Sky Sports

The best goalkeepers and defenders for Sky Sports Fantasy Football

With less than a week to go, the time is now to decide on which defenders will and will not make your Sky Sports Fantasy Football backline.

Goalkeepers and defenders are an integral part of any team, but they have become increasingly important in the art of Fantasy Football, and even more so in Sky Sports Fantasy Football.

Rewinding to the 2018/19 campaign, I reported that there were five defenders among the top 10 point-scorers in the game, but fast forward to last season, and there were four goalkeepers and defenders combined who achieved the same feat, those being Dean Henderson and the Liverpool trio of Andrew Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk.

There are some potential bargains, and there are some which will come out of the woodwork, but two, or three of these five defensive players should be at the heart of your consideration when building your starting XI.

John Egan – £7.2m

Claiming an impressive 146 Fantasy Football points in his debut season in the Premier League, John Egan was value-for-money during Sheffield United’s successful campaign. Even with an increased price tag of £7.2m, he comes in as one of the cheapest assets in defence who started the majority of games last season.

This is reflected in his selection percentage, which currently stands at 11.75%. The price caters to accommodate those bigger players in defence, but at one of the value or budget picks, you will not go too far wrong with Egan, a solid defender who kept 13 clean sheets last term, scoring twice and picking up two man-of-the-match awards too.

Virgil van Dijk – £10.9m

Liverpool's FPL defenders struggle as Arteta hands out Arsenal goalkeeper clues

For the second season in succession, Virgil van Dijk recorded the most points out of any of the defenders, and of any player in Sky Sports Fantasy Football, despite racking up 31 points less (268) than he did in 2018/19 (299). This does still equate to 7.1 points per game, a fitting average for the most expensive defender, his price inflating to £10.9m for the new season.

It does not seem to have put many off, with van Dijk making it into 32.37 per cent of Fantasy Football teams. With 15 clean sheets, five goals, and hitting tier two passing bonus points (70+) on 21 occasions last season, it seems that even £10.9m is not beyond the extreme to have the Dutch skipper in your side.

With just four games to navigate before the Overhaul (unlimited transfers within the £100m budget for a set period of time), van Dijk looks a good route to get your season off and running emphatically, starting with new boys Leeds on Saturday, despite Chelsea and Arsenal following afterwards.

Nick Pope – £6.7m

The Burnley stopper registered a whopping 215 Fantasy points last season, just three behind Dean Henderson, who topped the charts. Nick Pope kept 15 clean sheets, just the one behind Ederson who claimed the Golden Glove. He has since earned an England call-up off the back of his solid performances between the sticks.

Burnley’s ever-resolute defence only let in 50 goals last campaign, and this level of consistency is expected to continue next year. After a tough trip to Leicester on the opening day, Burnley face Southampton and Newcastle before the international break.

Pope tallied tier one bonus points (three or more saves) on 15 occasions and tier two (five or more saves) six times, so even when clean sheets may be hard to come by, there will still be averages coming in from your number one.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – £10.6m

Trent Alexander-Arnold finished fourth in the Sky Sports Fantasy Football charts last campaign with 245 points. He made double figures with assists for the second consecutive season, ending on 13 from that department. Trent cruised his way to the Young Player of the Year award, and is set for another enjoyable term in the red of Liverpool.

Perhaps it is the fact that the English full back comes into the game £0.3m cheaper than his teammate Virgil van Dijk is the reason behind a higher selection percentage, which stands at 37.07 per cent. Will Alexander-Arnold make it into your starting XI for the opening day?

Kieran Tierney – £8.1m

We really started to see the best of Kieran Tierney towards the back end of last season, and the Scotsman played his part in Arsenal’s FA Cup final success. With a pre-season under his belt, he should be fit and raring to go ahead of the new campaign.

His statistics may not look the most promising, but his ability to get down the flanks and right to the byline before delivering inch-perfect crosses should account for an upturn in assists from defence. As well as this, Arsenal’s defence should (should) be a bit more solid and sturdy with William Saliba coming back from his loan spell and the introduction of Gabriel, so clean sheet points could be easier to come by.

Only a short period of time awaits until the first match of the season, with Fulham hosting Arsenal at Craven Cottage. 

