Best FPL Defenders to pick in Gameweek 1 (2024/25)

By Fantasy Premier League, News

best fpl defenders

In this article, we will look at the best defenders to pick for your Fantasy Premier League team for Gameweek 1 in the 2024/25 season. Which FPL defenders to buy, hold/keep, or sell?

Let’s dive in. IHere are the FPL defenders to pick from, with our comments and ratings of each.

Read more about GW1 in our guide: FPL Gameweek 1: Tips, Captain, Transfer Targets & Team Selection

Contents hide
1 Best Defenders For Gameweek 1: Our Watchlist
2 Tips for picking the best defenders for your FPL team
3 FPL Defenders with stable points output in the previous 3 seasons
4 How many points should you expect from your defender in Fantasy Premier League?
5 How are defenders awarded points in FPL?
6 Further resources

Best Defenders For Gameweek 1: Our Watchlist

We will look at defenders from every price point: budget enablers, midpriced picks, and premium options. Here is our watchlist of defenders (with our ratings) that we consider before Gameweek 1 in FPL.

Budget defenders for Gameweek 1 (4m – 4.5m)

First, let’s start with the best 4m and 4.5m defenders, who will likely be just on the bench of our FPL teams.

Harwood-Bellis (4m, Southampton) – 1.5/10

Verdict: Buy as a budget enabler

  • one of the key men in Southampton’s defense
  • was a regular starter last season, and should be this season as well
  • Solid goal threat with 2G + 3A in the last season
  • Promoted teams do not tend to keep a lot of clean sheets
  • he is a bench fodder for our teams, not a regular starter
  • Do not have unrealistic expectations that 4m defenders will get you a lot of points
  • Southampton with 14 clean sheets in the Championship last season

 

Wout Faes (4m, Leicester) – 2/10

Verdict: Buy as a budget enabler

  • Those who played EURO Fantasy know this budget enabler
  • 2 goals last season in the Championship
  • he is our go to 4m defender – OK fixtures and he really should be a regular starter for Leicester
  • Vestergaard is another 4m defender from Leicester to consider, he was regular starter for Leicester last season, but had too many yellow cards (13)
  • Leicester with 15 clean sheets in the Championship last season

 

Barco (4m, Brighton) – 1.5/10

Verdict: Monitor whether Brighton will sign a new left-back or not. If the do not, Barco could be budget enabler for the start of the season. But we are avoiding him for now. 

  • While Estupinan is injured, Barco should be starting for Brighton (unless they sign new left-back)
  • If Brighton signs new left-back, Barco might not be starting at all
  • once Estupinan is back, his starting spot will be at risk
  • He can become a dead weight for your FPL team very early, once Estupinan is back and if you do not aim to wildcard early
  • first 3 fixtures are not ideal

 

Dan Burn (4.5m, Newcastle) – 2.5/10

Verdict: Buy if you are trusting Newcastle defence to improve

  • A usual suspect among budget defenders to consider
  • Nice fixtures for Newcastle at the start of the season
  • 2G + 2A last season
  • Livramento or Hall could be interesting options from Newcastle as well, but so far it is not clear if some of them is nailed
  • Newcastle were very unpredictable defensively last season – there were periods where they were doing great defensively, but also had some poor moments
  • 10 clean sheets for Newcastle last season, which is OK, as only 3 teams had more (Arsenal, Everton, Man. City)
  • Newcastle have been pretty shaky defensively since the start of the 2024

 

Joachim Andersen (4.5m, Crystal Palace) – 6/10

Verdict: Buy, could be not just a budget enabler but a regular starter for your team

  • cornerstone of Crystal Palace’s defense
  • nice 2 opening fixtures for Palace
  • good at bonuses – he is top for BPS from last season among all 4.5 defenders
  • solid goal threat, 3.33 attacking returns per season on average over the last 3 season
  • Crystal Palace 5th lowest xG conceded of all teams last season
  • If you have Henderson in goal, your defense would be too reliant on Crystal Palace keeping clean sheets
  • A mix of fixtures in GW3 – GW7

 

Ezri Konsa (4.5m, Aston Villa) – 5.5/10

Verdict: Buy

  • cheap route into Aston Villa’s defense
  • some goal threat, had at least 2 attacking returns in 4 from 5 seasons
  • A good fixture run up to GW9
  • Aston Villa’s defence can be unpredictable, they had just 8 clean sheets last season, while they are averaging 10.6 clean sheets per season on average over the last 5 seasons

 

