AllAboutDefenders

Defense is one key position that will help you gain differential points every game week. As the season progresses getting points out of your defenders is very essential to rise through the ranks and planning your defense according to the fixtures and rotating them smartly will help you gain more points.

PLANNING YOUR DEFENSE:

You must have 5 defenders in your squad of 15 players, one third of FPL squad is filled with defenders and yet the money spent on defense is the smallest. Investing wisely in defense is absolutely crucial, ideally speaking spending 23.5-26 million should get you a solid defense anything more will leave you out of funds elsewhere.

PREMIUM DEFENDERS:

Selecting two defenders in the pricing range of 5.5-7 Million in your squad is a must as you can expect steady clean sheet,goals and assist points. If a defender scores and keeps a clean sheet in most cases he will be awarded 3 bonus points as well.

BUDGET DEFENDERS:

Getting your the rest three of your defenders right is very important, ideally i would suggest you to go for one 5 mil and two 4.5 mil defenders so that you can rotate amongst them easily based on the fixture difficulty. Again getting your defenders wisely is highly important because you cannot afford to waste your free transfers on defenders often, look out for defenders by whom you can rotate easily.

ANDY ROBERTSON & TRENT ALEXANDER ARNOLD 7 MIL:

Having raked up 23 assists and one goal last season choosing one of the two liverpool fullbacks is a must this season. Liverpool defense was impeccable last season with virjil van dijk and alisson also in the back line, Liverpool went on to keep 19 clean sheets in 38 games last season. Selecting VVD will probably save you 0.5 million but the chances of him giving you regular attacking returns is less compared to the two full backs. If you are highly confident and willing to gamble you may even pick alisson as your goal keeper and have one of robertson and TAA as well. But if you ask me that’s a slightly risky move because you’ll end up short in other positions.

FIXTURES:Norwich,Southampton,Arsenal,Burnley,Newcastle

Aymeric laporte 6.5 MIL:

Starting the new season without a defender from the double defending champions of premier league will be a foolish move and Aymeric Laporte is the only player in the Man City Back Line who will start week in week out and with city’s style of play you can expect attacking returns too like last season where he ended up scoring and assisting 3 goals.Unlike Ederson he has an eye for the goal too which makes him a must own option.

FIXTURES:West ham,Spurs,Bournemouth,Brighton,Norwich

LUCAS DIGNE 6 MIL:

Adapting to the Premier League is always a big concern for new signings, but, the french fullback had a tremendous first season with the merseyside club. Digne has all the essentials and more to offer value in the premium bracket. Although the possibility of regular clean sheets is some what less compared to the other premium defenders, his goal threat and set piece skills is too good to be ignored, in fact he has scored two goals directly from free kicks last season . With no tough fixtures until a visit to the defending champions in GW 7 digne is amongst the must own defenders.

FIXTURES:Palace,Watford,Villa,Wolves,Bournemouth

DAVID LUIZ 6 MIL:

Another CB who is very good with the ball on the feet david luiz is an interesting option to be considered having scored the same number of goals as Willian last season, David certainly benefited from the high line that Sarri used, you can expect a similar style of play from Lampard as well making David luiz an interesting option

Fixtures: Manchester united,Leicester,Norwich,Sheffield,Wolves

If you are looking at an alternative in the chelsea defense you can go for Azpilicueta an ever present player in the chelsea defense over the last six season you can expect good returns from him both defensively and through goals and assists as well.

RICARDO PEREIRA 6MIL:

Leicester is another team that attack through the wings and pereira played a key role in that last season with 10 goal contributions he is certainly going to improve this season under Brendan rodgers with uncertainties regarding the transfer of harry maguire to Manchester United, pereira is the best defensive bet from the 2015/16 Premier league champions.

Fixtures: Wolves,Chelsea,Sheffield, Bournemouth,Manchester united

Aaron Wan Bisaaka 5.5 mil:

The most owned defender last season at 4 million, this time he finds himself at a new club and at a premium pricing as well but what makes him stand out is that he has picked up where he left last season providing an assist and winning all the tackles so far in pre season at united. There concerns over his attacking returns especially when you shell out a premium price but i have a feeling the attacking returns will improve as well. potentially worth the gamble at 5.5 million.

Fixtures: Chelsea,Wolves,Crystal palace,Southampton,Leicester

maxi Aarons 4.5 mil:

The young Championship POTY Max Aarons is Norwich’s first choice right back. Norwich were the Champions of the English second division last season and are hoping to stay up through their attacking football. Aarons could provide attacking returns. With few difficult matches in the first few game weeks it is safe to rotate him out with another 4.5 million defender.

Fixtures:Liverpool,Newcastle,Chelsea, West ham,Man city

Matt Targett 4.5 mil:

The new £15m Villa signing is set to start at fullback. The Ex Southampton player is a creative fullback who averaged 1.4 crosses and 1.6 key passes per game last season. Villa are pushing to stay up with the many new additions made to their squad. with kind fixtures after the tough opening game against spurs matt targett looks like a great option at this price.

