Having previously focused mostly on Wolverhampton Wanderers’ midfielders and forwards in his first ‘eye test meets stats’ analysis of Bruno Lage’s troops, Stevie of EyeTestFPL switches attention to the club’s defenders in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Wolves, in their 3-4-3/back five system seen below, boast one of the meanest defences in the league so far, conceding only 20 shots inside the box (the fifth lowest) despite some tough early fixtures.
With Lage’s outfit about to embark on a long run of great fixtures until Gameweek 14, we will assess some of the best Wolves defensive options in FPL – particularly from an attacking standpoint.
Nelson Semedo (£4.9M)
During offensive phases, Wolves tend to push both of their full-backs, Marcal (£4.5m) and Nelson Semedo (£4.9m), high up the pitch in a 2-3-5 shape.
Such advanced positioning of the full-backs can occasionally lead to offensive turnovers deep in the opposition half as they are expected to press high up the pitch, especially against the weaker teams.
Compared with Marcal, Semedo is arguably the better player on the ball and possesses considerable dribbling ability, which is the reason why he is often tasked with bigger offensive responsibilities.
Above: Touch heatmaps from our Premium Members Area
Based on his touches over the last two Gameweeks, clearly Semedo (above left) is the player given more freedom to roam forward, making six touches inside the box compared to Marcal’s (above right) one.
There is fluidity in the Wolves frontline. Every time there is a player filling in out wide such as Adama Traore (£6.0m) here, Semedo will use the opportunity to make underlapping runs into the penalty area.
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