A Beginners FUT 23 Lineup - What and who to look for?

SportsGamers,

FIFA 23 is already available for those who pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition, or through EA Play Early Access and we've seen plenty of you get going with your FUT squads already. That's why we decided to try to help out some of you new gamers with this quick beginners guide to some of the cards you might want to keep your eyes peeled for when navigating through the packs or the transfer market.

As you'd imagine, the cards that will work well for you highly depend on your playstyle, and we'll try to focus on a few different options for you to choose from. In recent years, most players have definitely gravitated towards cards with high pace and dribbling, which makes these cards feel smooth in gameplay and often better than their overall would suggest. Regardless of what your personal preference is, you'll most likely need to have some pace in your own squad in order to counter some of your opponents speedsters.

In this article, we'll keep the focus on base cards, since obviously you'll see special editions and icons emerge later on in the FIFA 23 life cycle, but these are definitely some of the cards that you can go for right off the bat to make your team as competitive as possible.

90 OVR Club

This year, you've got ten players in that fabled 90 OVR Club right from the get-go, with a few minor changes from last season. Most of these players are definitely very usable cards, but some will be more overpowered than others. Poster boy Kylian Mbappé is a beast with his 97 pace and 92 dribbling, which puts him above the rest at the moment. This card will cost you around 1 800 000 coins though, so you better pray to the FUT gods that you're able to get some pack luck early on. Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski are more of those strong, target finishers who you won't rely on to lead your rush, but they might be able to overpower some defenders physically and will be able to put the ball in the net at a high percentage when given a bit of space. These are players that are a bit harder to master and definitely require a different approach to the game due to their lower pace, so they can't be recommended for everyone. Mohamed Salah is a great addition to the right wing for any team, with his 90 pace and 90 dribbling, and he is significantly more affordable than Mbappé, at only around 260 000 coins at the moment.

On defense, you won't need to look further than the physical presence of Virgil van Dijk, who at a price of around 200 000 coins will be an excellent backstopper for any team with his 91 defense, 86 physicality and a very decent 81 pace for the big man.

Here are all of your players in the 90 OVR Club:
Karim Benzema (91 OVR)
Robert Lewandowski (91 OVR)
Kylian Mbappe (91 OVR)
Kevin De Bruyne (91 OVR)
Lionel Messi (91 OVR)
Mohamed Salah (90 OVR)
Virgil van Dijk (90 OVR)
Cristiano Ronaldo (90 OVR)
Thibaut Courtois (90 OVR)
Manuel Neuer (90 OVR)

Now, this wouldn't be a beginners guide if we'd focus on only the top tier players, so that's why we'll continue by taking a look at some great budget options for your starting XI early on in your FUT squad building. Once you get further into the squad building process and get some more games under your belt, you'll find what kind of players work best for you. You'll also want to keep in mind that the five star weak foot and skill moves play a big role in how you can use the cards, so be on the lookout for that in any card you might want to go for!

Attackers

As already mentioned, the best of the best in this category is Kylian Mbappé at the moment, but at his very hefty price, he will me inaccessible for most players at the start. That's why we'll take a look at some of the more accessible and cheaper players. 

Speed is the common factor for all of the attackers that you should go for early on in your FUT squad building process. Some of the usual suspects in this budget category is Leicester City's Patson Daka with 90 pace at only 77 overall, but other Premier League players to be on the lookout for could be Conçalo Guedes with an 86 pace, 83 dribbling and 83 shooting. Also Liverpool's new wonderboy Darwin Núñez should be a player to keep on your shortlist with his 89 pace, 82 shooting and 86 physicality - a great overall player at a cheaper price point. Some affordable Premier League players to look for on the wing are Luis Sinisterra, Gabriel Martinelli and Christian Pulisic, all going for under 5 000 coins.

