Just got into Ultimate Team or haven’t got the time to build up a winning squad? We’ll show you one of the most inexpensive squads in Ultimate Team, to at least give you a fighting chance.
Before we get started we’ll have to get some things out of the way. Arguably one of the most effective formations in Ultimate Team this year is the 4-4-2 flat which also fits quite nicely into the ‘budget theme’, so we’ll build from there. We’ll also have to look at which league or nationality we’ll build around, which is important when looking at potential upgrades later on. We decided to go with the Ligue 1, which offers multiple possibilities to scale up.
Prices will also vary when looking across different platforms, but we’ve mostly stayed with the market on PlayStation. To build this budget team, we’ve given ourselves a very low budget of only 15.000 coins.
Defense and Goalkeeper – 9000 Coins
For the goalkeeper position, we’ve opted for Lille goalie Mike Maignan. He won’t set you back a lot of coins, about 1000, and has everything you need from an affordable goalkeeper. Other low-budget options often won’t give you the kind of reach and height Maignan provides.
Looking at fullbacks, on the left we’ll have Hassane Kamara of Nice. He’s a cheap option, is pacey, sports High/High work rates and won’t even cost you 1000 coins. Slap an anchor chemistry style on him (if you’ve got one) and you’ll be good to go. On the right we’ll spend slightly more to include Youcef Atal (Nice), as his price is just shy of 2000 coins. Atal will give you some great pace on the right side of the field, as well as great playmaking potential for a relatively low cost.
Moving on to the center backs, they’re in short supply. The tall and pacey ones will be out of your budget for the most part. For now, Belgian centre back Jason Denayer (Lyon) can be picked up relatively cheap at 1500 coins but won’t provide you height at the back. We’ll solve this by buying our most expensive player yet: Presnel Kimpembe of PSG. He’ll provide solid height and physical stats alongside decent pace, but will cost us 3500 coins.
Midfield – 3500 Coins
It has to be said that finding the right midfielders might prove to be difficult, but one of the best options you’ll find in the CM position is Alexandr Golovin of Monaco. He’s dirt cheap at only 750 coins, has 4 star skill moves and weak foot, has decent pace and can dribble and score if necessary. For the other central midfielder we pick up another versatile player in the form of Renato Sanches of Lille. He’ll also only cost 1000 coins and has a pretty all-round skillset.
For a creative RM we won’t look further than Gelson Martins. He’s cheap at only 1000 coins, has a ton of pace, five star skill moves and great dribbling. Henry Onyekuru of Monaco will take care of the left hand side. He’ll provide pace and offensive threat at only 750 coins.
Strikers – 2500 Coins
We’ll put the remainder of our budget in acquiring attackers that are quite all-round, to provide the scoring opportunities we need. Most of the team we’ve built up until now is made to put our attackers in scoring positions with runs to give them the necessary space. That’s why we’ll be looking towards poacher-type players. Ligue 1 attackers are expensive, however, which limits our options.
First up we’ve got Moussa Dembélé from Lyon. He’s a pretty all-round player, offering both pace and scoring prowess paired with some pretty decent physical stats. He’ll set you back around 1400 coins. We’ll pair him up with Kevin Volland (Monaco), who is one of the most affordable reliable scorers in the league at 800 coins. An honorable mention for Burak Yilmaz from Lille here, who is an option for those who’d like a little more height and heading prowess. Yilmaz sits at the same 800 price mark as Volland.
Possible upgrades
Of course you will not want to use the same team forever and as you earn coins and keep on progressing in the game, there are some areas you should prioritize. While your defense and goalkeeper will do right by you for quite a while, the biggest upgrades you should make as soon as possible are in the midfield and attack.
In midfield you should look to find alternatives for your wingers with improved playmaking stats, which should help you out connecting with your strikers. Midfield also leaves you vulnerable due to your CMs not having great defensive stats, which is an area you can improve on. If possible, try to grab a more pacey and lethal attacker along the way but those will cost you quite a few coins.
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