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In Fantasy Premier League, choosing defenders might not be as straightforward as it seems, ever more so after the recently concluded Premier League season. While a defender's primary job is to defend, a large chunk of players - full-backs, in particular, have been chipping in with goals and assists regularly which has caused a massive re-think among FPL managers.
With the 2019/20 season of FPL around the corner, defenders will come under the scanner massively as the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Virgil van Dijk produced returns in attack as well as in defence consistently. That said, a number of factors will be under due consideration before defenders are chosen for the forthcoming season.
Manchester City and Liverpool absolutely dominated the 2018/19 Premier League from start to finish so it should come as no surprise that the list is dominated by players from these two teams.
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On that note, let's look at 5 of the highest scoring defenders from last season.
#1 Andy Robertson - £7 million
Andy Robertson's rise to stardom in the last 18 months has been astonishing, to say the least. After signing from Hull City for a meagre fee of £8 million, the Scotland skipper featured sparingly in the opening stages of the season before making the left-back spot his own as Liverpool won the Champions League.
Not only is Robertson the best left-back in the country by a fair distance, it also would not be blasphemous to think that he is currently the best in the world in his position.
The 25-year-old amassed 3000 minutes in the Premier League last season, registering a career-high 11 assists and went on tally 213 points, the highest among defenders last season. Robertson also went on to accumulate a staggering total of 29 bonus points last season, which was also a season-high tally for defenders.
Even at £7 million, the Scotsman is most definitely the punt as he's exhibited unbelievable levels of consistency in all aspects of his game and is sure to pick up right where he left off last season.
#2 Virgil van Dijk - £6.5 million
Virgil van Dijk's 2018/19 season will go down as one of the most dominant individual performances in Premier League history, as the Dutchman went on to be named PL Player of the Year and PFA Player of the Year. van Dijk only missed 40 minutes of PL football last season as Liverpool narrowly missed out on the title to Manchester City.
The defender led Liverpool's back-line as the Reds went on to register 21 Premier League clean sheets and topped off this impressive tally by having a hand in 8 goals, registering 4 goals and 4 assists. Having registered 208 points last season, the Dutchman also tallied 22 bonus points and was a really popular member among FPL managers despite costing £6 million last season.
van Dijk is one of the first names on the team sheet and he'd be the safest bet in the Liverpool defence, as he's cheaper than the likes of Alexander-Arnold and Robertson and carries no rotation risk.
#3 Trent Alexander-Arnold - £7 million
The 20-year-old is the third Liverpool on the list and is by far the most exciting option in terms of FPL points. The young Scouser produced moments of premium quality consistently and blessed the Premier League with his crossing prowess, as he went on to register a record-breaking 12 assists, which is the highest by any defender in the Premier League era.
Alexander-Arnold is on set-pieces for Liverpool and this could give him the edge over full-back partner Robertson. The English youngster registered 25 bonus points on his way to a total of 185 for the season and he did so whilst only making 28 appearances, making his assists record all the more unbelievable.
Alexander-Arnold is lethal when it comes to set-pieces, as Barcelona found out rather harshly in the Champions League semi-final. Added to the fact that he's one of the best crossers in world football, he comes with a significant goal threat. He's the complete package and well worth the £7 million fee.
#4 Aymeric Laporte - £6.5 million
Aymeric Laporte was the only constant in a Manchester City defence that was subject to regular change. The Frenchman played in the excess of 3000 minutes and was Guardiola's most trusted man at the back as the Cityzens went on to seal another Premier League title.
Laporte registered 177 points last season, 16 of which were bonus points as he played his part in both ends of the pitch. He led from the front at the back and was involved in 6 goals in the PL, registering 3 goals and 3 assists.
With Benjamin Mendy struggling with injuries and Kyle Walker's spot in the XI not a certainty after the Cityzens declared their interest in Joao Cancelo, Laporte could be the safest way into the Manchester City defence.
#5 David Luiz - £6 million
The Mercurial Brazilian is a two-time Premier League winner and is set to play under his former teammate Frank Lampard this season after the legendary Englishman was appointed manager of the Blues last week.
With Chelsea's transfer ban, they will be unable to sign players this summer and Luiz looks to retain his place at the heart of the defence, alongside Antonio Rudiger.
Luiz was a key member of Maurizio Sarri's side as he registered 164 FPL points, 19 of which were bonus points. The Brazilian is also a proper nuisance in attacking set pieces and made useful contributions in attack, with 3 goals and 2 assists to his name last season.
Marcos Alonso could lose his place to Emerson and Cesar Azplicueta is not as prolific as he used to be, leaving Luiz as the obvious choice when it comes to Chelsea defenders.
What's the strategy?
Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold were named in the PFA Team of the Year last season as they helped Liverpool register 21 league clean sheets.
The Liverpool trio also registered a staggering 32 goal involvements between them in the Premier League, which is a mammoth contribution considering the players and their roles.
The Reds have a kind run of seasons to start the new season and despite the price, it would make sense to double up on their defenders. Picking Virgil van Dijk along with one of the full-backs seems like the most sensible way to go as the Dutchman's consistency in terms of performances as well as his tally of appearances would hand FPL managers a sense of reliability.
A vast majority of the FPL managers prefer to play using either the 3-4-3 or the 3-5-2. This strategy would allow managers to go big on two premium defenders and look to fill the rest of the defence with budget options from the sides outside the top-six.
When it comes to building an FPL side, strategies vary from manager to manager based on personal preference. With less than a month to go for the forthcoming season, what does your back-line look like at this point?
Let us know in the comments below!
