Mark Hughes’ men to take all three points.

In defence, Phil Jagielka is a worthy selection to consider instead of Nicolas Otamendi. The Everton centre-half averaged more blocks per game than the City defender last season and he’s very good value for money at just £6.5m.

It’s difficult to justify forking out £14m on a player, even if it is Kevin De Bruyne. So why not opt for Watford’s Etienne Capoue, who comes in at just under half the price of the City star. Watford will be looking to get off to a winning start this season and the Frenchman will be their driving force in midfield against Southampton.

And finally, if you’re struggling to fit a very expensive Sergio Aguero in your team, why not opt for Tottenham new-boy Vincent Janssen. The Netherlands international is available for just £4.6m and provides incredible value for money.

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