The best budget FPL goalkeepers and defenders for a Double Gameweek 36 Bench Boost

With many Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers planning to Bench Boost in Double Gameweek 36, we’ve picked out some of the best budget options on offer in each category, starting with the sub-£5.0m goalkeepers and defenders.

50% of the site readers in our sidebar vote said they are planning to activate their Bench Boost this week, comfortably making it the most popular chip option.

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

KASPER SCHMEICHEL

Leicester City ‘keeper Kasper Schmeichel (£4.9m) is the safest route into Brendan Rodgers’ backline, with rotation rife amongst defenders due to their Europa Conference League involvement.

Indeed, a quick look at player rotation/minutes since the start of April further promotes the Danish shot-stoppers appeal.

By the time Saturday’s FPL deadline comes around, the Foxes will of course know their fate in Europe, but given that tight Thursday/Sunday turnaround, successive starts for say, Wesley Fofana (£4.3m), James Justin (£4.9m) or Daniel Amartey (£4.0m) in Double Gameweek 36, certainly doesn’t feel assured even if they do go out.

Leicester’s second string fell to a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, and admittedly, the defence in front of Schmeichel hasn’t been great for much of the season, not helped by so much chopping and changing.

However, they have kept two clean sheets against Aston Villa and Leeds United in their last four King Power outings – with the Dane securing bonus on both occasions – while only Illan Meslier (£4.8m) has made more saves on home turf in 2021/22:

According to our Season Ticker, Leicester have the best pair of fixtures on offer in Double Gameweek 36, and as a result, Schmeichel is one of the better sub-£5.0m ‘keepers available for those activating their Bench Boost chip.

EVERTON OPTIONS

Everton have been extremely poor on the road under Frank Lampard, losing all six of their away matches, so it’s Double Gameweek 37 which is probably the better round for owners of their assets to Bench Boost.

However, Leicester and Watford are decent opponents in the upcoming Gameweek.

The return of Colombian centre-half Yerry Mina (£4.9m) after so long out also feels key, with Sunday’s 1-0 win over Chelsea proving just how much he has been missed over the course of the season.

Reverting to a three-at-the-back system, with Seamus Coleman (£4.9m) moving inside to become the third central defender alongside Mina and Mason Holgate (£4.2m), it was notable just how often Vitalli Mykolenko (£4.9m) joined the attack.

Now, if Lampard sticks with the same formation moving forward, it certainly raises the potential of the Ukrainian wing-back. In fact, Mykolenko has been in good form a while now in various setups, and since being installed in Lampard’s starting XI in Gameweek 31, ranks seventh for expected goal involvement (xGI) amongst all defenders:

Jordan Pickford (£4.8m), meanwhile, made two stunning saves in quick succession to help Everton beat Chelsea on Sunday, and offers a nailed-on route into this improving Toffees backline, with another double to follow in Gameweek 37 of course.

BEN WHITE/NUNO TAVARES

If Ben White (£4.6m) is able to recover from the tight hamstring that ruled him out of Gameweek 35, he does feel like the safest budget route into this Arsenal defence.

White’s partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.4m) has gone from strength to strength in recent months, with the duo keeping 13 clean sheets in 2021/22. He has also proven to be one of the bargain FPL buys of the season, too: his total of 109 points is only beaten by Eric Dier (£4.6m) and Conor Coady (£4.8m) among the sub-£4.9m options in any position.

However, for those comfortable with embracing a bit of chaos, Nuno Tavares (£4.3m) is worth a look.

The 22-year-old’s laid-back approach to defensive positioning often feels like it will cost the Gunners, and as a result, this is a risky move, especially with Takehiro Tomiyasu (£4.5m) back involved.

But what can’t be denied is his potential in the final third when on the pitch, as he regularly gets forward to support the attack, scoring his first goal for the club in the recent 3-1 win over Manchester United (where he also gave away a penalty and was poor defensively!).

In fact, in the last four matches, only two defenders can beat his 1.38 xGI tally:

In terms of the fixtures, a home tie against Leeds United certainly carries some potential, while games against Newcastle United and Everton to close the season suggests Arsenal assets can be called upon again if needed during the run-in.

BEN FOSTER

Watford’s late loss at the hands of Burnley on Saturday has all but sent them packing, but as the cheapest first choice ‘keeper available in FPL, Ben Foster (£4.1m) provides a decent Bench Boost option in Double Gameweek 36.

The Hornets find themselves up against Crystal Palace and the team with the division’s worst away record, Everton.

As for Foster, his last clean sheet arrived all the way back in Gameweek 27, which suggests he might be relying on save points in this round, but for just £4.1m, it’s hard to argue against the value he offers.

Kiko Femenia (£4.3m) and Hassane Kamara (£4.5m) are alternatives at the back, but given how many good options are available in defence, it’s unlikely many will turn to either of Roy Hodgson’s full-backs.

EMERSON ROYAL

Emerson Royal (£4.5m) has now started each of Tottenham Hotspur’s last five matches, producing a goal and two clean sheets in that time.

As a result of Matt Doherty’s (£4.6m) season-ending injury, the Brazilian stands a decent chance of retaining the right wing-back spot in Antonio Conte’s 3-4-2-1 formation, given the lack of natural competition in that position. 

Dejan Kulusevski (£6.3m) had previously been mentioned as an option by the Italian but it would seem unlikely that he would redeploy a key member of his front three, especially after his excellent second-half cameo on Sunday.

Royal initially showed plenty of promise upon signing for the Lilywhites, but has often been found wanting since Conte arrived in north London and implemented a new system with attacking wing-backs. However, despite a few sub-par performances, his attacking numbers have largely remained good, as he ranks ninth among all defenders for xGI from Gameweek 11 onwards.

Ben Davies (£4.5m) is an alternative cheap option in the Spurs ranks, but doesn’t carry the same attacking threat as the wing-backs.

As for Spurs, there is no getting away from the fact that their Gameweek 36 double-header is tricky, but there is a top-four spot to play for, with kind fixtures to close the season against Burnley and Norwich City.

SINGLE GAMEWEEK OPTIONS

Crystal Palace made it three clean sheets in a row on home soil against Leeds United in Gameweek 34, and now face Watford at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

The Eagles’ total of seven clean sheets on their own turf is beaten by just Liverpool and City, while it’s only Jurgen Klopp’s troops who have allowed fewer ‘big chances’ (BC, below) in home games:

As a result, Vicente Guaita (£4.6m), Joachim Andersen (£4.6m) and Marc Guehi (£4.5m) are all fine Bench Boost options, although the lack of a second match does maybe suggest there are better options available.

Elsewhere, Craig Dawson (£4.9m) and West Ham United’s trip to Norwich City is appealing, but a potentially energy zapping European tie on Thursday is off-putting.

David Raya (£4.3m), Pontus Jansson (£4.4m), Rico Henry (£4.5m) and Kristoffer Ajer (£4.4m) are cheap Brentford options who take on a struggling Southampton side, while Burnley’s full-backs – Charlie Taylor (£4.4m) and Connor Roberts (£4.4m) – could get some joy in the wide areas if Steven Gerrard opts to deploy a diamond formation at Turf Moor.

DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 36 POINTS PREDICTIONS: WHAT RMT THINKS

Rate my Team (RMT) is a tool designed to give you an approximation of how many FPL points your team will score over a series of Gameweeks.

Our points projections show algorithm-generated predictions for every FPL player both this Gameweek and in future ones.