Winter Wildcard – Defenders

Having cast an eye over some Goalkeeper Pairings for your winter wildcard late last week, we now turn our attentions to the defence. We mainly look at the next 10 Gameweeks as a starting point and also take factors such as attacking and rotation potential into account right across the price brackets:

Seamus Coleman
With an ownership of 44%, the chances are that if you wanted the Everton right-back, you’ll already have him by now. Nonetheless, there are still Fantasy managers who feel they have missed the boat on Coleman – a starting price of 5.0 has now spiralled to 6.7 and dissuaded some from picking him up. Whilst the case for Leighton Baines has been growing of late, he is still costlier (7.4) than his fellow Toffees defender and, crucially, has failed to score a single goal from open play thus far – two free-kicks and a penalty have kept his attacking returns ticking over. Coleman, on the other hand, hasn’t had to rely on set-pieces and has notched five times from open play. He’s scored six or more points in 12 of the opening 20 Gameweeks thanks to a defensive resilience that has earned the Merseysiders eight clean sheets thus far and has home games against Norwich, Villa, Palace, West Ham and Cardiff and trips to West Brom and Newcastle in the next 10 Gameweeks to cement his spot at the top of the defender standings.

Laurent Koscielny
Priced at just 5.5, the Frenchman offers a secure route into the most resilient backline in the Premier League. Arsenal have produced more clean sheets (nine) and also conceded fewer goals (18) than any other side – indeed, such is their consistency, they have shipped more than a single goal in just two of their first 20 fixtures. Granted, Per Mertesacker’s eye for goal has seen him notch twice so far but, with a price tag of 6.5, many will instead turn to his central defensive partner ahead of the Gunners’ upcoming run of games. Home clashes against Fulham, Palace and Sunderland, allied with trips to Villa and Southampton in the next seven suggest Arsene Wenger’s side are poised to rack up plenty more defensive returns before the season is out.

Ben Turner
The Cardiff centre-half has played every minute of the season thus far, registering five clean sheets along the way. With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now at the helm, the Bluebirds’ defensive potential is currently uncertain but for those looking for the cheapest and most reliable route into the back-four, Turner, at 4.2, looks the best bet. If the Welsh side are to beat the drop, their home performances look crucial – luckily for Solskjaer, seven of the next eight visitors (WHM, NOR, AVL, HUL, FUL, CPL, STO) offer reason for optimism between now and Gameweek 35. As mentioned in the Goalkeepers article, Cardiff offer a strong rotation partnership with the likes of Sunderland, Palace and Norwich over the next 10 Gameweeks.

Danny Gabbidon
Five clean sheets in their last 10 is indicative of Palace’s renewed resilience. Under Ian Holloway, the Eagles’ backline was a no-go area but the ship has since been steadied, with Tony Pulis continuing the good work of former caretaker boss Keith Millen. Whilst their upcoming away fixtures look an unlikely source of returns, Palace’s Selhurst Park schedule is far kinder and suggests Pulis could engineer more shut-outs, as Stoke, Hull, West Brom and Southampton all pay visit in the next nine Gameweeks. As mentioned above, a rotation pairing with Cardiff’s Turner would work well, then, and Gabbidon is our preferred option over Joel Ward – at 4.3 to 4.1 there’s little between them but the centre-half has offered greater attacking potential and earned more bonus points whenever his side have picked up a clean sheet.

Luke Shaw
With a single clean sheet in the last 11 league matches, Mauricio Pochettino’s charges have been far from steady at the back. The absence of Artur Boruc in goal and Victor Wanyama in the centre of the park has hardly helped, but the upcoming handful of matches bodes well for the Saints as they look to return to the resilience that saw them concede just three times in the first nine matches. Sort the fixture ticker in order of defensive difficulty over the next 10 Gameweeks and Southampton sit at the top – home games with West Brom, Stoke and Norwich are supplemented by five kind road trips (sun, ful, hul, whm, cpl) against sides finding it hard to break down opponents. At 4.8, Shaw gets the nod over Nathaniel Clyne here – the latter is the cheapest of Pochettino’s preferred back-four but has struggled with injury recently and hasn’t started a league match since Gameweek 14, with Callum Chambers offering enough competition at right-back to make his acquisition a little risky.

Matija Nastasic
Manuel Pellegrini’s side haven’t been the greatest defensively but, intriguingly, they have registered four clean sheets over Nastasic’s 11 league appearances, compared to a single shut-out in nine without the youngster in the middle of the back-four. Despite a lack of attacking intent, Nastasic’s average of 3.7 points per game is not far off Pablo Zabaleta’s 4.0 and, given the latter sets you back 6.0, Nastasic – providing he stays fit – could prove better value at just 5.1 from here on in. There is perhaps a slight threat of rotation still hanging over him – Pellegrini has never had all his centre-halves fully fit at the same time – but Nastasic is believed to be the preferred choice to partner Vincent Kompany. With home games against Cardiff, Sunderland, Stoke and Villa and trips to Norwich and Hull in the next 10, he’s definitely one to consider.

