With our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) 2024/25 end-of-season awards up and running, it’s now time to have your say on our defenders’ shortlist.
Article by article, we’ll be assessing the leading candidates in each position. We’ve already started with the goalkeepers, while this instalment focuses on the backline.
It has not been a vintage year for defenders, when you think back to the 200+ scores of Liverpool’s full-backs a few years ago and even Kieran Trippier‘s (£5.6m) 198 points in 2022/23.
Nevertheless, we’ve got 11 contenders for you. These are compiled based on factors including their overall score, points per match, total returns and FPL value.
Now it’s your turn to vote, which you can do in this article and on the sidebar. Each user is allowed five votes, with the top three definitely making the Team of the Season.
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD + VIRGIL VAN DIJK
- Points: 148/143
- Points per match: 4.5/3.9
- Start cost: £7.0m/£6.0m
- Current cost: £7.2m/£6.7m
- Value (points per million): 20.6/21.3
He’s been arguably the best FPL defender of the last decade, but sadly for Liverpool fans, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s (£7.2m) time on Merseyside is over (for now, at least).
The Scouse right-back’s FPL pedigree needs little introduction, and after a slower start to 2024-25, he’s back in a familiar position: near the top (second) of the defenders’ total points leaderboard. He’s also top when it comes to points per match (4.5). Not bad if we deem this to be a sub-par season for him!
Alexander-Arnold has started 28 league matches in total under Arne Slot, making 33 total appearances and registering three goals and seven assists to go with his 12 clean sheets.
Virgil van Dijk (£6.7m) is less heralded in FPL circles. Mr Consistency, rather than an explosive asset, he hasn’t once banked a double-digit haul in 2024/25.
But here he is, 10 points away from the summit after Gameweek 38.
Four attacking returns have complemented a defender-best 14 clean sheets, with his ever-present starter status only spoiled by last Monday’s benching.
DANIEL MUNOZ
- Points: 140
- Points per match: 3.9
- Start cost: £5.0m
- Current cost: £5.2m
- Value (points per million): 26.9
Daniel Muñoz (£5.2m) showed glimpses of his attacking inclinations last season, registering four assists from 16 starts in 2023-24 after joining in that year’s January transfer window.
He opened the 2024-25 campaign with another, but Crystal Palace’s putrid start to the season – losing five and winning none of their first eight league matches – dampened interest for a while.
Yet the Eagles soon began to turn things around. They tightened up at the back to rack up 11 clean sheets while Muñoz came good on his attacking prowess, tallying a further nine attacking returns (four goals and five assists) from Gameweek 10 onwards.
As well as hitting double figures for both shut-outs and goal involvements, the Colombian has recorded four double-digit FPL points hauls. That’s the joint-most of any defender in the game.
Muñoz has had 37 shots (the fourth-most of all defenders). Impressively, 34 of those have come from within the penalty box, with 14 of them hitting the target – both league-highs.
He leads the way for penalty box touches (111), too, while his nine big chances rank second and 46 chances created rank fourth in the division.
ANTONEE ROBINSON
- Points: 105
- Points per match: 3.0
- Start cost: £4.5m
- Current cost: £4.7m
- Value (points per million): 22.3
It’s been a bit of a stop-start season for Antonee Robinson (£4.7m), and one which has petered out just as Fulham largely have overall in the last eight Gameweeks.
In that time, the Cottagers have lost five times and Robinson has scored more than a point on just one occasion, as well as missing two of the last four matches completely. He has also kept just five clean sheets in 2024-25 (less than every team bar the relegated trio) and ranks nowhere near the top of the defender standings based on total points (105).
Yet none of that can take away from the fact that his 10 league assists is comfortably the most of any Premier League defender this season.
It’s mainly that statistic which earns Robinson his place on this shortlist, backed up by his 43 created chances in 34 starts.
The USA international is also second among defenders for total and successful crosses, and fifth for touches in the opposition’s penalty box (72).