Change and amend your team, and who knows, you could land yourself the £50,000 jackpot!

Best players by position:

2,968 Comments Post a Comment
  1. MikeLowrey
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Think I'm settled. Thoughts?

    Ryan
    TAA Robbo KWP Mitchell
    Auba Salah ASM Saka
    Werner Adams

    (Nyland Bissouma Martial Taylor)

    Revert to a 4-4-2 or 3-4-3 from GW2 onwards depending on fixture

    1. Bobby Digital
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Looks nice

    2. The Knights Template
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Arise, Sir MikeLowrey!

    3. gianno
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      who is ASM??

      1. The Minus Fours
        • 4 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Welcome to the last 48 hour casuals LOL

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

    Thoughts on having Brewster on the bench hoping that we will be loaned out to another PL club? Alternatively could go with Davis from Villa..

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

      It's a pipe dream .... wonderful if it happened, but I'm guessing that it's unlikely.

    2. Soto Ayam
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      If the striker's never gonna play, I'd go with vassilev as his ownership his lower so there's less risk of losing value, compared to Davis. Brewster is the smart choice, if you're not concerned about taking an LFC spot

      1. In and Out
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        ... and you should be worried about it

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

    Repost.

    Hey guys, which is better?
    (1MIl ITB, GW2 - salah out for fernandes, GW3- Son out for KDB)

    a) ASM + Adam
    B) Armstrong + Wilson

    Current squad
    Mccarthy
    Taa-Lascelles-Justin
    Son-Salah-Auba-****
    Werner-Mitro-*****

    Bench: Steer- KWP- Bissouma-Mitchell

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

      I dont like any tbh

    2. Eat my goal!
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Defence is shocking

      B

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

        any suggestion how i can upgrade my defends?

  4. Jolly Good
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Doherty or
    Davies + 1mio

    Will Doherty be attacking enough to justify the extra 1mio or should I go for the flexibility that the 1mio offers in early transfers

    1. Pinturicchio10
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Spurs players don't appeal to me st all. If you must, then I'd suggest going cheap and redistribute funds elsewhere.

      • ZAWAd25
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        If you really need that 1m, Davies offers good value. You can wait and see how Doherty plays at spurs and possibly upgrade. I’m going for Doherty though

    2. ZAWAd25
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Ready to go?

      McCarthy
      TAA Doherty Justin Mitchell
      Salah Auba ASM
      Kane Werner Mitrović

      (Nyland Taylor Bissouma Stephens)

    3. ivantys
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Bats should be a sub again right? Last time when he was on loan he didn't get high minutes neither.

      1. The Knights Template
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        He isn't known as Bats the Bridesmaid for nothing.

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

          I actually prefer him playing as zaha performs better behind 2 strikers.

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

        Am on ayew but am not sure he is nailed now. Bats has a big reputation and Zaha needs to be played upfront ao as to maximize his sale value

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

          As long as they stop playing their trash 4-5-1, zaha would be good. 2 seasons ago he was playing behind 2 strikers and he got his best season. You going with the palace duo also?

    4. Ninjaa
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Thoughts here lads?? I think I'm set to go for the 46th time.

      McCarthy 4m
      TAA Egan Davies Taylor Mitchell
      Salah Aubameyang son ASM Reed
      Werner Mitrovic Adams

      1. Balls of Steel
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Trés bien!

      2. The Knights Template
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Sir Madfincha, is that you?

        1. Ninjaa
          • 13 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          You bet!!!

    5. Sir Edo
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Hi all!
      Not able to find ’Sort by rotation’ under Fixture ticker anymore. Can I find it anywhere?

      1. TorresMagic™
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Click a team to rotate.

        1. Sir Edo
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 11 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          Beautiful! Rotation keeper time.. 😉

      2. Christina.
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Fix your link, and GL to the season.

        1. Sir Edo
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 11 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          Will do!

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

        have to click on a team first

    6. Kei19255
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Really wanted SON but bringing him spoils my balance. Any advise?

