The best FPL defenders for a Gameweek 34 Wildcard

For those Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers still with a Wildcard to use, Gameweek 34 is seemingly the most popular time to use it.

Over 25% of site readers responding to our sidebar poll say they will activate the chip this week.

Chelsea and Manchester United play twice in Gameweek 34, so Wildcarding now will maximise the points potential for both this upcoming round of matches and Double Gameweeks 36 and 37.

With this in mind, we have produced a position-by-position guide to pick out the best and most discussed options in each category.

All stats taken from this article are from our Premium Members Area.

JOAO CANCELO/AYMERIC LAPORTE

Don’t let Manchester City being midway down our Season Ticker for fixture difficulty fool you: their outstanding match against Wolves is still to be added in either Gameweek 36 or 37 (see our mock-up above) and once that happens, they’ll shoot right up the standings.

Not one fixture against a ‘big six’ club remains, while what would seem to be City’s biggest test on paper – a trip to West Ham in Gameweek 37 – will likely be made that bit easier if the Hammers make it through to the Europa League final, which follows three days after that clash at the Etihad.

Joao Cancelo (£7.1m) is the stand-out pick: he averages more points per match (6.0) than any other midfielder or forward in FPL bar the much more expensive Mohamed Salah (£13.2m), Son Heung-min (£11.1m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£11.8m).

He’s also, amazingly for a defender, 14th among outfield players for goal attempts – only one of which has been converted, admittedly – in the current campaign.

Three recent developments could reduce his rotation risk: a one-match suspension in Europe, an elimination from the FA Cup (these two things combined mean that he will have two free midweeks instead of zero between now and Gameweek 38), and an injury to one of his positional rivals, Kyle Walker (£5.4m).

As for the rest of the City backline, Aymeric Laporte (£5.9m) has been the safest pick in the season to date. He’s started 26 of the 28 Premier League matches he has been available for, with even one of those benchings – all the way back in Gameweek 1 – only coming about because he’d lost training time due to self-isolation.

Above: Defenders sorted by expected goals (xG) in 2021/22

Cancelo might be the one chancing his arm more but Laporte is getting the better quality chances (evidenced in his goal count, perhaps): he is top among defenders for both shots in the box and expected goals in 2021/22.

TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD/ANDREW ROBERTSON/JOEL MATIP

So much focus is put on the attacking potential of the premium defenders that we sometimes overlook the value of clean sheets.

Liverpool have more of those (19) than any other side this season and they have six games with which to beat their 2018/19 shut-out tally of 21, something that is well within their grasp.

Joel Matip (£5.0m) is a name to consider for FPL managers, as he is quietly averaging a healthy 4.9 points per match this season. Just to prove our point above, the vast majority of his returns have been defensive (15) rather than attacking (three).

Ibrahima Konate (£5.1m) may get the occasional look-in from now until the end of 2021/22 but Matip will surely get the nod in the bulk of the remaining matches so long as the title race goes down to the wire. In fact, Matip has started the last 17 league matches that he has been available for (illness put paid to his involvement in Gameweeks 21 and 28), last being benched in the Premier League in November.

He does carry a bit of attacking threat, too: he is second behind only Laporte for shots in the box in 2021/22 (25).

Of course, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.4m) and Andrew Robertson (£7.3m) offer so much more than shut-outs.

Second and third behind only Salah for FPL returns this season (goals, assists and goalkeeper/defender clean sheets), the pair have supplied a remarkable 23 assists between them.

Above: FPL defenders sorted by expected goal involvement (xGI) in 2021/22

Is Alexander-Arnold worth the outlay over Robertson if it’s an either/or? The recent returns (Robertson has actually outscored his fellow full-back for FPL points since Gameweek 13) suggest not but a look at the xGI table above shows just how far ahead Alexander-Arnold has been, and continues to be, when it comes to underlying threat.

His xGI over the season and indeed the last six matches is more than double that of Robertson, who has had to ‘overachieve’ considerably to hang onto Alexander-Arnold’s coat-tails.

REECE JAMES/MARCOS ALONSO/ANTONIO RUDIGER

The debate over which Chelsea defender(s) to plump for seems like FPL’s own hot take on ‘Snog, Marry, Avoid?’.

The explosive Reece James (£6.3m), the hot-and-cold Marcos Alonso (£5.5m) and Mr Dependable, Antonio Rudiger (£6.2m), all have their own merits for the Blues’ run-in, along with individual drawbacks.

Chelsea’s elimination from Europe helps with the rotation risk on the domestic front, although the FA Cup final in between Gameweeks 36 and 37 sets alarm bells ringing, particularly as there is little left to play for in the league.

Rudiger consequently looks the safest pick, given that he has started over 96% of the league matches he has been available for this season, and he loves a crack at goal himself: Cancelo and Alexander-Arnold are the only FPL defenders to have had more shots this season.

