Here’s our fantasy premier league player rankings GW4 article where we look at defenders and goalkeepers. There’s a comprehensive table of stats and player suggestions to help you make a choice
fantasy premier league player rankings GW4 – defenders and GKs
If the article is a little stats heavy and long winded then there is a recommended players section at the end
APPROACH & STAT DEFINITIONS
Generally you’ll be looking to put 1 or 2 or even 3 premium defenders in your team and supplement them with 2 or 3 cheap players.
I’ve firstly ordered the teams by what I think is their defensive strength principally from last season with adjustments for transfers completed and GW3. The stats after that are their:
fixture ease ranking so you can see who has the best fixtures over 2 different periods. See our fixture ease article
best cheap secure gametime option and an attacking option so you can compare price. That means you are then able to choose the type of defender you like in your team.
even potentially cheaper player who needs further explanation which is below the schedule
GK price in as a comparison.
bookies odds for a clean sheet for GW4. The odds are from William Hill. Use this link to sign up for an account
Cumulative team expected goals defensively from 11tegen11. The lower the better. See our underlying stats article part 2 for expected goals. There are also some stats on defensive players in the underlying stats article part 1
GW4 fixtures
The Schedule
I’ve put the schedule in a different format which I think makes it easier to read but you have to scroll over. If you would rather just have the google spreadsheet just click on the link
| Ranking | Team | Fixture Ease | Secure value | Attacking Def | Value risk | Likely GK | Clean sheet | xG def |
| Next 3/6 | Def | Starter | Odds GW4 £ | cumul | ||||
| 1 | Man Utd | 18/13 | £5.1m Jones | Valencia £6.5m | £5.5m De Gea | 1.95 | 1.75 | |
| 2 | Man City | 4/8 | £6.0m Kompany | Walker £6.5m | £5.5m Otamendi | £5.5m Ederson | 3.40 | 1.46 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 17/16 | £6.0m Luiz | Alonso £7.1m | £5.5m Courtois | 2.50 | 1.62 | |
| 4 | Spurs | 9/3 | £6.0m Alderweireld | £5.6m Davies £5.4m Trippier | £5.5m Lloris | 2.75 | 2.17 | |
| 5 | Everton | 16/11 | £5.5m Keane | £6.0m Baines | Holgate £4.4m Jagielka £5.0m | £5.0m Pickford | 4.00 | 2.77 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 12/18 | £5.5m Matip | £4.5m Moreno £4.5m TAA £4.9m Robertson £4.5m Gomez | 6.00 | 3.43 | ||
| 7 | Arsenal | 10/6 | £5.4m Monreal | £6.0m Bellerin | £4.9m Holding | £5.5m Cech | 2.50 | 5.73 |
| 8 | Southampton | 11/7 | £5.0m Cedric | £5.0m Forster | 2.20 | 3.53 | ||
| 9 | Stoke | 20/17 | £5.0m Pieters | £4.5m Cameron | £5.0m Butland | 5.50 | 3.24 | |
| 10 | Watford | 15/19 | Holebas £5.0m | £4.5m Prodl | £4.5m Gomes | 4.75 | 2.94 | |
| 11 | WBA | 5/10 | £5.0m Dawson | £4.5m Foster | 2.80 | 3.16 | ||
| 12 | Leicester | 13/9 | £4.5m Simpson | £5.1m Maguire | £5.0m Schmeichel | 4.60 | 4.76 | |
| 13 | Burnley | 1/4 | £4.5m Mee | £5.0m Heaton | 2.35 | 4.60 | ||
| 14 | Huddersfield | 6/14 | £4.5m Schindler | £5.0m Smith | £4.5m Lossl | 4.20 | 2.46 | |
| 15 | C Palace | 19/20 | £4.5m Fosu Mensah | £4.5m Hennessey | 3.00 | 3.45 | ||
| 16 | Newcastle | 2/5 | £4.5m Clark | £4.0m Elliot | 3.40 | 3.24 | ||
| 17 | Bournemouth | 14/15 | £5.0m Daniels | £4.5m Begovic | 8.50 | 4.83 | ||
| 18 | Brighton | 3/12 | £4.5m Suttner | £4.5m Ryan | 2.50 | 4.50 | ||
| 19 | West Ham | 8/2 | £5.0m Cresswell | £4.5m Ogbonna | £4.5m Hart | 2.30 | 6.05 | |
| 20 | Swansea | 7/1 | £4.5m Naughton | £5.0m Mawson | £4.5m Fabianski | 2.70 | 6.84 |
The value risk players in more detail
Otamendi
Has played all 3 games although he is in direct competition with Stones if Pep goes to a back 4. That still could do with mopre testing before you would call him secure and saving you £0.5m
Davies and Tripper
Davies is in the team until Rose is fit which is a pretty uncertain time despite positive messages which come out from Pochettino. These have always been back tracked on though so it’s an uncertain time frame.
Trippier depends on how new signing Aurier fits in. Is he domestic or Champions League or is there no pattern and it’s a game by game selection. We’ll have to see
Holgate and Jagielka
The RB position is complicated by changing selection from the manager. Martina, Holgate and Davies in a back 3 have played it so there is no selection certainty as yet. Holgate has some injury doubt in any case and the fixturesaren’t great so there’s more time there.
Jagielka is secure while Koeman plays a back 3. He’s played all 3 games to date. He may even get the nod if Koeman goes to a back 4 although that remains a risk.
Liverpool full backs
There are some bargains here if the situation ever settles down selection wise. Clyne wasn’t included in the Champions League sqaud which suggests that his injury is far worse than we’ve originally been told (I’m shocked!) . That leaves RB wide open except that both Gomez and TAA have played there with distinction. GW4 could be a vital clue. At left back both Moreno and Robertson have played there and played well. Again GW4 at City should provide some clues
Holding
Who knows whats going on with the Arsenal defence. The back 3 should really be Koscielny, Mustafi and Monreal however it appears that something is going on with Mustafi which could open the door for Holding although Mertesacker isn’t out of the picture yet. However there is still the risk of Wenger reverting to a back 4 which could shut the door completely.
Cameron
Cameron has been used as a utility defender or even as a CDM. He’s played all 3 games but there’s an inherent risk that he’s a gap filler rather than a permanent feature
Prodl
Picking any £4.5m defender with any certainty in the Watford defence is a minefield. Prodl seems as good a guess as anyone having started the last 2? Needs monitoring for a supposed injury over the international break though
West Ham
Similar difficulties are in the West Ham defence. Ogbonna has played the last 3. I would have thought Reid and Fonte were nailed on to start as CBs but now Fonte seems uncertain having not started in GW3 which could mean Ogbonna is safe.
Player suggestions
Looking at the different factors for defensive strength, price and good fixtures including good next fixture, the likely candidates for selection are:
Alonso – Not the best fixture next but great attacking potential
Cedric Southampton
Mee Burnley
Suttner Brighton
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