The majoritarian FPL philosophy now asks you not to worry much about defenders. At least, the most popular FPL school of thought has heavily influenced the FPL managers that taking a hit to bring in a defender has become almost a criminal offense.
Indeed, there’s hardly any guarantee of a clean sheet this season. Finding a solid defense has become almost a rarity. It seems to be an endangered breed, barring a few exceptions.
However, as we watch gameweek 20, some excellent defender picks are up for grabs in the Fantasy Premier League. All of them can fetch points from both ends of the field. Here we go!
TAA (£7.2m)
Trent Alexander Arnold is making the back-page headlines for his unresolved contract situation with Liverpool and his prospective move to Real Madrid. But the England international also made the headlines after smacking a mouth-watering 15pts in GW19.
Arnold, popularly known as TAA, has averaged 6pts per GW in the last six outings. Last season, he also played as an inverted wingback. It extended his chances of scoring points.
Despite having the most expensive price tag among FPL defenders, TAA is owned by around one-fourth of the FPL teams. He is still on set pieces, with Liverpool having a good run of fixtures till GW25.
Also, TAA’s team is enjoying their form of life and has themselves to lose the title from here.
Gvardiol (£6m)
Manchester City has hit its rock bottom in years. However, they beat Leicester at their den last week and secured their only second CS in ten games.
Guardiola’s men play Brentford, and Ipswich in the next two, which makes the Croatian defender a lucrative option. He is hungry for goals, with four strikes already under his belt.
Lewis Hall (£4.8m)
A great value-for-money option at £4.8m, Hall is already one to watch this season. Newcastle United has embarked on a winning spree (along with maintaining CSs), with their adorable left-back collecting as many as 42pts in the last five gameweeks.
He is a serious attacking threat with an xGI (expected goal involvements) of 0.20 per 90’ and xA (expected assists) of 0.18 per 90’ alongside four assists in his pocket.
In the next four gameweeks, they are slated to play Wolves (H), Bournemouth (H), Southampton (A) and Fulham (H).
Robinson (£5m)
Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson picked up another assist against Bournemouth in the 2-2 stalemate last week. He has started every match in this campaign and has three clean sheets in his kitty.
One of the most effective attacking fullbacks in the game, Robinson has registered seven assists as of now – the highest by any defender, with an xGI of 0.17 per 90’. Picked up by 23.7% of the FPL managers, Robinson faces West Ham and Leicester next.