Ola Aina (4.5m, Nottingham) – 3/10

Verdict: Buy if you trust Nottingham defensively

  • Nottingham had 4 lowest xG conceded last season from all teams according to Understat
  • Good fixtures up to GW10
  • Despite good xG conceded numbers, Nottignham kept only 4 clean sheets in 2023/24

 

Antonee Robinson (4.5m, Fulham) – 4/10

Verdict: Buy

  • 6 assists last season
  • solid at BPS
  • Very appealing run of of fixtures in GW2 – GW6
  • Fulham with 10 clean sheets last season (only 3 teams had more)
  • Fulham were defensively pretty strong at home last season, this season 3 of first 5 games are at home
  • It’s Fulham, you need to have realistic expectations about clean sheets (1 in 5?)

 

Mid-priced FPL defenders for Gameweek 1 (5m – 5.5m)

Romero (5.0m, Tottenham) – 5/10

Verdict: Buy if you believe Tottenham can improve defensively

  • We like his goal threat, he scored 5 goals last season from 4.66 xGI
  • Could be an alternative for managers who do not want to go for Pedro Porro
  • Spurs were very shaky at back last season, 7th highest xG conceded last season of all teams, and only 7 clean sheets

 

Maatsen (5.0m, Aston Villa) – 3/10

Verdict: Wait and see

  • One to watch as the season progress
  • Was a good fantasy asset to own in UCL Fantasy last season
  • 2G + 2A in 16 games in Bundesliga last season for Dortmund
  • Let’s see how he settles into Aston Villa defense

 

Senesi (5.0m, Bournemouth) – 4/10

Verdict: Buy if you have trust in Bournemouth’s defence

  • Outstanding 4G + 5A last season (from 4.5 xGI)
  • Differential as he is overlooked by the community, only 1% owned
  • Opening fixtures for Bournemouth are not that bad
  • Bournemouth with 9 clean sheets last season, but with lower xG conceded than teams like Spurs or Man. United
  • you have to rely more on attacking returns from him, rather then clean sheets
  • he is getting too many yellow cards (13 last season, one in every 2-3rd game)

 

Pedro Porro (5.5m, Tottenham) – 5/10

Verdict: Buy if you believe Tottenham’s defense can improve

  • Top for xGI and top for bonus points among defenders last season
  • 11 attacking returns last season
  • But you would have to rely more on attacking returns than clean sheets, as Spurs defence was pretty poor last season

 

Premium FPL defenders beyond Gameweek 1 (6m – 7m)

Gabriel (6m, Arsenal) – 7.5/10

Verdict: Buy

  • It is a coin toss between Saliba and Gabriel. Saliba is better at bonus points while Gabriel has higher attacking threat
  • Gabriel with highest xGI among Arsenal defenders last season
  • Arsenal has the lowest xG conceded last season and the most clean sheets
  • High price tag
  • Let’s see how new signing Calafiori influence the rotation in Arsenal defence

 

Van Dijk (6m, Liverpool) – 7/10

  • High goal threat after set pieces
  • Liverpool with 3rd lowest xG conceded last season
  • High price
  • You likely need to choose only one from TAA or VVD

 

Gvardiol (6m, Manchester City) – 9.5/10

Verdict: Buy

  • He was just outstanding source of FPL point at the end of previous season
  • Close to a must-have before the start of 2024-25 season
  • City are solid defensively every season, last season they had second lowest xG conceded, and only Arsenal kept more clean sheets
  • Hard to squeeze him into out teams but the price is justified
  • City with “just” 13 clean sheets last season

 

TAA (7m, Liverpool) – 7.5/10

Verdict: Buy, if it doesnot disrupt the balance of your FPL team

  • On set pieces, very high attacking threat
  • Exciting price drop to 7m
  • Hard to fit him in, if you want multiple heavy hitters in your midfield and attack

 

Tips for picking the best defenders for your FPL team

  • With defenders, you always want a defender 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 center back who are good at headers after corners can offer high points output as you do not have to rely solely on clean sheet points

FPL Defenders with stable points output in the previous 3 seasons

best fpl defenders 24 25
best fpl defenders 24 25

Read more in our article: Best long-term FPL picks for 2024/25 season

How many points should you expect from your defender in Fantasy Premier League?

Do not have unrealistic expectations from your FPL defenders.

  • At 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 a 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.

Further resources

Matej Šuľan

Fantasy Football enthusiast with two top 1k finishes in FPL. Best FPL overall rank: 119th in 2019/20 season. Five top 500 finishes in UCL Fantasy, best overall rank: 23rd in 2018/19 season. Founder of Fantasy Football Reports.

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