      Martinez/McCathy

      TAA Van Dijk Doherty James (Mitchell)
      Auba Salah ASM (Stephen, Bissouma)
      Mitro Vardy Ings

      Eventually Vardy to Warner (GW2/3) and Ings to Martial (GW 2/3)

      1. ZAWAd25
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        I like it

        1. Kei19255
          • 7 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          Thank you..Ideally robbo instead of VD....but that 0.5 is so precious..

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

        Vardy's weeks 4&5 are tasty though

        1. Kei19255
          • 7 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          yea i know...so will watch warner...but i do need 0.5 to bring ings to martial to get some Man Utd cover.

          Maybe too much tied up in defence...

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

            I realized he tends to score more than 1 goal against lower half teams so I would be scared to swap him out.

          2. One Man
            • 7 Years
            3 years, 6 months ago

            No. Defence is good. Could always bring in Fernandes for Auba after gw2. Auba has a few difficult fixtures after the first 2. Ings could start firing and with fixtures you might want to hold. If you started with Werner. You could easily do ASM to Alli in gw2 as well for Spurs cover. Alli would be a big improvement on ASM for those fixtures.

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

      Settled on my team aside from my midfield:

      Salah — Auba — ASM — Son

      Currently, I feel like Son would turn into Rashford or Bruno GW2 anyway nd Son v Everton first GW and I can see it being low scoring.

      Makes me fancy a fun one week midfielder punt. Any suggestions?

      1. Pinturicchio10
          3 years, 6 months ago

          Willian

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

            Good shout, I like Pepe too.

        • TAT
          • 6 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          Chelsea mid?

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

            Hoping Lamps gives green light on Puli.

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

              Indeed. It's between Son, Puli or Havertz in a similar midfield lineup for me.

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

                Put off by Spurs attack also due to having Digne at the back first game too.

                What's your exact midfield?

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

                  I'm not completely sold on having a Spurs player in midfield either, but as of now, my midfield is:
                  Salah, Aubameyang, ASM and Son (Bissouma on bench).

                  I *can* upgrade ASM to Puli/Havertz and keep Son, but it's a bit inflexible.

        • Soto Ayam
          • 4 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          Havertz, pulisic if cleared to play

        • One Man
          • 7 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          Puli. If fit. I’d get rid of Auba after gw2. Dreadful fixtures. Arsenal could struggle to score in a good few of those 5. Lots of options in Son, Puli and Fernandes.

      2. GS456
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Morning all,

        Pretty settled on this.

        Mcarthy
        Doherty, TAA, James
        Son, Auba, Salah, SMM
        Werner, Mitro, Adams

        Only pick I’m not confident in is Adams, also have a feeling about vardy this week as he loves playing West Brom away.

        Is Reece James nailed?

        Thanks for any feedback

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

          No he's not nailed.

      3. jia you
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Team locked in with triple Arsenal & triple Soton! Looking forward to watching the first two games of the season fully loaded 🙂

        1. Soto Ayam
          • 4 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          Any arsenal defenders? If so which please

          1. jia you
            • 7 Years
            3 years, 6 months ago

            Punting Tierney & Bellerin for first two atm

            1. Soto Ayam
              • 4 Years
              3 years, 6 months ago

              Was thinking Tierney for the first 2 also. Am concerned he'll be less attacking with luiz out. I guess bellerin is nailed?

            2. jia you
              • 7 Years
              3 years, 6 months ago

              but I might swap out Bellerin for Nkeitiah

      4. HST
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Good morning scouts,

        Any recommendations for cheapest starting forward?

        Thanks.

        1. InterUranus
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 5 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          Bamford at 5.5 will be first choice for Leeds for at least 3-4 weeks.

          People are slagging him off, but he more than doubled our second top scorer last season and we were 2nd highest scorers in the league. Yeah he misses *a lot* of chances but most of our goals go through him. I also feel with more space, particularly on the counter attack in the Premier League, he could be a lot more comfortable.

          1. InterUranus
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 5 Years
            3 years, 6 months ago

            And when I say at least 3-4 weeks, that's how long it'll be before we see Rodrigo and even then, I think he'll play with/behind Bamford.

