The best FPL budget forwards for 2024/25
Abdul Rehman | Thu 01 Aug 2024
Wondering who the best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) budget forwards are for the 2024/25 season? Expert Fantasy Premier League manager Abdul Rehman (FPL Salah) has it covered.
We'll be keeping this list of budget forwards - players priced between £5.0m and £6.0m - regularly updated before the Gameweek 1 deadline, so make sure to bookmark this page.
And check out our Ultimate Guide to FPL for all our best player articles and much more.
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Best FPL budget forwards 2024/25
Identifying the best FPL budget forwards is no easy feat. It’s probably the hardest position to nail down, as the players are limited and not always consistent - hence their low price.
Here are our top selections:
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m) 0 Everton
Calvert-Lewin’s got back to some sort of fitness last season, starting 26 games. The subsequent two seasons were ridden with injury issues as he only managed to start 15 games in that time.
He scored 13 goals in the 2019/20 season and 16 in 2020/21, so we know when he's fit that he can be a great option.
The Everton forward is one to monitor during pre-season, as if he shows signs of full fitness then he can be fantastic value at only £6.0m.
He has played 90 minutes against Salford, 46 minutes against Sligo Rovers and 59 minutes against Coventry to date, so the signs are good.
He is a proven Premier League player and - if fit - will lead the Toffees' front line and be the focal point of the attack.
The 27-year-old is also still the first-choice penalty taker.
If Calvert-Lewin is fit and starting, he will no doubt get the majority of their goals and despite his limited gametime last season, he scored the joint-most goals among his team.
Furthermore, Sean Dyche’s team have good fixtures to start. They play Brighton (H), Spurs (a), Bournemouth (H), Leicester (a), Crystal Palace (H), Newcastle (H), Ipswich (a), Fulham (H) and Southampton (a) during the first 10.
A £6.0m player who is the talisman for his club, on penalties and with those fixtures can be a really good option. Plus he will be a massive differential - at the time of writing he is only 1.4 percent owned.
Calvert-Lewin has been linked with a move away from the club - again something to watch.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Rodrigo Muniz (6.0m) - Fulham
Muniz had a fantastic breakthrough, season scoring nine goals and two assists in only 18 starts.
All his goals came from Gameweek 23 onwards, when he established himself as a first-team regular.
He is currently looking great value for this price and it's pretty certain that he will be in the team next season too.
Muniz seems to the Cottagers' new talisman - he managed a 34 percent goal involvement, which was the highest in his side.
Fulham aren't prolific in front of goal but their attack isn't terrible. They scored 55 goals (11th) with an expected goals (xG) of 51.57 (14th).
And they do have some really good fixtures at the start of the season for Muniz to profit in.
During the first seven games, Marco Silva's side play Leicester (H), Ipswich (a), West Ham (H), Newcastle (H) and Nottingham Forest (a).
These are all winnable games for Fulham and good from an attacking point of view.
Among the mid-priced forwards, Muniz is the second highest predicted scoring forward (37.7 points) for the first eight gameweeks according to Hub AI.
Rodrigo Muniz
Chris Wood (£6.0m) - Nottingham Forest
Wood scored an impressive 14 goals last season with an xG of 11.71 in only 20 starts.
If the Kiwi is getting starts, he is simply a great goalscorer. He took full advantage of his extended playing time in the second half of the season when teammate Taiwo Awoniyi (£6.0m) struggled with injuries.
Awoniyi hasn't played a single minute of pre-season to date and although he has joined Forest's Spain tour, he doesn't look fully fit.
Wood might even be first choice anyway given his exploits last season and I think he should be good to start the season at least.
He is a great option for those looking to Wildcard early as his opening fixtures do not get much better.
Long-term there will always be doubt in regards to his expected minutes but if he hits the ground running then he should stake a spot in the first 11.
Forest play Bournemouth (H), Southampton (a) and Wolves (H) in the first three.
Hub AI really fancies him too, as he is the highest predicted scoring forward (42.7 points) among the budget forwards for the first eight gameweeks.
Chris Wood
Joao Pedro (£5.5m) – Brighton
Pedro has come in grossly underpriced and could be a potential gamebreaker this season.
The Brazilian scored nine goals and assisted three last season, with an xG of 12.01 and expected assists (xA) of 4.64.
He should be secure for more minutes under new manager Fabian Hurzeler and Pedro is also the first choice penalty taker.
With Evan Ferguson (£5.5m) out injured until October and Deniz Undav (£5.5m) potentially leaving, I don't see how Pedro wont be nailed to start and play plenty of minutes.
I would keep an eye on the Brighton star leading up to Gameweek 1 though as he was missing from Brighton's Tokyo tour due to an apparent injury.
The Argus reported that the 'unspecified problem is understood to be not serious' - and he has since been spotted back in training.
Brighton have some decent attacking fixtures in the first 10, playing Manchester United (H), Ipswich (H), Forest (H), Spurs (H) and Wolves (H) but they also play Arsenal (a), Chelsea (a) and Newcastle (a).
Pedro is however so cheap that he can even be used your third forward, who can rotate in a eight-man attack.
Despite some tough fixtures, his price just makes him too hard to ignore if he's fit.
He is the third highest predicted scoring budget forward (36.2 points) from Gameweek 1 to 8 according to the Hub AI.
Joao Pedro
Adam Armstrong (£5.5m) - Southampton
Armstrong looks like a good-value option too at £5.5m.
He is nailed to start, the talisman for Southampton and the first-choice penalty taker.
The Saints forward scored 21 goals and 13 assists in the Championship, finishing as the second top scorer.
He is an all-round forward with both goal and assist threat and although he won't hit 20 goals a season in the Premier League, he should prove good value.
Russell Martin's side have some winnable games early on as they play Forest (H), Brentford (a), Ipswich (H), Bournemouth (a) and Leicester (H) in the first eight.
Armstrong is another who can be rotated in for his good fixtures but due to his expected minutes and penalties can be played in every game if need be.
He is also an enabler at his price.
Adam Armstrong
Hub power rankings and AI predicted points
I will now rank these options exclusively for Hub members and reveal how they are expected to score in the first five gameweeks according to the Hub’s powerful predicted points AI.
Rankings are given for the player’s FPL potential looking at price, fixtures and overall value.