Last week, we reviewed the best attacking premium players in the Fantasy Premier League for the 2024/25 season. In this blog post, we'll dive deep into the stats and performances of some of the top premium defenders for Gameweeks 1-8 in the FPL 2024/25 season.
FPL Launch Offer: Get full Premium Plus preseason access for just £1! This includes first drafts from all Elite XI: Team Reveal managers, who boast an impressive 83 top 10k finishes.
As the above image from our Opta Stats Sandbox feature shows, there are only eight players in the £6.0m- £7.0m price bracket for defenders this year and Gvardiol (5.58) leads the way for average 'Expected FPL Points' (xFPL) for Gameweeks 20-38 of the 2023/24 season. The Croatian international also leads the way for FPL points (6.43) with only White (6.00) coming close.
The most expensive defensive asset in the game at £7.0m, Alexander-Arnold was top for shots per game (1.91) in the second half of last season with Gvardiol second at 1.50. However, it is worth mentioning that the latter landed more attempts on target (0.36 vs 0.50) and had a higher 'Expected Goals' (xG) tally (0.12 vs 0.16). Virgil's goal threat is worth noting with 1.26 shots per game but his xG stood at just 0.06 per match. Gabriel has significantly more goal threat than Saliba (1.00 shots vs 0.21) while Robertson (0.67) and Trippier's (0.20) goal threat is minimal.
The fullbacks naturally fare better for creativity than the centre-backs with Robertson (2.87) attempting nearly double the number of assists as Alexander-Arnold (1.55). The Scotland international is top for 'big chances' (BC) created (0.60) as well which shows in his excellent 'Expected Assists' (xA) numbers (0.32). Trippier (1.30) and White (1.16) are close behind while Gvardiol's creativity numbers (0.71) are quite low.
As the above image from our Fixture Difficulty Ratings feature shows, Liverpool have the best set of opening fixtures with Arsenal in fourth. The Gunners have appealing home fixtures in Gameweek 1 and 3 but the trips to Villa, Spurs and Man. City in Gameweek 2, 4 and 5 are concerning. Man. City are in sixth with good home fixtures in Gamewek 2 and 4 but face Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle in the first six fixtures.
Mark Mansfield, a seven-time top 10k finishing manager, has included both Sailba and Gvardiol in his latest draft. Among the premium defenders in our Elite XI: Team Reveal, Gvardiol leads with an ownership percentage of 28.6%, followed by Robertson at 14.3% and Alexander-Arnold at 7.1%. These Elite XI managers collectively boast an impressive 83 top 10k finishes.
As the above image from our Player Projections feature shows, Alexander-Arnold (36.0) is significantly ahead of the rest and the projections indicate he is worth the £1.0m over Robertson (30.7). The Arsenal trio of White (33.3), Gabriel (32.8) and Saliba (31.8) are ahead of Gvardiol (31.4) with Arsenal's excellent defensive record last season.
Based on this comparison, Alexander-Arnold, Gvardiol and one of the Arsenal trio look like the best Premium defensive picks.
Join 89% of our members who won their main mini-league last season.
GET PREMIUM FOR £1Already a Premium user? Login here
© fantasyfootballfix 2024 | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us
