With 18 top 1k Fantasy Premier League (FPL) finishes, 61 top 5k finishes and 82 top 10k finishes, the Elite Team Reveal Managers know that points from defence are crucial to FPL success. In this blog, the Defensive template preferred by these top managers is analysed.

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As the above image shows, the Elite XI have preferred to back the top teams from last season in defence with Onana, Alexander-Arnold, Estupiñán and Gabriel all popular options. No team kept more clean sheets than Man. Utd (17) last season and Onana's price of just £5.0m makes him one of the best entry points into their defence. Only Trippier (110) created more chances amongst defenders than Alexander-Arnold (71), while Gabriel (3.63) was second only to Schär for xG (4.03).

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As the above image shows, Man. City (3.0) top the clean sheet projections for the first six Gameweeks with Chelsea (2.4) and Liverpool (2.3) close behind. Many of the Elite XI have chosen to invest in the Man. City defence, to find out who makes their XI click here. Brighton (2.2), Arsenal (2.1) and Man. Utd (2.1) all favour prominently as well which explains why the Elite XI have chosen to invest in these solid teams who also have favourable fixtures.

In terms of individual player projections, Alexander-Arnold (28.4) is head and shoulders above the rest with the Liverpool duo of Robertson (26.5) and Virgil (24.6) in second and third. Estupiñán also makes the top four with Gabriel in eighth (22.2).

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The above image from our Fixture Analyser tool shows that the teams that the Elite XI have backed all have favourable opening fixtures with Brighton (first), Liverpool (fourth), Man. Utd (fifth) and Arsenal (seventh) sitting right at the top of the ticker.

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