The 2022-23 season was a barren one for Fantasy Premier League defenders as only one was ranked in the top 20 highest-scoring players by the end of the campaign.
Many of the historically top-performing defenders had an off year. Liverpool‘s unexpected regression meant that Andy Robertson, Virgil van Dijk and even Trent Alexander-Arnold were less reliable than usual; Chelsea‘s calamitous campaign impacted Reece James and Ben Chilwell; and Joao Cancelo’s shock January departure robbed FPL bosses of an attacking defender from the top-scoring team.
Oh, and Tottenham conceded 63 goals.
That, allied to a plethora of double gameweeks in the second half of the season, meant that by Gameweek 38 engaged managers all had pretty much the same backline.
For the sake of variety, hopefully there will be more high-calibre performers to pick from next season and there are some notable options to consider when pulling together your Gameweek 1 draft.
You will notice as you scan down this list that there is one glaring omission: the top-scoring defender from 2022-23 (by a considerably margin) Kieran Trippier. That is no slight on the Newcastle right-back, who remains a great pick, but at £6.5m he is considerably more valuable than at this stage last year when he was priced at just £5m.
FPL’s decision-makers were well within their rights to raise Trippier’s price tag given the season he had but it gives managers a selection headache over whether to select him or not. It remains to be seen how the added strain of Champions League football affects Newcastle next term.
Here are 10 options to consider, ranging from the most expensive defender in the game to a couple of differentials at the other end of the market:
The premium pick
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold is by far the most expensive defender in FPL, coming in at £1.5m more than any other player in that position. As tempting as it is to go without him in order to funnel funds into midfield and attack, there’s a reason why he has such an inflated valuation.
The Liverpool right-back has been inside the top three scoring defenders in FPL in each of the past five seasons. A move into a hybrid central midfield role towards the back end of 2022-23 also unlocked his FPL potential, with Alexander-Arnold scoring once and providing seven assists in his final 10 appearances.
Price: £8m Points in 2022-23: 156
The value options
Ben Chilwell (Chelsea)
Chelsea’s squad right now is, quite frankly, weird. Even despite a summer exodus, it is overloaded in certain areas including at left-back where Mauricio Pochettino has four credible options in Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella, Ian Maatsen and Lewis Hall.
At least one of those will be moved on before the transfer window shuts, but it certainly won’t be Chilwell who will, injury-permitting, start the campaign as first-choice. Since joining Chelsea in 2020, Chilwell has averaged an attacking return – a goal or assist – at a rate of once every three games.
Price: £5.5m Points in 2022-23: 70
Luke Shaw (Man Utd)
Luke Shaw overcame an early wobble to become a mainstay of Erik ten Hag’s team in the Dutchman’s debut campaign in charge, even impressing in an unfamiliar central defensive role at times.
Left-back is where FPL managers will want to see Shaw, however, and with Lisandro Martinez returning from injury it’s safe to assume the England international will begin the campaign in his favoured position. Home games against Wolves and Nottingham Forest in United’s opening three should boost Shaw’s appeal.
Price: £5.5m Points in 2022-23: 124
Pervis Estupinan (Brighton)
Last season’s surprise package Brighton have an encouraging set of fixtures to start the campaign as they face Luton (h), Wolves (a) and West Ham (h) in their first three matches.
That schedule is perhaps a factor behind Pervis Estupinan’s sky-high ownership at present: only Erling Haaland and Bukayo Saka have a greater ownership than the Ecuadorian. He was the fifth-most productive defender in 2022-23 with seven assists.
Price: £5m Points in 2022-23: 128
Gabriel (Arsenal)
The signing of Jurrien Timber from Ajax creates just enough seeds of doubt over Ben White and William Saliba’s minutes to make Gabriel Magalhaes the standout pick from Arsenal’s defence.
The Brazilian started every single league game last term and offers an attacking threat: no defender scored more than his three goals in 2022-23.
Price: £5m Points in 2022-23: 146
Pedro Porro (Tottenham)
Yes, it is only pre-season, but Tottenham’s first game under Ange Postecoglou was intriguing for numerous reasons, not least the positioning of the full-backs. At Celtic, Postecoglou generally named a conventional back four that was anything but in general play with one tucking in alongside the centre-backs and the other advancing up the touchline.
Aginst West Ham in Perth, Pedro Porro was given license to get forward, while Sergio Reguilon played an inverted full-back role on the other side. If that is a sign of things to come, Porro should feature prominently on your defender wishlist after registering three goals and three assists in 15 league appearances last season.
Price: £5m Points in 2022-23: 59
The bargains
Sven Botman (Newcastle)
Sven Botman’s price tag is one of the more baffling decisions made by FPL ahead of next season. At £4.5m, the Dutchman is valued the same as most newly-promoted defenders despite playing 35 times for the Premier League’s stingiest defence last season. He won’t rival Trippier for points, but that £2m saving can go a long way.
Price: £4.5m Points in 2022-23: 129
Ethan Pinnock (Brentford)
Brentford kept seven clean sheets at the Community Stadium last season and have four home games in their opening six matches of the new campaign.
Ben Mee (£5m) is proving popular in FPL, but save yourself the £0.5m and get his central defensive partner Ethan Pinnock instead. There was virtually nothing to separate their points per game totals in 2022-23: Mee (3.86) and Pinnock (3.73).
Price: £4.5m Points in 2022-23: 112
The differentials
Emerson (West Ham)
With Aaron Cresswell reportedly on Wolves’ radar, the attack-minded Emerson looks set to start the season as West Ham’s first-choice left-back. The Euro 2020 winner surprisingly displaced Cresswell for the Conference League final and performed well as the Hammers ended their 43-year trophy wait in Prague.
Price: £4.5m Points in 2022-23: 39
Destiny Udogie (Tottenham)
With Ryan Sessegnon injured, Ivan Perisic ill-suited to playing in a back four and speculation surrounding Sergio Reguilon’s future, the left back position at Spurs is there for Destiny Udogie to seize with both hands.
The Italian scored in Postecoglou’s first game in charge with a glancing header against West Ham and excelled on loan at Udinese last season with three goals and four assists in 33 Serie A appearances.
Price: £4.5m Points in 2022-23: N/A
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