Jonny Evans
United are hardly making a persuasive case for investment right now, with a series of under-par performances proving the theme of David Moyes’ first term at the helm. With 12 starts in the last 13 Gameweeks, the 5.0-priced Evans has banished the notion that he remains under the threat of rotation and a couple of clean sheets in the last five affords a degree of optimism ahead of some favourable fixtures. Home games against Swansea, Cardiff and Fulham, allied with trips to Stoke and Palace in the next seven look vital to United’s chances of a top four finish and, with doubts remaining over the fitness of his forwards, Moyes will need to tighten up at the back.

Phil Bardsley
An outcast under previous boss Paolo Di Canio, Bardsley has been one of Sunderland’s most consistent performers since Gus Poyet took the reins. With five clean sheets in 13 (three in the last five Gameweeks alone) the Wearsiders have been earmarked as a potential source of defensive returns and Bardsley, with a couple of goals and six bonus points to his name over that period, certainly offers the best prospect of points at both ends of the pitch. Coming in at 4.5, he offers a budget-friendly route into the Wearsiders’ backline ahead of an eye-catching schedule (ful, SOU, STO, HUL in the next five) and also works well as a rotation partner to Ben Turner. Indeed, with only one “difficult-looking” home clash from this point on, Bardsley looks a good bet for the long haul.

John Terry
For all the concerns over Chelsea’s lack of resilience, they have conceded just 19 goals so far – one more than Arsenal. A 2-0 win over Derby in the FA Cup yesterday took their run to four clean sheets in the last five games in all competitions and suggests that, as the season begins to move towards the business end, Jose Mourinho’s side are starting to shine at the back. Coming in at 6.6, Terry, like Coleman, is hardly cheap but he stands head and shoulders over the rest of his defensive team-mates – with two goals, an assist and 14 bonus points, he’s average 4.5 points per game so far. Priced at 5.3, Cesar Azpilicueta may be cheaper but has no attacking returns or bonus points so far, averaging 2.5 ppg by comparison – despite starting nine of the last 10 . With Hull, West Ham, Newcastle and West Brom in the next six, those picking up Terry will likely look upon the Blues skipper as a season-keeper from this point on.

James Chester
Priced at a mere 3.9, the Hull centre-half is a handy addition to any five-man defensive line-up. Steve Bruce’s backline has been one of the most predictable this season – all six of their clean sheets have arrived in front of their own fans and a total of six goals conceded at the KC Stadium makes them joint-top for best home defence. Given that Chelsea and Spurs pay visit next, Chester is likely to warm most benches in the short-term but four of his five following home clashes (SOU, NEW, WBA, SWA) indicate further returns. Hull’s next four away trips (nor, cpl, sun, car) also bode well and suggest Chester could be a handy first defensive sub, should any of our first XI succumb to injury.

Guy Demel
West Ham’s outstanding run of fixtures over the next 10 Gameweeks means they cannot be overlooked. Certainly, with a single clean sheet in six, confidence is hardly high – Sam Allardyce’s decision to field an under-strength side at Forest in the FA Cup yesterday resulted in a 5-0 loss which will hit morale hard, too. Nonetheless, we’re looking at Fantasy potential rather than history here and the Hammers are second only to Southampton for strength of defensive schedule. With Winston Reid, James Collins and James Tomkins all currently injured and Razvan Rat failing to nail down a regular run of starts, Demel (4.7) gets our seal of approval almost by process of elimination – five favourable home games (NEW, SWA, NOR, SOU, HUL) and three kind road trips (car, avl, sto) afford Big Sam the chance to steer his side to safety.

Ashley Williams
Swansea are another side that have failed to impress at the back in recent weeks. Michael Laudrup’s side have a single clean sheet in the last 11 matches but seven of their final nine home games (FUL, CAR, CPL, WBA, NOR, AVL, SOT) suggest Williams and co could be set for an upturn in defensive potential. Indeed, from Gameweek 21-38, Swansea are rated fifth for clean sheets according to our Season Ticker and their skipper, priced at 4.8, is not only the cheapest of Laudrup’s regulars, he has also earned more bonus points than any of his defensive team-mates. Williams also offers a potential rotation partner for Cardiff’s Turner for a combined price of just 9.0.

Ron Vlaar
We also select the Villa skipper due to his remaining home schedule. Priced at just 4.3 now, Vlaar has earned a respectable 3.5 points per game so far and has returned from injury to boost his side’s prospects – indeed, all six of their clean sheets have arrived in the Dutchman’s 14 league appearances. With West Brom, West Ham, Norwich, Stoke, Fulham, Southampton and Hull are still to roll up to Villa Park, Paul Lambert will still have reason for optimism in his battle to beat the drop.