Best Premium FPL Defenders: DEFCON, Goals and Clean Sheets

Choosing the best FPL defenders for Gameweek 1 is no longer just about identifying teams with strong clean-sheet potential. Defensive Contribution Points—or DEFCON—give centre-backs and other defensively active players an additional route to Fantasy Premier League returns in 2026/27.

After covering the best goalkeeper and defender pairings in our FPL rotation strategies guide and an exhaustive piece on budget FPL defenders, in this guide, we assess the leading £5.0m–£8.0m FPL defenders using DEFCON, goal threat, assist potential, opening fixtures and predicted points.

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Which FPL Defenders Have the Best DEFCON Potential?

The £5.0m–£5.5m defender bracket arguably offers some of the best value in FPL, with many of last season’s standout DEFCON performers available in this price range.

With 60 players to choose from at the time of writing, FPL managers are not short of options.

As our Opta Stats Sandbox image shows, Joachim Andersen (329), James Collins (318), Jan Paul van Hecke (317), Nikola Milenković, Omar Alderete (314 each) and Chris Richards (313) were the top performers for DEFCON last season in this price bracket.

Of the aforementioned six players, only Van Hecke has changed clubs although both Milenković and Richards have new managers which may affect their club's playing style.

It is also worth noting that Andersen is suspended for Gameweek 1.

FPL Defenders With the Most Goal Threat

Palace’s switch to a back three under Glasner could allow Neco Williams to operate further forward as a wing-back, giving him significant attacking potential alongside his clean-sheet and DEFCON routes to points.

His upside has already caught the attention of the Elite Managers, with Williams currently featuring in the Gameweek 1 draft of Tom Dollimore—a five-time top-10k finisher in the last seven seasons and former number one in the FPL Hall of Fame.

View Tom’s latest squad and follow every team change with Elite Team Reveals.

As the below image from our Opta Stats Sandbox shows, the fullback was top amongst defenders in this price bracket for shots (46) and shots on target (19).

Meanwhile, Mallick Thiaw was top for both 'big chances' (10) and 'Expected Goals' (xG) (6.19) but with Newcastle parting ways with Eddie Howe, it remains to be seen how the new manager utilises the German international.

Dan Ballard played only 2148 minutes due to various injuries but the Northern Ireland international was second for 'big chances' (eight), second for xG (3.65) and also sixth for DEFCON per game (9.03).

Riccardo Calafiori is perhaps going under the radar, the Italian international also had a curtailed campaign due to injuries but was still ranked fifth for shots in the box (22), as shown in the above image from our Opta Stats Sandbox.

Collins (19) and Van Hecke (18) also feature in eighth and 10th which is worth noting given their DEFCON potential mentioned earlier.

FPL Defenders With the Most Assist Potential

Pedro Porro was top amongst defenders for chances created (53) last season but the Spanish international is likely to miss Gameweek 1 due to his participation in the World Cup final.

As the above image from our Opta Stats Sandbox shows, N. Williams was second for attempted assists (36) which again strengthens the case for his inclusion.

Adrien Truffert is third with 32 attempted assists but the fullback has received a significant price hike to £5.5m and it remains to be seen how new manager Marco Rose sets up the Cherries.

Are Premium FPL Defenders Worth the Money?

Only 10 defenders are priced at £6.0m or above this season, and several could miss Gameweek 1 through injury or a late return following the World Cup.

Jurrien Timber, Nico O’Reilly, William Saliba, Marcos Senesi and Marc Guéhi are among those with doubts over their availability.

As the above image from our Opta Stats Sandbox shows, Gabriel Magalhães (181.37) was top for Expected FPL points (xFPL) amongst £6.0m+ defenders last season with O'Reilly (162.65) in second.

Virgil van Dijk scored more goals than any other defender last season with six, delivering strong FPL returns despite Liverpool’s limited number of clean sheets.

The Dutchman has also made it into Dan Bennett’s current Gameweek 1 Bench Boost draft. See how the 10-time top-10k finisher plans to attack the opening Gameweek in our Gameweek 1 Bench Boost article.

As the above image from our Fixture Difficulty Ratings shows, Everton are ranked top for 'Defence Difficulty' which strengthens the case for James Tarkowski. Only Senesi (418) racked up more DEFCON than Tarkowski amongst defenders last season. The Toffees also kept 11 clean sheets.

Nico O'Reilly's role is unclear under new manager Enzo Maresca and it remains to be seen if he gets as much attacking license under the Italian. Guéhi is currently not yet in training with the Manchester side at the time of writing but is worth considering if he does make the Community Shield squad.

Which Defenders Are Projected to Score the Most FPL Points?

FPL's most expensive defender Gabriel tops the Premium Defender projections (28.4) with J.Timber (26.0) in second.

As the above image from our Player Points Projections shows, Tarkowski (24.6), Virgil (24.3) and Milenković (24.1) are also in the top six which further strengthens the case for their inclusion

The cheapest defender in the top 10 is Maguire and the Centre-back could prove good value at £5.0m. Only De Ligt (8.38) managed a higher DEFCON per game average than the 33-year-old (6.57) amongst Manchester United defenders.

Final Thoughts: The Best FPL Defenders for Gameweek 1

Based on the analysis above, N. Williams looks like one of the standout picks in this price bracket but it still remains to be seen whether Glasner can achieve the same level of defensive solidity at Forest that he instilled at the Eagles.

Collins and Van Hecke both offer DEFCON and goal threat and have good fixtures to start the season.

Gabriel's virtues need no extolling but perhaps Calafiori could prove a useful alternative at a much cheaper price.

Tarkowski, Virgil and Milenković are also great options with strong fixture runs to start the season.

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