Five of the 10 top-scoring Fantasy Premier League (FPL) picks of 2026/27 so far are defenders. Another is premium goalkeeper David Raya (£6.2m).
So, with the boys at the back delivering the goods, is it time to consider a dormant Fantasy formation not seen much since the days of Messrs Alexander-Arnold, Cancelo, Alonso and Robertson?
And who are the best five defenders right now?
In lieu of their usual weekly article, we asked our regular contributors, Tom Hadley (one-time world number one and currently at 19.5k), FPL Milanista (six top 10k finishes) and FPL Meerkat for their thoughts…
TOM HADLEY
Is it time to go big at the back?
I’ll be playing five at the back this week! I think not only are the fixtures great, but I’m also extremely happy with all of the assets (at least, whilst Ezri Konsa (£4.8m) is playing).
I have a full playing squad of 15, so actually playing all five defenders hasn’t happened too often. Whilst defenders are performing extremely well, I still think that I will likely rotate one or two from time to time for harder games and not play all five too often. But as we saw with Brighton and Hove Albion last week away at Manchester City, even that fixture isn’t a guaranteed blank.
In the main, though, I like to play DefCon guys in most games, particularly at home, and rotating them is very much a luxury that I choose to take. But there is absolutely no harm in simply playing them every single week. Quite often, the floor is 3-4 points anyway and we have seen that the ceiling is as high as any attacking player.
I don’t think regular back fives will be the exact formula to come, simply because we will always instinctively prefer attackers. But I’m willing to bet that if you’re stubborn enough to pick a strong back five and play them each week, the overall rewards will likely pay off massively.
Preferred five defenders: Gabriel, Muharemovic, Vuskovic, De Cuyper, Silva
Gabriel Magalhaes (£8.0m) feels like a no-brainer if you can get there. The price is extremely steep but you’re paying for that added security for the run-in, something that is quite hard to call with a lot of the other Arsenal defenders. His DefCon rate, while modest in the wider sense, is also far superior to the other Gunners picks, and we know all about his significant set-piece threat.
Tarik Muharemovic (£5.1m) is without any doubt my favourite DefCon asset this season! An elite ability to amass contributions, a great defensive unit and a significant set-piece threat. Those chances have been coming, and the big 15/17-point haul is definitely on the horizon. I think you can easily play him in basically any fixture and not worry about ever selling him.
Luka Vuskovic (£5.2m) is another pick that I believe is as good as any defender asset this season. His DefCon numbers, while perhaps not quite as strong as the top contribution magnets, are still decent and he will tick along very nicely. His set-piece threat, though, is amongst the very best in the league. He’s the main target for set plays and has already had a lot of great chances to score. Combine this attacking potential with his DefCon ability and team defensive strength, and he has all the makings of a top defender points scorer. Another set-and-forget for the season for me!
Maxim De Cuyper (£5.4m), much like Vuskovic, is a significant beneficiary of a brilliant defence. I can’t get to De Cuyper in my team because I already have triple Brighton (including Bart Verbruggen (£4.6m)) but the Belgian is still an absolute no-brainer pick. There’s a lot of medium-term doubt regarding his place on the wing, but let’s come to that when it happens. Simply own him and enjoy it whilst he’s there because he’s a ridiculous asset with ridiculous potential!
It was a toss-up between Antonio Silva (£5.1m) and Jan Paul van Hecke (£5.0m) for the fifth spot. Either is superb, in my opinion, but I’ve gone with the guy that will rack up more DEFCON: Silva.
The Bournemouth defensive unit has underperformed their actual data, with a 5-0 loss to Chelsea from just 1.0 xG being the prime example. But they’ve now had three clean sheets on the bounce and are playing amazingly well. Not only that but the fixtures are as good as you could ask for, with just one notably bad game right up until the New Year. Silva has a 67% DefCon hit rate and 1.7xGI, and I feel like it’s only a matter of time before he gets his share of attacking returns. I have this affinity with Bournemouth defenders after last season and now that they’ve demonstrated the great defensive data, I have to pick one of them! If last season was anything to go by, then they have ridiculous potential – especially with these fixtures.