      5. Gabbiadini
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        GW3 wildcard.

        GW1
        Martinez (pending selection)
        TAA | Saliba | Lewis
        Auba | Salah | Alli/Arsenal 8.0 | ASM
        Vardy | Ings | Wilson

        Nyland | Mitchell | 4.0 | Gordon

        *Free transfer in GW2 will be used on Salah to Fernandes*

        GW3
        McCarthy
        TAA | Davies | Taylor
        KDB | Fernandes | Pulisic/Havertz | Alli | Armstrong/Doucoure
        Werner | Ings

        Nyland | Ferguson | 4.0 | Brewster

        A total of 10 transfers... thoughts?

      6. b91jh
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Now i am having a midfield line of
        Auba Allan Saint Maximin

        Oops it is Alli Son Maximin.

        1. ZAWAd25
          • 6 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          No Liverpool?

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

            I think you'd find gw2 onwards no Liverpool is common.

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

        How is this looking

        Mcarthy
        Taa, Justin, Kwp
        Salah, Mane, Havertz, Auba, Asm
        Wilson, Mitrovic

        Nyland, Michell, Struijk, 4.5

        Gw 2 Mane/Salah to Kdb

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

        Posted this a few days ago but thought that it might worth another memory jog …..
        Just a reminder for those of you with your teams linked in the header of your FFS posts then you need to update your link with this year's FPL ID. I've seen absolutely loads of links that are either out of date (wrong manager) or showing this error message:
        'Sorry, but the page you were looking for can't be found' .
        For those of you now deciding to link your team for the first time, the link in your FFS profile page
        e.g https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/profiles/the-old-man/
        needs to be of the format
        https://fantasy.premierleague.com/entry/1234567/history
        where 1234567 is your FPL ID. You can find your FPL ID in the address bar on your FPL Gameweek History page

      9. Eleven Hag
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        1.5m itb to go Son to Bruno - plz suggest your imrovements

        McC
        TAA Robbo Doherty Tierny
        Auba (c) Son Pulisic ASM
        Werner Adams
        - Vinagre Bissoma Brewster

        1. InterUranus
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 5 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          I would possibly consider Son -> Rashford and upgrade Adams

      10. Titchmalpas
        • 3 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Squeeky bum time. Ready to wrap it up now and settle on a team. Any advice on this would be very useful, thanks.

        Ryan
        TAA Davies Egan KWP
        Auba Salah Son ASM
        Ings Antonio

        Walton Romeu Mitchell Brewster

        With 3.0m left in the bank to adjust according to form, Utd, City, over the next few gameweeks.

        1. Eleven Hag
          • 6 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          I would want one good sub with that team and formation

          Antonio to 6.0 and a 4.5 DEF?

      11. b91jh
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Thoughts on this team?

        Johnstone
        TAA Coady KWP Mitchell
        Auba(c) Alli Son ASM
        Werner Jimenez

        Button Martial Dallas Lemina

        Auba to KDB/Sterling and Alli to Chelsea mid in GW3
        Probably would get Ings from Gw4/5. Maybe too planning ahead so the Ings move is not compulsive tho.

      12. mo 10 years on FFS? Join my…
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Morning all,

        I have been on and off the site numerous times over the past 11 years and whilst I have been very impressed with the staggering amount of new content the past few years, iId like to rekindle some of the communication between the old school registrants of the site.

        To this end, I have set up an FPL FSS Old School Classic league for registrants who have been on the site for 10 years +.

        I thought this would be a fun way to see which old school lurkers are out there and to try and tempt them to come out of the woodwork.

        Who of the FPL FSS stalwarts would like to pit themselves against age-old friends and foes?

        This isn't supposed to be inclusive and one day the new school will be eligible!

        League Code:einzkp

      13. Sad Pablo Arsecobar
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Long term from the start..

        A. Son
        B. Ings.
        C Havertz

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

          Ings

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

          Son

      14. Cesc in the city
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        A. Alli and Ings
        B. Son and Adams

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

          A comfortably

      15. One Man
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        What the odd Laporte misses a few games early on ?

      16. Dr.S
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Think I’m “G2G” after countless drafting scenarios.. any comments ?

        McCarthy
        Robbo Egan Lascelles Kwp
        Dendoncker Havertz Abu
        Firmino Ingsi Mitro

        ( Nyland branthwaite Foden Fernandes)
        will swap Martial for Firmino in Gw 2!