So far, the likes of Lampard, Arteta, Zaki and more recently Ronaldo have dominated our thoughts as fantasy managers. Defenders have been forced to take a back seat in our plans while we juggle resources to capture the must-have midfielders and strikers, who are hauling in the points on a regular basis. That could all change of course, and recent events may even make this a timely point to contemplate the clean sheet gatherers in your lineup.
The injury to Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel and the return to favour of Gary Neville suddenly offers a tempting double act at the back. Dan Agger looks set to step in alongside Carragher in the centre of a tight Liverpool defence, while Neville appears to have wrestled the right back spot from Wes Brown. Injury sidelined him for the win over Blackburn but he could well be recalled against West Brom next time out, and that could prompt a sudden and unlikely surge in interest….
In the Fantasy Premier League game Agger and Neville are priced at 5.9 and 5.6 respectively, couple this with Cech at 6.2 and you can cover the likely top three fantasy defences for a cool 17.7 – not a bad outlay for a potentially decent defensive return. But with with few clean sheets thus far, and the likes of Figueroa, Traore and Garrido offering value at the budget end, is it really worth the outlay?
Up until now in the FPL, defenders have lagged behind in the scoring. Bosingwa and Carragher lead the way on just 36 points, compared to Lampard on 47 points and Defoe on 51. In a nutshell, to this point, the real returns and value can be found in midfield and up front. That could change very soon however as fixtures for United, Liverpool and Chelsea – the real clean sheet magnets – begin to improve.
Currently, Laursen and Carragher head the percentage owned table with 30% and 27% respectively but at 6.2 and 7.0 in price, they can seriously dent your available spend in other positions. Getting regular clean sheets from the minimum outlay is a clear objective then, and Agger already presents a very viable option for Carragher owners. That’s particularly the case when you consider that the Dane has a lethal shot that we’ve seen exploited by Liverpool on a number of occasions, including this season.
Arbeloa, Dossena, Aurellio and Degen are all set to be subject to rotation in the coming months. Agger will have Hyypia hanging over him (quite literally) but to me, he has the talent to see his challenge off quite comfortably.
In contrast, Neville is perhaps not yet assured of his starting role in the United backline but the signs were good before a “minor” injury ruled him out last weekend. Should he earn a recall for Brown against West Brom, then he would surely present decent value in a United defence that has a very strong run of home fixtures in the next four. Neville could well be worth the gamble when you consider that Evra (6.5), Ferdinand (6.9 ) and Vidic (6.9) are the alternatives.
Ferdinand is currently the third most popular defender in the FPL with 24% ownership. However, it will be interesting to see how many of his owners hold onto to him if Neville establishes himself back in the starting lineup. Certainly right now, Ferdinand isn’t reaping in the points outside of clean sheets.
Unlike Carragher and Laursen, there’s little point playing for bonus in the United defence right now. The likes of Ronaldo, Rooney and Ronaldo are so far taking the focus off the work of Vidic and Ferdinand, so unless assists and goals start flowing, there’s not much to lose from risking a cheaper option in Neville, should he regain his place.
Right now interest in both Agger and Neville is tepid. Should both start the next gameweek however, I’d expect this to change and change pretty quickly.