James is almost peerless on his day, with a points-per-start average of 7.1 better than any defender mentioned in this entire article. A total of 11 attacking returns from just 15 starts is, quite frankly, incredible.

Game-time remains a worry as Chelsea manage his return from muscular issues but he’s started the last two matches at centre-half and may get more run-outs there, something that will increase his chances of starting successive matches but reduce his attacking output.

Above: The Chelsea trio are among the leading defenders for minutes per shot in 2021/22, with James impressing for chances created

Alonso, meanwhile, has just delivered three very fine performances against Southampton, Real Madrid and Crystal Palace over the last two weeks, hauling against the Saints and only being denied a goal in Spain after VAR intervention. He created nine chances across the first two of those matches alone.

It’s a stretch to think he’ll start every match between now and the end of 2021/22 – Malang Sarr (£4.9m) is an option as an orthodox left-back, while James and Saul Niguez (£4.9m) can fill in at wing-back – and inconsistency remains an ongoing worry. But he’s earned his place in this conversation and may end up being the most attacking option of the three players mentioned here, should the James experiment at centre-half continue.

EMERSON ROYAL

Since Antonio Conte first took charge of the Lilywhites in Gameweek 11, Spurs players are dominating the expected goal involvement (xGI) tables among sub-£6.0m defenders:

Above: All FPL defenders sorted by xGI from Gameweek 11 onwards

It’s Sergio Reguilon (£5.1m) who immediately leaps out but the rotation risk posed by the fit-again Ryan Sessegnon (£4.3m) is a factor, as it was he who was keeping Reguilon out of the side before injury struck.

Emerson Royal (£4.5m), by contrast, would seem to stand a better chance of retaining his spot for the run-in, devoid of natural competition down the right flank. Dejan Kulusevski (£6.4m) and Lucas Moura (£6.0m) are possible alternatives at right wing-back but Conte has almost always started with a more natural option in that position and switched to a more attack-minded alternative if Spurs are chasing the game.

Favourable fixtures surround Spurs’ Double Gameweek 36 and there’s a top-four spot to play for, so rotation should be kept at a minimum.

And let’s not forget the points potential at the other end of the pitch: since Conte took charge, only the top two have kept more clean sheets. Spurs are also the third-best side for fewest ‘big chances’ conceded in that time.

Above: Premier League teams sorted by clean sheets from Gameweek 11 onwards

If even Emerson seems like too much of a risk for you, then there’s always Ben Davies (£4.4m), who has started 21 out of 22 league matches under his current boss.

MATTHEW CASH

Now that Aston Villa’s one remaining blank is out of the way, Matthew Cash (£5.2m) might be worth a look.

The Villans’ run-in contains two Double Gameweeks and five fixtures against sides ranked ninth or below, which is just as well given how they have performed against the teams in contention for a European qualification spot:

Even the away match against Leicester on Saturday might be less tricky than usual given that the Foxes are in Europa League semi-final action five days later.

Since Steven Gerrard took charge of Villa in Gameweek 12, Cash ranks first among sub-£6.0m defenders for penalty box touches, second for attacking returns and fourth for FPL points.

Above: All FPL defenders sorted by penalty box touches since Steven Gerrard became Villa boss

PALACE OPTIONS

There’s an argument to suggest that, if you remove quantity from the equation, Palace have the best remaining fixtures for the run-in.

Five matches against sides in the bottom half now follow, while the visit of Manchester United on the final day of the season should hold no fear based on what the Red Devils have served up of late.

For Gameweek 37 Bench Boosters, and even for the rest of us just looking for a cheap fifth defender, Palace are worthy of consideration.

The Eagles boast one of the division’s most in-form defences, with just six goals shipped in their last nine matches.

The problem is that the players within that backline are all much of a muchness, carrying minimal attacking threat (only 540 minutes of the season remain for Palace from Gameweek 34 onwards, to put the below figures in some context):

Above: Palace defenders sorted by minutes-per-xGI in 2021/22

Marc Guehi (£4.5m) and Joachim Andersen (£4.6m) are also level for minutes per baseline bonus point (BBPS) this season, with Tyrick Mitchell (£4.5m) only marginally behind.

Andersen might pop up with an assist with one of his raking diagonals, Mitchell could have one of his crosses converted and Guehi may well get on the end of a corner, but we’re talking high levels of ‘variance’ here and you can pretty much throw a blanket over the trio above.

Palace being eliminated from the FA Cup helps with regards to potential rotation risk, although it remains to be seen if Patrick Vieira gives the likes of James Tomkins (£4.3m) and Joel Ward (£4.5m) some belated game-time with the Eagles now having next-to-no-chance of being relegated or pushing for Europe.

WHAT OUR RATE MY TEAM TOOL PREDICTS