FanTeam

The best defenders for FanTeam’s €1m Premier League Fantasy game


Sponsored by FanTeam


Fantasy Football Scout are partnering with FanTeam, Europe’s biggest daily Fantasy sports platform, in 2020/21.

We’re paying particular attention to their season-long Premier League Fantasy game, in which there is a €1m prize pool – €200,000 of which goes straight to the winner.

It’s an appealing prospect as we’re effectively talking about a game close in style to FPL (and therefore easy to pick up) that comes with the chance of a huge windfall:

  • A starting XI built from a 15-man squad
  • One free transfer a week
  • Price changes
  • Captains and vice-captains
  • £100m budget
  • Maximum of three players per club
  • Two Wildcards a season
  • Very similar scoring system (three points for an assist, four for a clean sheet etc)

Entries cost just €25 per team, a payment you’ll make up by finishing in the top 5,659 places (see below).

We had previously given you a rundown on how to play the game, so now we turn our attention to the player price list.

Having already provided analysis of the standout goalkeepers, we switch focus to the players in front of them: the defenders.

(All prices given are for FanTeam and not FPL)

CLICK HERE TO HEAD TO FANTEAM’S €1M PREMIER LEAGUE FANTASY GAME AND START PICKING YOUR TEAM

HOW DEFENDERS SCORE POINTS

Before we delve into the player pool, here’s how defenders can accrue points in FanTeam and how the scoring system differs from FPL:

FanTeamFPL
Playing up to 60 mins+1+1
Playing over 60 mins+2+2
Clean sheets+4+4
Goals scored+6+6
Conceding a penalty-2n/a
Conceding a converted free-kick-2n/a
Bonus+1/-1 “impact points” if a team is winning/losing when the player is on the pitch+1/2/3 based on Bonus Points System

There are, of course, other ways to lose points such as own-goals, yellow cards and sendings off (we’ll refer you to our ‘How To…’ for more details) but the above table is a good indicator of the main sources.

The deduction of points for conceding a penalty or converted free-kick shouldn’t be too off-putting, as we’re talking once or twice a season at worst for most defenders – unless you’re David Luiz (£4.5m), of course, who set an unwanted record by giving away five spot-kicks in 2019/20.

Here is a selection of the highest-scoring defenders from FanTeam last season and their respective points in FPL:

Player2019/20 Team2019/20 FanTeam Points2019/20 FPL Points2020/21 FanTeam Price
Alexander-ArnoldLIV214210£7.5m
van DijkLIV193178£6.0m
RobertsonLIV189181£7.0m
DohertyWOL156167£6.5m
BaldockSHU137142£5.5m
StevensSHU136142£5.5m
TarkowskiBUR130143£5.5m
MaguireMUN128123£5.5m
EganSHU126133£5.0m
AzpilicuetaCHE122130£6.5m
WalkerMCI121114£6.0m
JonnyWOL120123£5.5m
Wan-BissakaMUN120127£6.0m
EvansLEI119128£5.0m
PereiraLEI117123£5.5m
LindelöfMUN117116£5.5m
CoadyWOL115118£5.0m
AurierTOT113124£6.0m

With FPL’s Bonus Points System stripped away and winning/losing “impact points” in place, it’s no surprise that defenders from the more successful clubs shine in FanTeam.

Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m) may have gained 14 bonus points in FPL last season but he was awarded a net 29 impact points in FanTeam, thanks to Liverpool’s incredible sequence of victories throughout the campaign.

That was enough to place him second in the leading FanTeam defenders points table.

Other Liverpool defenders, Manchester City’s backline and a handful of United assets also benefited from this in 2019/20.

Contrast that with, say the FanTeam incarnation of Lewis Dunk (£5.0m), who not only didn’t benefit from his 17 FPL bonus points but also suffered a net loss of four impact points, putting him 21 points short of his FPL total.

PLAYERS TO CONSIDER

£4.0m OPTIONS

There are more than twice as many £4.0m defenders in FanTeam as there are in FPL this year, which could help free up money for the big hitters elsewhere.

What we have said earlier about “impact points” has to be considered when we look at budget defenders, of course, but at the bargain bin end of the market, any points whatsoever are gratefully received.

Ruben Vinagre (£4.0m) is one of the stand-out picks – at least at the time of writing.

Wolverhampton Wanderers will no doubt be in the market for a couple of wing-backs after losing Matt Doherty (£6.5m) and Jonny (£5.5m) to Spurs and injury respectively but, for now, Vinagre is a cut-price route into what was one of the form defences in the final third of 2020/21.

Keep an eye on the transfer market, of course, as one left-sided purchase suddenly throws Vinagre’s security of starts into question.

Fresh from a successful loan spell at Leeds United and signing a new deal with Brighton and Hove Albion, Ben White (£4.0m) is a name to monitor on the south coast – he was involved in a strong-looking back three in Albion’s first pre-season friendly last Saturday.

Tyrick Mitchell (£4.0m) has been heavily involved at left-back for Crystal Palace in pre-season, meanwhile, with Patrick van Aanholt (£5.0m) still sidelined for the time being.

