In this article, we will look at the best defenders to pick for your Fantasy Premier League team in Gameweek 25.
Let’s dive in
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Best defenders for FPL GW25
We will look at defenders from every price point: budget enablers, midpriced picks and premium options.
Budget enablers for Gameweek 25
Tarkowski (4.3m, Everton)
- bench fodder that you would play in blank gameweek 25 when Everton has a double gameweek and in big blank in GW28
- goal threat
- has a fixture in blank GW28, which makes Everton defenders slightly more appealing for GW25 than Wolves defenders, who are not guaranteed a fixture in blank GW28
Kilman (4.4m, Wolves)
- bench fodder that you would play in blank gameweek 25 when Wolves has a double gameweek
Mid-priced FPL defenders for GW25
Dawson (4.8m, Wovles)
- Double gameweek in GW25
- one gameweek differential
- goal threat – he scored at least 2 goals in each of his last 7 Premier League seasons
Gabriel (5.2m, Arsenal)
- Arsenal second for clean sheets this season
- you want best players from best teams in your FPL squad
- goal threat – 5 goals last season, 2 goals this season
- double gameweek in GW25 as well
- Arsenal is second for clean sheets (9) after Newcastle
- Arsenal with solid defensive stats
- only 23 goals conceded, the second least from all EPL (only Newcastle conceded less)
- the second least xG conceded of all teams behind Manchester City (according to Understat)
- Better pick than White who might get unexpected benching
Premium FPL defenders for Gameweek 25
TAA (7.3m, Liverpool)
- disappointed this season so far when it comes to clean sheets
- however, he has 1 goals and 4 assists this season
- Liverpool has the fourth most underperforming defence in our Expected Clean Sheets table, so hopefully, the number of their clean sheets will return to the mean in the second half of the season
- Double gameweek in GW25
- TAA is worth a punt for double gameweek 25
Pick beyond blank/double gameweek 25
Shaw (5.3m, Manchester United)
- nailed in Man United defense
- attacking threat
- good at BPS
- Manchester United second for clean sheets alongise Arsenal
- You can sell him for blank GW25 and then plan to bring him back (for example on your wildcard lately)
James (5.8m, Chelsea)
- available again after the injury, James was only rested in GW24, so there no injury concerns around him
- tough fixture in GW25, so bring him in after GW25
- we all know about his attacking threat
- when he plays he can deliver fantasy points
- but his time will managed, so do not expect 60+ minutes every gameweek
Trippier (6.1m, Newcastle)
- the top-scoring defender in the game, the third top scoring player
- Newcastle solid defensively – only 15 goals conceded, the lowest of all teams + the most clean sheets
- However, they are defensively overperforming, 15 goals conceded from 25.56 xG against
- Trippier with great underlying stats: top for xA among defenders this season
- Second for xA among all players after KdB
- on free kicks and corners
- however, blank gameweek in GW25, so need a replacement on your bench, but do not sell him, just bench him in GW25
Tips for picking the best defenders for your FPL team
- With defenders, you always want a keeper that has a very high chance of a clean sheet. You can use our Premier League Clean Sheets Odds to find goalkeepers, who are most likely to keep a clean sheet in the next gameweek of FPL.
- Also, when considering defenders for your fantasy team, you always have to take a look at fixtures and asses whether a certain defender has the potential for a clean sheet. Does he have a tough or easy fixture? And as we mentioned, our clean sheet odds will help you with that.
- Check FDR to find defenders with the great fixture run that could be good for clean sheets and attacking returns as well
- Also, asses the attacking potential of defenders – attacking full-backs, attacking wing backs, and centre back who are good at headers after corners can offer high points output as you do not have rely solely for clean sheet points
FPL Defenders with stable points output in previous 4 seasons
Read more in our article: Best long-term FPL picks for 2022/23 season
How many points should you expect from your defender in Fantasy Premier League?
Do not have unrealistic expectations from your FPL defenders.
- At the best, the top teams can keep around 14-20 clean sheets per season. So, when you select a premium defender, expect you will get a clean sheet in every second match at the best.
- Mid-table teams tend to keep around 8-13 clean sheets per season. So, with mid-priced defenders, expect a clean sheet in every fourth match
- Bottom table teams usually keep around 0-7 clean sheets per season. So when picking budget enablers from bottom-table teams, do not really expect more than a clean sheet in every 6th match.
- attacking full-backs (like TAA, James, Cancelo, Chilwell) can get around 10 attacking returns in a season – so 1 attacking return every 4th match is an excellent return from your defenders
- few center backs (who are good at headers) might get around 3-5 goals per season, so a goal every 10th match from your centre back is an excellent rate of attacking returns
- So, usually, top-scoring FPL defenders can get around 170-210 points per season.
- But usually 140-160 points is the amount of points you should aim to get from you defenders during the whole FPL season – that is more realistic goal
How are defenders awarded points in FPL?
The majority of FPL points for defenders go through clean sheets – 4 points – that’s their main source of points.
Then attacking returns can earn them extra points as well – 6 points for a goal and 3 for an assist. And usually, when a defender keeps a clean sheet and gets an attacking return there is a potential that he will get awarded a few bonus points.