Playing for La Liga's Atletic Bilbao you'll find Iñaki Williams with an astonishing 94 pace at only 81 overall, which means this guy will give you great bang for your buck at a cheaper prize. In La Liga, though, the Argentine Angel Correa is the player to target, though. At a bit of a higher prize point around 25 000 coins, you'll be able to get a very well rounded striker that will last on your team for a longer time. Barcelona's Ansu Fati is a great option to go for if you're looking for a winger to add speed on the outside.

If you're looking to bring on an influx of speed at a reasonable prize, don't look any further than Union Berlin's Sheraldo Becker. At only 900 coins currently, the Surinamese striker is sporting a pace rating of 95.

Midfielders

Your chosen midfield players depend highly on your playstyle, but a minimum requirement should always be to have at least a bit of pace to match opposing counter attacks, while being physical enough to win ball battles. Your midfielders should be the most well rounded players on your squad and if you're playing with wide men on the side, you'll also want to add some speed on the outside.

Some of the speedsters to look out for in this category are definitely Fulham FC's Daniel James with 95 pace on the right wing, or FC Nantes' Moses Simon with 90 pace on the left.

To lock down the center lane, the main man to look for in an affodrable price range should be Athletic Bilbao's Muniain, who should be able to slot in at the CAM position for any team with an 87 dribbling and 82 passing. Another great option could be Roma's Lorenzo Pellegrini, who is also a more physical option if that is what you need.

Sergi Darder, the center midfielder for RCD Espanyol is an excellent choice for a balanced midfield, and so is Juventus' Weston McKennie or Athletic Bilbao's De Paul. All of them hold high ratings in dribbling and physicality, while also having decent pace and passing. 

If you're in need of a CDM, look no further than Napoli's Zambo Anguissa, who has good size and speed for a player that will cut down opposing attacks with his 84 physicality and 81 defense. 

Defenders

The traditional football manual calls for big, physical players on the inside with speed on the outside even at the back line, and that's what we'll try to find for you here. 

On the left side, one of your best bets will be Roma's Leonardo Spinazzola with his 91 pace, while simultaneously maintaining good enough defensive stats. He does go up in prize above the 10 000 coin threshold, so a more affordable similar option could be Real Betis left back Alex Moreno with 88 pace. The biggest sacrifice for the speed here is a loss in physicality, which Cádiz CF player Alfonso Espino has in abundance while being fast on the wing.

On the right, a well rounded option is Fulham FC's Kevin Mbabu with 83 pace, 81 physicality and decent enough defensive stats. Once again, if you want to go for speed, look for Valencia CF left back Thierry Correia with 90 pace.

At the center back position, you can't go wrong with Liverpool's towering Ibrahima Konaté. Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig will achieve similar results, albeit having to sacrifice a few inches of height. His teammate Lukas Klostermann is also a great, speedy option (86) pace for your center lane. By sacrificing a bit of speed, you could get Dortmund's Niklas Süle for your center back position, ensuring no header duels should be lost by one of the tallest and most physical players in the game. 

Goalkeepers

For goalkeepers, you'll want to obviously get a decent sized keeper, but your most important stats to keep an eye on are diving and reflexes first, handling and positioning second.

With this in mind, a great Premier League option is Everton's Jordan Pickford at a dirty cheap 600-800 coins. The Finnish favorite Lukáš Hrádecký or Wolfsburg's Koen Casteels is another excellent budget choice if you are to go for a Bundesliga side. 

To cap off, here's an example of what a budget starting squad might look like featuring some of the players we've highlighted. We're going with a narrow 4-1-2-1-2 formation to be able to stop quick counter attacks while simultaneously having enough men up front. This strategy sacrifices a bit on the wings and forces your full backs to jump in on the offense quite a bit, which is helped by their great pace. Most players in the squad are very affordable and can be found for below 5 000-6 000 coins at the market place, with Correa being the only exception and a card you'll want to splurge on in this lineup. 

What does your FUT team look like and what are some cards you are going to be on the lookout for in FIFA 23? Let us know in the comments section!