With Fantasy Premier League (FPL) providing a plethora of strong £5.0m to £5.5m Defenders for the 2023/24 season, this blog will be taking a look at them using last season's stats per game to see who would be best placed in fantasy football squads.
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Taking a look at the Opta Stats Sandbox from 2022/23, filtered per game and by expected FPL points (xFPL) - which factors in fantasy football clean sheet potential, BPS numbers and attacking statistics to name a few - it is quick to deduce that the lion share (eight) all play for the traditional "Top-six" sides. The impressive Schär and Estupiñan are the only exceptions. The Top-12 all managed a minimum of 4.19 xFPL, which is quite incredible as it would equate to a score of 159+ points across 38 games.
FPL have been very generous this season pricing many of the "Top-six's" defence at £5.5m and under. So, it's also worth looking at actual points per game, to see which of the above players feature in both tables.
The only new entrees here are Alex Moreno and Mee, with Aké and R. James making way. Pedro Porro benefits from the 'per game' filter, having played significantly less games than others (after joining Spurs in January). The Spanish full-back became an integral first team player, playing in the final 14 league games and wracked up a fantastic total of three goals and three assists - as a result of constantly bombing forwards. If Postecoglou allows him this freedom and Kane does not leave, he could be a great asset.
Pivoting away to Team stats may assist with picking two or three of these 10 players.
Man. City were head and shoulders above the rest when it came to clean sheet potential, as seen above. Stones (who features in both Sandbox tables above), only played in 23 of the 38 games over City's league season, but started in nine of the last 12 Premier League fixtures, given his unique ability to play as an inverted centre back.
Newcastle (Schär) and Arsenal (Gabriel, Saliba, White and Zinchenko) who have five assets in this analysis, were virtually neck and neck for expected clean sheets. So, it would be a shrewd move to own at least one of these five, with Arsenal perhaps edging the appeal given the consistency of their whole defence (four in this review) in 2022/23.
Man. United's improvement was noticeable under Ten Hag in 2022/23 and owning one of Dalot or Shaw will be popular. The former possibly falling under-the-radar, due to the threat of Wan-Bissaka, who put in some strong performances while the Portuguese right-back was out injured. Dalot at £0.5m less could be a wise addition if money is needed elsewhere since he started the first 13 league games of the season and was deployed in a very advanced position.
Villa are the surprise inclusion, in fourth place, after a very under-par start to the season. Much of this is therefore owed to the stewardship of Emery, and Alex Moreno (who finds himself in the Top-12 for points per game) will be a popular selection when 100% fit.
Making a decision on who to own across this bracket is harder than ever, so factoring in the fixtures is a must.
Brighton, Man. City and Arsenal rank first, second and seventh respectively according to the Fixture Analyser ranked by Defensive Difficulty, which presents the option to go with Estupiñan (very attacking), Stones (out of position) and one of Gabriel, Saliba, White or Zinchenko (very strong defensive numbers) to start with.
FPL managers will be over-thinking this area of their squads in droves, but if all else fails defences can be overhauled when the first Wildcard is played. Most managers activite this between Gameweeks 4 and 10, so if other assets (like Alex Moreno, Dalot/Shaw, Pedro Porro) show signs of attacking intent and are delivering points they can be added in stress-free.
One thing is clear, this analysis puts across a strong case to start the season with at least four Defenders (particularly if Alexander-Arnold is being considered) - given this year's friendly pricing (£5.5m and under) of some seriously consistent defenders, playing for the best clubs in the league.
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