The Eagles sit top of our Season Ticker when we filter teams’ next five home fixtures, although van Aanholt isn’t thought to be out for the full duration of that run.

Moving up a tier slightly, overlapping Sheffield United centre-backs Chris Basham and Jack O’Connell (both £4.5m) offer budget-friendly routes into what was one of the best defences of 2019/20, although the Blades are now without Dean Henderson (£5.0m).

Arsenal’s backline is also very reasonably priced up, with the Gunners showing a bit more solidity since Mikel Arteta took over in December.

Pre-season will be a good indicator as to whether Mikel Arteta still favours a 3-4-3 heading into the new campaign and will hopefully tell us whether the highly rated Willian Saliba (£4.5m) can be a reliable budget asset in 2020/21, and whether the penalty-conceding Luiz remains a semi-permanent fixture at the heart of the Arsenal backline.

Kieran Tierney (£5.0m) belatedly showed glimmers of his potential (one goal, two assists and seven starts in Arsenal’s final eight league games of 2019/20) after an injury-ravaged campaign, meanwhile.

While the opening two fixtures are enticing, interest might be short-lived: the Gunners meet four of last season’s top five and Sheffield United between Gameweeks 3-7.

Liverpool double-up?

Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m), Andrew Robertson (£7.0m), van Dijk and goalkeeper Alisson (£6.0m) all averaged over 5.0 FanTeam points per match last season, a feat that only one other defender, one other goalkeeper and not a single forward now available for less than £10.0m managed.

Bearing in mind the defensive woes that plagued the Reds at the beginning of last season, in which they kept just two clean sheets in their first 15 games, and that achievement is even more impressive.

Granted, Jurgen Klopp’s side may struggle to match their win/loss ratio from last season.

But another two or three shut-outs, something they managed in the previous two campaigns, ought to offset any possible dip in impact points.

Ones for the Watchlist

There are a number of names who leap out from the price list who, while not appealing in Gameweek 1, are names to add to the watchlist in the medium term.

Burnley are without a fixture on the opening weekend but Charlie Taylor (£4.5m), who we think will get the nod over Erik Pieters (£5.0m) at left-back, offers a cut-price route into a Burnley defence that proved adept at keeping clean sheets no matter how many bodies were on the treatment table.

Only Manchester City kept more shut-outs than Sean Dyche’s (15) side last season.

Admittedly, there isn’t a great deal of attacking threat posed by Taylor, but there is little risk of rotation when things are going well at Turf Moor and the budget Burnley man was among the top ten value-for-money defenders of 2019/20 (points per match divided by price).

Speaking of the Citizens, who also blank in Gameweek 1, eight of their 17 clean sheets in 2019/20 arrived in Aymeric Laporte‘s (£6.0m) 14 starts.

The Frenchman averaged a very creditable 4.73 FanTeam points per match last season, all the more impressive given that three of his 15 appearances – for varying fitness reasons – were of less than 60 minutes in duration.

But Laporte was as good as nailed in the previous season, starting 34 of the 35 matches he was fully fit for and recording six attacking returns in a title-winning campaign.

The price of Ricardo Pereira (£5.5m) is worth keeping an eye on, too: should he drop by the time he returns from injury, he could be available at a very attractive cost for some decent fixtures between Gameweeks 4-13.

Win a share of €1m as FanTeam and Fantasy Football Scout join forces

CLICK HERE TO HEAD TO FANTEAM’S €1M PREMIER LEAGUE FANTASY GAME AND START PICKING YOUR TEAM


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670 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Sgt Frank Drebin
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    How many goals would Werner need to score to come out as a good value for money in FPL? 20+? Has anyone made any calculations?

    1. TMF86
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I'm weighing up cheap forwards with only 1 playing in order to invest in the big 3 Liverpool defenders and midfield instead.

    2. FPL_Crisis
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      it's not just the goals but I would say 170-180 total points

      1. Pasqualinho
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Not sure it's the season points either. I'd say 5ppg while you own him.

        1. Sgt Frank Drebin
          • 7 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          Thanks. I actually ment total FPL points but that depends on the goals the most. I wonder if having 9.5 is beneficial at all if you're not gonna captain him and even if he scores let's say 24 goals, some 9.5 or 9.0 midfielders are not gonna outscore him fpl points wise. Kane in the season he got 29 goals had (from what I remember) around 230 points in FPL. Not great. But some proper calculations should be made, hence my question.

  2. Fast_Keith
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Trying something different, am I making a terrible mistake? Hoping the defence will manage whilst I make early Manchester swaps in mid and attack.

    McCarthy
    Justin - TAA - Davies
    Soucek - Ziyech - Aubameyang - Alli
    Ings - Kane - Werner

    (Martin,Vinagre, Bissouma, Mitchell)

    1. HollywoodXI
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      No Salah / Mane will hurt you

      1. Fast_Keith
        • 3 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        I'm a Liverpool fan and I'm not convinced by Salah at the moment. When I've watched him recently he's been poor and I'm banking on him taking a while to find his feet in amongst some tough fixtures.