Fixtures: Spurs,Bournemouth ,Everton,Crystal palace,West ham

Joel Ward 4.5 mil:

The backup defender in 2018/19 is set to start at fullback for Palace this season given the transfer of FPL legend Wan-Bissaka. Palace were sixth for Cleansheets last season (12). Despite Palace’s pre-season form, Ward could be a great cheap option. If you are looking to save 0.5 mil you can go for ward’s team mate martin kelly who is priced at 4 mil and looks set to start in the palace defense, with couple of great fixtures in the opening 6 GW’s palace defense seems to be a good option.

Fixtures: Everton,Sheffield united,Manchester united,Aston villa ,Spurs

JACK O’CONNELL 4.5 MIL:

Sheffield United will be quietly confident of holding their own defensively this season. They conceded just 17 times at home in 23 matches last season, securing eight consecutive clean sheets at the start of 2019 on their way to 21 shutouts overall in the Championship.

His contribution involves 4 goals and 2 assists for League 1 promotion in 16/17, 4 assists in the following season where he also played every available minute (4140) and most recently chipped in with 3 goals and 3 assists to help clinch promotion. There aren’t many budget defenders with strong attacking and clean sheet potential.

FIXTURES:BOURNEMOUTH,PALACE,LEICESTER,CHELSEA,SOUTHAMPTON

ADAM SMITH4.5 MIL:

Adam Smith has never been a long-term option in FPL, but could this change in 2019/20? Simon Francis and Charlie Daniels remain on the road to recovery with long-term injuries, while fellow fullbacks Diego Rico and Jack Simpson remain on the outskirts of the starting lineup.

Along with Nathaniel Clyne’s loan spell ending, now is the time for Smith to take advantage and feature prominently. With his versatility and both fullback slots there for the taking, he could reap the rewards and feature heavily.

2016/17 was the first season in which he managed to complete over 3000 minutes, scoring once, assisting five and earning 12pts in the bonus system for a total of 100 FPL points. If he can crack the 3000-minute mark once again we can expect similar returns.

FIXTURES: SHEFFIELD, VILLA,MAN CITY,LEICESTER,EVERTON

CRAIG CATHCART 4.5MIL:

Craig Cathcart is the standout pick in the £4.5m category based on last season’s statistics. He ranked 2nd for total points (93), 3rd for minutes played (3095) and 1st equal for goals scored (3) amongst last season’s cheap defenders.

This is an impressive output for someone who, for the most part, sneaked under the radar. Personally, I feel his returns lacked coverage. This is a defender who outscored the likes of Bennett and equalled the overall points tally of Holebas: both of whom are now valued at £5.0m.

The prospect of attacking returns for Kiko Femenia always garners a decent amount of interest, but his unpredictable role in the starting XI with stern competition from Janmaat is too much of a headache and will only lead to unforced transfers.

FIXTURES: BRIGHTON,EVERTON,WEST HAM,NEWCASTLE,ARSENAL

LEWIS DUNK 4.5MIL:

Dunk and Duffy the center back pairing at the heart of the seagulls defense for the last two seasons, both of them have steadily contributed with clean sheets and attacking points as well. But the tides have changed this time around duffy’s price has increased by 0.5 mil and if you are looking to settle with a 4.5 mil defender then dunk is a great choice. His attacking threat is never in doubt with 42 attempts inside the penalty box over the last two seasons, He is surely worth a gamble.

FIXTURES: WATFORD,WEST HAM,SOUTHAMPTON,CITY,BURNLEY

JAN BEDNAREK 4.5 MIL:

Another 4 million defender who had a great season at Southampton silently racking up points when most of the focus was the other popular 4 million defender, Aaron wan Bissaka. Now priced at 4.5 mil he still is very good option if you are considering a player from the saints defense, a tall commanding center back he can be effective in set piece and corners too. The opening few weeks are also kind for saints with only two Fixtures with difficulty beyond 4 in the opening 6 game weeks

Fixtures: BURNLEY,LIVERPOOL,BRIGHTON,MAN UNITED,SHEFFIELD UNITED

Issa Diop 4.5 MIL:

The West Ham defender has came in at €4.5m . With his team mate Fabianski at £5.0m, Diop could give a great option into the West Ham back line. West Ham are an ambitious top half club who will look to improve defensively. Set piece threat at 6ft4. If you can bench him for the first GW against city he will be up against opponents with fixture difficulty rating not more than 3 in the next 4 GW’s which is really hard to ignore as well.

FIXTURES: CITY,BRIGHTON, WATFORD,NORWICH,ASTON VILLA

PLAYERS AND TEAMS TO BE AVOIDED:

Although doherty was one of the standout defenders last season with a price rise of 1 million combined with a tough start to the season doherty is better to be avoided in the beginning part of the season, if you are still wanting a wolves defender then you can consider bennett or jonny who are priced at 4.5 mil would be a risk free invesment and can be rotated rather than starting them all games.

Arsenal defense should be avoided at all cost,selecting a defender from Arsenal would be suicidal especially if you are having high hopes for this season.

Newcastle are a bit of mess currently with rafa benitez leaving and a new manager in place combined with a tricky start to the season newcastle defense is a big NO-NO.

In the next blog we will bring in the pired budget defenders whom you can rotate based on the fixture difficulty.

Thanks for reading:)