FPL MILANISTA
Is it time to go big at the back?
I am definitely open to the idea, and I think it is something worth considering given what we have seen over the first nine Gameweeks. However, I wouldn’t necessarily say that I am committing to five at the back for the foreseeable future. FPL templates are constantly evolving, and while defenders have shown that they are capable of delivering huge scores this season, there is no guarantee that midfielders and forwards won’t take over in the next nine Gameweeks. The key is to remain flexible and follow where the points are coming from rather than become too attached to a particular formation.
One of the biggest disadvantages of investing more heavily in defence is that it limits our flexibility in midfield and attack. I generally find it easier to move between mid-priced midfielders and forwards, targeting players with particularly favourable fixtures and the potential for explosive hauls, than it is to predict which defenders will keep clean sheets or deliver attacking returns in a given Gameweek.
Of course, defensive contribution points have added another layer of consistency to certain defenders, but I still think having the freedom to chase opportunities in the more attacking positions is valuable.
Ultimately, I wouldn’t be surprised to see myself playing five at the back in the coming weeks, but I also wouldn’t hesitate to move away from it if the midfield and forward options start offering better value.
Preferred five defenders: Gabriel, Calafiori, Vuskovic, van Hecke, Silva
If I were to Wildcard this week with the intention of playing five at the back, this would be my preferred defensive five.
Gabriel Magalhaes is probably the easiest inclusion. Arsenal’s defensive numbers make him an excellent long-term pick, and he offers multiple routes to points through clean sheets, defensive contributions, bonus and, of course, his considerable threat from set pieces. Riccardo Calafiori (£5.9m) gives me another route into what I consider the best defensive unit in the game, and the fact that he played no minutes in last night’s Champions League fixture makes him even more appealing, particularly with the favourable home fixture against Hull coming up.
Luka Vuskovic and Jan Paul van Hecke are two players I really like. Both have shown that they can offer considerably more than just the occasional clean sheet, and their ability to accumulate defensive contribution points makes them particularly appealing.
Antonio Silva completes the five, giving me another player I would be comfortable starting rather than simply treating him as a bench option.
This is definitely a structure for someone genuinely willing to embrace five at the back, rather than simply having five decent defenders and continuing to play a traditional 3-4-3.
If I were looking to maintain a more conventional formation, I would probably downgrade Silva to a £4.0m defender and use the money elsewhere. Bobby Thomas of Coventry would be my preferred option at that price, provided we have confirmation that he is fit.
FPL MEERKAT
Is it time to go big at the back?
I have played four at the back most of the season, and I am considering going with a five-man backline for some weeks ahead.
What made defenders not as appealing in previous (post-Trent) seasons was the lack of routes to points; it was really just clean sheets and the odd goal or bonus point.
But now, more than ever, defenders are frequently picking up huge returns at a far higher consistency than any other position. Eight of the top 16 points scorers in the game are defenders, and I doubt there’s ever been a season where this has been the case.
Fewer goals (this is the lowest goals-per-game average since 2020/21) and fewer penalties have harmed the appeal of attacking options, too.
Preferred five defenders: Gabriel, Vuskovic, Muharemovic, van Hecke, Silva
There’s a very common theme with these five names: they’re all centre-backs.
I’m finding this season that, unless the full-backs are super attacking like the ‘out of position’ Maxim De Cuyper and Riccardo Calafiori, the centre-halves are just in a league of their own. And now, even those two aforementioned alternatives are facing short-to-medium-term threats to their places, increasing the appeal of the more nailed centre-backs.
They are consistently picking up defensive contribution points, bonus points, even attacking returns, on top of their standard clean sheet points. All five of these names rank well for total defensive contributions and attacking threat from set pieces.
They do vary in defensive strength, of course. I would put Arsenal and Brighton’s backlines in a class above Leeds, Bournemouth and Spurs, but none of the five have what I’d consider “bad” defences. Indeed, those latter three are all in the top seven for lowest xGC in 2026/27.
If I were to rank their appeal, it would currently be:
1) Gabriel
2) Vuskovic
3) Muharemovic
4) Van Hecke
5) Silva
