With injuries and suspensions to popular defensive options such as Romero, Udogie, Cash and Burn, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers are looking for replacements and in this blog some of the options are compared.

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Which teams have the best fixtures?

As the above image from our Fixture Planner shows, Newcastle have the best defensive fixtures over the next eight Gameweeks, which emphasises once again why Trippier is a great option for managers that do not already own the right-back. West Ham and Brighton defence also deserve a look, while Man. Utd's fixtures certainly look appealing from a clean sheet perspective. Arsenal and Palace are just outside the top eight but should be considered with how defensively resolute they have been this season. Some of the best options from these teams are analysed using the Fix Comparison Matrix as shown in the image below.

Vladimir Coufal

West Ham play Forest, Burnley, Palace and Wolves over the next six Gameweeks which are appealing fixtures from a defensive standpoint. However, the Hammers have kept just one cleansheet this campaign, and with Areola also being a popular FPL option, doubling up may not be a shrewd move. However, his numbers are impressive. The West Ham man has averaged an assist every other game over the last six Gameweeks and is also top of the comparison for attempted assists (1.7).

Tyrick Mitchell

Mitchell scored only his second goal for Palace against Burnley and the underlying numbers indicate that further attacking returns might be hard to come by. He averages only 0.3 shots per game and 0.5 attempted assists but is a nice cheap entry into the Palace defence, who are keeping clean sheets regularly under Hodgson.

Alexander-Arnold

By some distance the most expensive defender in the comparison, Alexander-Arnold is top for shots per game (1.8) and second for attempted assists (1.6). As the previous Gameweek showed, his minutes are far more secure than Tsimikas' and the games against Brentford, Fulham and Sheff. Utd. look great for returns at both ends of the pitch.

Ben White

Saliba and White appear to be the only mainstays in the Arsenal defence and the right-back has averaged a healthy 5.8 FPL points per game over the last six Gameweeks which is top of the comparison. He is also top for shots on target (SoT) (0.5) but an average of 0.8 attempted assists per game is nothing to write home about. FPL managers might be better off going for the cheaper Gabriel and simply risking that the Brazilian international may miss the odd game. As the below image from our Stats Sandbox feature shows, only Man. City (9.13) have notched a lower 'Expected Goals Conceded' (xGC) tally than the Gunners (10.08).

Diogo Dalot

The Red Devils kept a cleansheet against Fulham and Dalot has started every game for the Manchester side over the last six Gameweeks. His 1.2 shots per game is second in the comparison and he is joint-top for attempted assists (1.7) which indicates that further attacking returns might be around the corner.

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