JOSKO GVARDIOL
- Points: 145
- Points per match: 4.0
- Start cost: £6.0m
- Current cost: £6.5m
- Value (points per million): 22.3
Moving from the most assists by a defender to the (joint-)most goals brings us to Joško Gvardiol (£6.5m).
The Manchester City man has found the back of the net five times from his 39 attempts (the league’s second-most, behind Alexander-Arnold), ranking top among defenders despite none of those goals having been scored since Gameweek 23.
Gvardiol’s 33 shots in the box in 35 appearances is the league’s most alongside Muñoz, he trails the Palace wing-back alone for penalty box touches (101) and shots on target (11), and is the outright league leader among defenders for big chances (10).
He’s also created a respectable 25 chances over the course of the season.
The Croatian ranks third among defenders for expected goal involvement (xGI) – after Trent and Muñoz, who have each slightly overperformed based on that metric – and has underperformed against his expected number solely because the chances he has created haven’t been converted by his teammates; he has registered no assists despite racking up a total xA of 2.87.
Elsewhere, 13 bonus points and 12 clean sheets have made it an all around solid season for Gvardiol, who trails Trent by just two points in the overall FPL points leaderboard heading into Gameweek 38.
NIKOLA MILENKOVIC
- Points: 143
- Points per match: 4.0
- Start cost: £4.5m
- Current cost: £5.2m
- Value (points per million): 27.5
We would be remiss if we didn’t include at least one Nottingham Forest defender on this list after the season they’ve had. Step forward Nikola Milenković (£5.2m).
The Serbian centre-back was absent from Forest’s first game of the season but hasn’t missed a minute since.
Defensively he’s been an integral part of a backline that has kept 13 clean sheets in the league.
At the other end of the pitch Milenković is a constant threat from set pieces: 26 of the Serb’s 28 attempts have come from within the opposition’s box, with 20 of them headers and seven big chances.
Alongside two assists, he has racked up a joint-league high five goals, including efforts against Aston Villa, Manchester United and Newcastle.
His constant presence has meant he’s been the most consistent and highest points scorer among Forest’s defenders, leading his teammates for goals, shut-outs and points per match (4.0).
He is also the best value defender in the game based on points per million (27.5).
MARC CUCURELLA
- Points: 125
- Points per match: 3.6
- Start cost: £5.0m
- Current cost: £5.4m
- Value (points per million): 23.1
The third joint leader for goals by a defender, meanwhile, is Marc Cucurella (£5.4m).
It took the Spaniard a little while to get going after his Euro-winning antics, with a pair of clean sheets his only returns over the first 12 Gameweeks of the season.
His first double-digit points haul of the season followed that, though, courtesy of an assist and shut-out against Villa. Cucurella set up two goals in the space of three matches before scoring his first of the season in the Gameweek 16 home win over Brentford (a match in which he was also sent off).
Since then he has scored on four more occasions, including back-to-back 15-pointers in Gameweeks 27 and 28 plus another in Gameweek 37. In the latter two of those matches, his effort proved the difference maker in Chelsea securing all three points, meaning the Blues’ fight for a Champions League spot has gone down to the final weekend.
Cucurella’s goals return is made all the more impressive when considering his total attempts (24) rank him 13th in the division and attempts in the box (17) rank him 17th, but for big chances (six) he’s sixth as well as being joint-second for shots on target (11). Quality over quantity?
He’s also fourth for penalty box touches (76).
NATHAN COLLINS
- Points: 125
- Points per match: 3.4
- Start cost: £4.5m
- Current cost: £4.6m
- Value (points per million): 27.2
Nathan Collins (£4.6m) has been, as they say, “slept on” by many in the FPL community (including this writer) for much of this season.
That’s probably at least in part because he’s a centre-back for a team that kept only one clean sheet in their first 17 league matches, rather than one of those glamorous full/wing-backs who tend to spend more time in the opposition’s half than their own.
