EA FC 26 Starter Squads: Budget Teams with Best Cheap Players

The first few weeks of the EA FC 26 cycle are all about putting together starter squads made up of cheap players. Despite their humble prices, these cards are still capable of getting things done on the pitch, with some even carrying all the meta traits you could ask for. However, finding these cards requires a ton of transfer market monitoring and research, a tedious task most players would prefer to skip. With this in mind, we’ve put together the best EA FC 26 starter squads to try out across three different budgets.

Best EA FC 26 Starter Squads

We’ve listed three different FC 26 starter squads below, all of which fall into the budget category, with the most expensive team costing just 50k. Keep in mind that transfer market prices can change quite drastically, so our player selections might become more expensive in the next few weeks. We’ll be sure to update this page in case that happens.

10,000 Coins Starter Squad

For our cheapest starter squad, there’s no better place to look than the Premier League. England’s top division is packed with well-rounded players who are available for cheap prices. Starting at the back, we’ve got a solid defensive partnership of Cristian Romero and Nathan Ake, with Rico Henry and Daniel Munoz supplying the width.

Midfield cover is courtesy of Elliot Anderson and Carlos Baleba, with the latter packing a decent Shooting stat to go along with his box-crashing duties. Up on, we’ve got with pace and trickery on either flank and a physical striker in Jean-Philippe Mateta at the heart of the attack. Paired with our meta 4-3-2-1 formation, this squad should be good for multiple promotions in Rivals.

25,000 Coins Starter Squad

The Saudi Pro League isn’t exactly an elite competition, but it does house some excellent players who earned plenty of acclaim during their spells in Europe. Due to the league’s lack of popularity, top-class starter cards such as Joao Cancelo, Ruben Neves, Kingsley Coman, Riyad Mahrez, and Karim Benzema are all available for cheap prices.

A notable omission from our selections is N’Golo Kante, who continues to be an overpowered player in Ultimate Team. This is because his price is a tad inflated at the moment, but it should become far more reasonable after FC 26’s full release.

50,000 Coins Starter Squad

For 50,000 coins, you can put together a formidable Serie A squad featuring some truly world-class players. Meta fullbacks in Federico Dimarco and Giovanni Di Lorenzo guard the wings, with two solid centerbacks completing the backline. The midfield four is packed with pace on both flanks, and two maestros in Kevin De Bruyne and Hakan Calhanoglu in the middle.

Up top, we’ve got Romelu Lukaku and Artem Dovbyk supplying pace and power in equal measure. The best way to play them is to set the Belgian’s Player Role to Target Forward, while Dovbyk is instructed to make runs in-behind. This should allow both strikers to combine effortlessly and take advantage of KDB’s pinpoint over-the-top passes.

And that wraps up our picks for the best EA FC 26 starter squads. As mentioned earlier, player prices will fluctuate quite a bit in the coming days. We recommend using transfer market trackers to monitor prices and purchasing players accordingly. In case there’s a drastic change in any player’s value, we’ll be sure to update this article accordingly.