Budget Defenders for FPL 2020-21: Strikers win you the matches but Defenders win you tournament, so here’s the look at the best and affordable Defenders for Fantasy Premier League 2020/21.
We all want Salah, Mane, Kane, Aubamenyang, KDB, Sterling in our teams. Even the beginners start their teams by picking well-known players. But to cover up the cost of them, doing some research on budget picks is must, since they will eventually be differential in your team. The best way to save some money is your defense. So let’s look at some of the enablers (budget players who can help you to get costly players in your team) in defense for the upcoming season.
Taylor (4.5m): 15 clean sheets. 2nd highest in PL for Burnley. I guess, this makes the solid case for Burnley defense. Pope was the favorite keeper last season because of his 4.5m price, but since it has gone to 5.5m, Taylor makes a good replacement for him. Even though Burnley are not an attacking team, 10+ clean sheets and a few assists from a fullback is more than enough for a 4.5m defender.
Stuart Dallas (4.5m): Leeds United are hyped due to Bielsa factor and his attacking style of football. Hence, it’s worth looking into their fullbacks. Dallas has appeared in 45 Championship matches, scoring 5 goals and assisting 3. His ability to start at either side of the fullback positions and sometimes even as a CM makes him a versatile pick. He has the potential to be Lundstram of this season. Lookout for him.
Ayling (4.5m): Ayling is another pick from Leeds. He also had quite attacking returns with 4 goals and 5 assists, even though played 9 matches less than Dallas. He can either be a CB or RB, depending upon Bielsa’s formation, but he is a guaranteed starter for Leeds.
Ferguson (4.0m): There are very few 4m players in FPL this season, and Ferguson is probably the only one who is likely to start the games. Since the departure of Wan-Bissaka, Crystal Palace had struggled to fill the RB spot and unless any new signing, Ferguson will start as RB. So ideally, this guy should be in all of the FPL teams.
Also Read : 5 Common Strategies to start your FPL Season 2020/21
Justin (4.5m): Since Richardo Pereira had been injured, Justin has started as RB for Leicester. Pereira is still far from recovery and probably will miss out on initial matches. Looking at relatively easy fixtures early on for Leicester, Justin can be a good bargain pick from a defensively strong team.
Thomas (4.5m): Another cheap and most probably confirmed starting LB option, since Chilwell has been heavily involved in Chelsea talks and the transfer is likely to happen in the next week. You hardly get any nailed-on starting player from top 8 sides for 4.5m and if you get it, you can lock him in for the season.
Gomez (5.5m): If you think 7m or 7.5m is too much for a defender, then 5.5m Liverpool CB is a good pick for arguably the best defense in the league. It is almost impossible to triple up on Liverpool assets if you want Salah and Mane together, but picking Gomez instead of fullbacks can be a decent way to cover up for most of the goals scored and clean sheets by Liverpool. Considering high intensity training for Klopp’s juggernaut, Matip will take time to get back into the starting XI and Vin Dijk-Gomez is the most successful partnership for Liverpool under Klopp.
Garcia (5.0m): Garcia was a regular starter in Pep’s team post lockdown and he even started in CL game against Lyon. Even though, City has signed Ake for a huge amount, Either he can be a LCB or LB. It is very unlikely to have Laporte-Ake (both left-footed) as CB pair. Other options are Otamendy, Stones, Fernandinho. City has lost 12 matches and conceded 53 goals while these were CBs in majority of the games. So even though Pep is going to rotate his team as usual, consider Garcia to in playing team for the majority of the season.
Shaw (5.0m): Manchester United has been defensively 3rd best team after Liverpool and City, just conceding 36 goals and keeping 13 clean sheets. As opposed to their City rivals, United tend to have a fixed starting side and most of the players are rotation-proof. Shaw had shown his attacking intent when playing without any injuries, having him at 5m when United are scoring tons of goals, looks like a bargain.
Also Read : When and how to play chips in FPL 2020/21 season
Egan (5.0m): Everyone is aware of how good Sheffield United were as s defensive unit last season. Even though their prices have gone up a notch, I still consider Egan to be a decent pick, since he is guaranteed to start and his aerial presence in the box makes him an attacking threat as well.
Walker-Peters (4.5m): Even though Southmpton hadn’t been good defensively, being an attacking fullback for a side which has Ings and Adams as strikers, Walker-Peters is a good option when fixtures are relatively easy.
Vinagre (4.5m): Wolves has the same problem as Leicester. The only difference is Wolves regular leftback, Jonny is injured for almost the entire season. So unless Wolves sign another LB for the replacement, I will surely lock Vinagre in my team because we all know how good Wolves team is defensively. Also, Vinagre used to push further up the pitch when he played, hence we can see some assists potential to Jimenez goals as well.
El Mohamady (4.5m): The great escape of Villa from last season! We all remember the team effortssVilla had put post lockdown and I reckon that the form will be continued because of shorter break this time. El Mohamady is attacking in nature and when he plays full season, he returns 100+ points with some attacking returns as well. When fixtures are good on paper, he is likely to have a couple of double-digit hauls this season.
In the recent few FPL seasons, the number of goals scored, especially by Liverpool and Manchester City, have been very high and managers have already realized the value of playing 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 formation. So having some enablers in your defense is a necessity nowadays and you should probably get two to three of the provided list in your team. The budget midfielders and forwards will be discussed in the next article.
Happy Team Picking!
