Five best budget defenders to pick for Fantasy Premier League 2019/20

Modified Aug 08, 2019 17:20 GMT

The new Premier League season is here, and along with it the fantasy football season. Millions of managers have already registered for the Fantasy Premier League season, hoping to spot early potential bargains in an effort to gain an advantage on their rivals.

If you have not already convinced yourself you've got the best squad, you're doing it wrong -- but not to worry, there's still time to make changes.

One of the hardest parts of every FPL season is searching for the best budget players. Last year we've seen the emergence of Aaron Wan Bissaka and Matt Doherty. Wan Bissaka started the last FPL season with a price of £4m, but soon became a must-pick by the season end. Here are the five best budget picks for this season.

#5 Kyle Walker-Peters (£5.0m) - Tottenham Hotspur

Kyle Leonardus Walker-Peters is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Tottenham Hotspur. As Spurs will be playing their first match against the newly-promoted Aston Villa side, a clean sheet is highly likely. He is priced at only £5.0 this season. At this price, a defender from Spurs could be a standout value pick from the very start of 2019/20 season.

He is currently owned by only 2.7 percent of fantasy managers. He looks set to start the season as Spurs' right-back following the departure of Kieran Trippier. His last season performance suggests he could be good differential this FPL season. His average of 4.7 points per match last season was more than any of his defensive teammates.

#4 Lewis Dunk (£4.5m) - Brighton

Lewis Dunk is an English footballer who plays as a centre-back for Brighton & Hove Albion. He is also the captain of the club. He could be a steal at £4.5m, coming in cheaper than team-mate Shane Duffy despite nearly matching his 2018/19 points total. Brighton has a kind run of fixtures to start the campaign, with their trip to Manchester City the only match in the opening six games that is raged above three in the Fixture Difficulty Rankings.

#3 Craig Cathcart (£4.5m) - Watford

Craig Cathcart is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a centre-back for Watford. He is one of the safest picks at this price from Watford. Last season, he scored 93 points with three goals and 6 clean sheets. This is an impressive output for someone who, for the most part, sneaked under the radar. This is a defender who outscored the likes of Ryan Bennett and equaled the overall points tally of Jose Holebas -- both of whom are now valued at £5.0m.

#2 John Lundstram (£4.0m) - Sheffield United

John Lundstram is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Sheffield United. He has made a strong case to be considered for opening squads. He has been named in starting XI in four of Sheffield United's last five pre-season games. The most attractive part is that he has featured in a central midfield role for the Sheffield United. He could appeal to FPL managers on the lookout for the next Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

#1 Issa Diop (£4.5m) - West Ham United

Issa Diop is a French footballer who plays as a centre-back for West Ham United. The 6-foot-4 centre-back scored 87 points with one goal and seven clean sheets adding to the tally. West Ham has a very favourable run of fixtures till GW12. They will be facing only two top-six sides until November 2019.

As he is a sure starter for West Ham, he'll provide a great opportunity for fantasy managers to secure West Ham's clean sheets points. If someone is looking for a rotational defender, he can be used along with Brighton and Wolves defenders. By rotating between West Ham and Wolves defenders, fantasy managers can easily get through without facing a top-six side. If someone is looking for a nailed-on budget-friendly West Ham defender, he's the best option.

Edited by sam.abraham