Newcastle offer the cheapest route to actual minutes
Three gameweeks of noise have created some cheap bench fill that actually starts every week.
Three gameweeks is usually enough time to realise your fifth defender is not an untapped genius. He is just a bloke who sits on the bench and gets two points when your main centre-back gets a hamstring twinge.
You do not need your 4.5m enablers to haul. You need them to start games, avoid minus points, and leave enough cash to buy proper attackers.
Target rating based on cost and fixture ease over the next five gameweeks.
Crystal Palace left-back Mitchell sits near the top of the pile at 4.5m. He is owned by 5.5 per cent of managers and gets 
Ipswich Town at home in gameweek 4.
If you want a cluster of easy fixtures over the next four gameweeks, look at Newcastle United. They travel to 
Leeds United this week before taking on Hull City and 
Coventry City.
Hall costs 5.1m, but his teammate Dedić comes in at 4.5m with an identical run of games. At 3.6 per cent ownership, Dedić is a quiet way to fund money further up the pitch.
NewcastleCrystal PalaceHull CityeasierharderInternal model rating, 0 to 100. Not FPL's fixture rating.
Higher scores mean easier defensive fixtures over the four-match run.
The bargain bin contains a few tricks. Mendy costs 4.0m and has racked up 24 points in three matches for Hull City.
That looks marvellous until you check where the points came from. Mendy scored a goal from chances worth 0.32 expected goals. That is a 0.68 overperformance across 191 minutes.
His teammate 
Egan costs 4.1m and has built his 23 points without scoring a goal. Egan played all 270 minutes so far, registering 41 defensive actions at a rate of 13.67 per 90. That is a reliable work rate, even if Hull City face 
Chelsea away in gameweek 4.
MendyEganSeason stats through gameweek 3. Mendy scored one goal from 0.32 xG.
Midfield is harder to fix under 5.5m because cheap midfielders rarely play 90 minutes.
Mainoo costs 5.5m and sits on 14 points after two starts for 
Manchester United. He has produced 0.21 xG and 0.35 xA in 185 minutes, but his floor comes from off-the-ball work.
He managed 31 defensive actions over those two starts, putting him at 15.08 defensive actions per 90 and a baseline bonus system score of 31.14 per 90.
15.08Mainoo def actions / 9031 actions in 185 mins13.67Egan def actions / 9041 actions in 270 mins0.68Mendy goal overperformance1 goal from 0.32 xGPer 90 rates based on appearances across the opening three gameweeks.
Three games of data cannot guarantee success, but it does show who is on the pitch. Buy Dedić at 4.5m before the deadline to lock in Newcastle's run and free up the cash you need elsewhere.