        Maybe I need to look at Mane again, it's just a lot of money which could go a long way elsewhere in the squad.

    2. ChickenTikkaMoSalah
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      With this team you’re just asking to waste transfers and take hits when inevitably Salah/Mane/KDB/Bruno start firing

  3. sirmorbach
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Lads, here's the thing. I could use a midfielder between £5 and £6. I was on Soucek, but then he might not play GW1. Now I'm on JWP.

    But hear me out: Luka Milivojevic, the pen-man, will have both Zaha *and* Eze in his team. Ain't that a good option?

    1. Warby84
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I’ve gone Ward-Prowse

    2. FPL_Crisis
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      he was non existent last season - would only consider Ayew from CPL

    3. Boly Would
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Harrison, 5.5m

      1. sirmorbach
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        He was totally under the radar for me up until now. I think you might be on to something...

        1. Boly Would
          • 7 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          He was massively improved last season, and topped Leeds chances created charts. A better finisher on the end and he'd have had tons more assists.

          1. sirmorbach
            • 7 Years
            3 years, 6 months ago

            Can't thank you enough really

            1. Indpush
              • 6 Years
              3 years, 6 months ago

              Klichi for 5.5 takes pens

  4. Warby84
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Ramsdale (Steer)
    Trent Doherty Tierney Vinagre (Mitchell)
    Salah Ward-Prowse Aubameyang (Bissouma Lemina)
    Mitrovic Werner Ings

    Still not sure if I want Ings or Son, either will determine Rashford or Martial.. But leaning to Martial for now..

    1. Boly Would
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I'd want Martial over Rashford...

  5. Rotation's Alter Ego
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    New Community Article

    I'm always a fan of hearing a different perspective, a different strategy, and this is certainly that. What if you only used your Free Transfers to swap your premiums around? Could it have legs? FPL_Polecat explained his idea.

    https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/2020/09/04/the-aggressive-premium-transfer-strategy-tapts/

  6. New Post
  7. Brosstan
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Think Sterling is being massively overlooked. a lot of planning to get kdb and Bruno in, no sterling. I don't rate him as a player but as an FPL asset he's proven.

    My personal plan is salah->kdb gw2, auba -> sterling gw3. Of course subject to change if injuries appear, my team is template and can easily do well if I don't get sterling in due to other issues. But if everything goes well I think Sterling in GW3 is golden

    1. Flair
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I don't disagree, he's an excellent option especially at the start of the season. Looking at lateriser's table, I'd rather focus on KDB-only starting GW3-9 considering City's fixtures and then add Sterling from GW10 and the fixture turn, due to his flat-track bully status. However, seeing the West Ham (A) and Leeds (A) in the fixture list he could be a very good option in those games for the captaincy.

  8. ritzyd
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    I have been playing with XG & XGC modelling over the summer using last seasons data and have built a spreadsheet to predict scores based on the above two elements (with an allowance for H/A bias / recent form) and then applying a basic poisson distribution. For GW1 it highlights the following:

    Teams most likely to score 2 or more goals:

    Chelsea
    Leicester
    West Ham
    Southampton
    Liverpool

    Teams most likely to keep a clean sheet:

    West Ham
    Southampton
    Liverpool
    Leicester
    Spurs
    Wolves

    For those that are interested the most likely score based on the data output for each game was:

    Ful/Ars 1:1
    Cpal/Sou 0:2
    Wham/Newc 2:0
    Lpool/Lee 2:0
    WBA/Leic 0:2
    Spur/Eve 1:0
    Brig/Chels 1:2
    Sheff/Wolv 0:1

    As a note, via this model, the most likely team to score 2+ goals was Chelsea with a probability of 67.08% and the most likely to keep a clean sheet was Liverpool with a probability of 46.18%

    1. Jay Jay Okocha
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Looks like a good start! The next step is to extend your model so that the poisson rate varies according to a gamma distribution (accounting for H/A, etc.) to yield a negative binomial model.

    2. Old Man
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      nice work - thank you for all that hard graft.

  9. Roy Rovers
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    To weeks ago everyone on here had double Liverpool def… anyone still going with it and why?

    1. Roy Rovers
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      *Two

      1. TMF86
        • 11 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        I'm torn between 2 or 3 Liverpool defenders. Costwise, seems a good use of that price range

    2. EmmetRyan
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I'm trying to fit both fullbacks in, as I can't see a more points-efficient way to spend 14.5.

    3. Guba
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I'll be going double pool but not from gw1. having 2/3 starting fixtures with a less than likely clean sheet isn't as appealing.

  10. Fergymac
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Thoughts on this team?

    McCarthy (Nyland)

    Robertson Egan Justin Vinagre (Webster)

    Salah Aub Ziyech Soucek (Stephens)

    Kane Werner (Brewster)

    1. Guba
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Nice team for sure, as I'm sure you know the lack of TAA is very scary @ 53% ownership. If he hits it big against Leeds you can likely expect a bad rank from the start.

      Otherwise overall looks good with flexibility.