However, seven more shut-outs have followed since then and the underrated Irishman has also quietly amassed nine attacking returns (two goals, seven assists)!
Together with 11 bonus points, that makes Collins – who hasn’t missed a minute of league action this season but has barely gone up in price – the second-best value defender in FPL based on points per million (27.2), just behind Milenković.
When it comes to his underlying stats, Collins has only taken 17 shots but 15 have been in the box (including 10 headers) and six have been deemed big chances, placing him behind only four players in the latter metric.
His overall baseline BPS, meanwhile, is the best in his position thanks to plenty of clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI), and impressively he’s ranked sixth among all defenders for penalty box touches (71).
RAYAN AIT-NOURI
- Points: 123
- Points per match: 3.4
- Start cost: £4.5m
- Current cost: £5.1m
- Value (points per million): 24.1
He’s been a bit of a troll at times this season, blanking (or worse) in games where he’s been backed to haul – but it’s hard to argue against Rayan Aït-Nouri (£5.1m) at least being deserving of a place on this shortlist.
That’s largely because Wolves’ marauding wing-back has more attacking returns (11, four goals and seven assists) than any other FPL defender this season.
Those have come in streaks (four between Gameweeks 6 and 9, one in his next eight appearances, double assists against Spurs in Gameweek 19 and then another 12-game barren run before his recent purple patch), but it’s an impressive tally nonetheless – and also no fluke.
Aït-Nouri’s 30 shots in the box (from 35 total attempts) places him behind only Gvardiol and Muñoz, as does his 99 penalty box touches, while nine shots on target makes him the Premier League’s fifth-best performing defender in that regard.
It’s a similar story on the creative side of things, where his 43 chances created and eight big chances created place him in the top five and six, respectively, for his position.
Performances have picked up under Vítor Pereira to the point where the Old Gold have recorded five shut-outs in their last 14 attempts (eight in total across the season, with Aït-Nouri present for seven of them) and recently won six straight.
During that time, the left-sided Algerian bagged two double-digit hauls in the space of three matches, taking him to a total of three (jointly the second most in the division) such scores in 2024-25.
LEWIS HALL
- Points: 102
- Points per match: 3.8
- Start cost: £4.5m
- Current cost: £4.7m
- Value (points per million): 21.7
It took Lewis Hall (£4.7m) a few weeks to truly nail down Newcastle’s starting left-back spot, but once he did the young Englishman soon became an FPL favourite.
Three returns (two clean sheets and an assist) in four matches between Gameweeks 7 and 10 were a sign of the good things to come, with Hall’s best stretch coming from Gameweeks 16 to 26. In that time, he delivered another six assists and five clean sheets, including a run of four shut-outs in a row, as well as nine bonus points.
Sadly, his season would be over just a week later, a foot injury ruling him out from Gameweek 28 onwards. That his assists tally is still the second highest of all FPL defenders is therefore telling of just how promising that earlier hot streak was in terms of his future potential.
Filtering our defender stats to the 27 Gameweeks prior to Hall’s injury, the Magpies’ full-back rockets up the rankings to sixth overall in terms of chances created (34).
He also ranks ahead of the likes of William Saliba (£6.5m) and Ola Aina (£5.3m) for points per match (3.8).
GABRIEL MAGALHAES
- Points: 117
- Points per match: 4.2
- Start cost: £6.0m
- Current cost: £6.1m
- Value (points per million): 19.2
He might seem like a distant memory now, thanks to a season-ending injury in Gameweek 30.
But had his hamstring not pinged last month, there’s a very good chance that Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.1m) would be near the summit of the defenders’ FPL points table.
Among defenders, only Alexander-Arnold can better the Brazilian’s points-per-match average (4.2).
Hitting double figures for clean sheets despite just 28 starts, he also chipped in with five attacking returns.
The pinnacle was a 15-point haul in the north London derby early this season.
Reliable for starts, he wasn’t benched once. Only injury kept him out of Mikel Arteta’s line-ups.
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