After assessing Arsenal and Liverpool assets, The Scout looks at the best defensive options among the five clubs – AFC Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Everton, Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers – who also have a Double Gameweek 34 (DGW34) in Fantasy Premier League.
Who has the best schedule?
Bournemouth have the best upcoming schedule in the analysis, according to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings.
Four of the Cherries’ next six matches score only two in the FDR – that includes each of their next three against Everton, Crystal Palace and Luton Town, as well as their visit to Wolves in DGW34.
Bournemouth's next six matches
| GW | Opp. | FDR* |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | EVE (H) | 2 |
| 31 | CRY (H) | 2 |
| 32 | LUT (A) | 2 |
| 33 | MUN (H) | 3 |
| 34 | AVL (A), WOL (A) | 4, 2 |
*Fixture Difficulty Ratings (1 = easiest, 5 = hardest)
That suggests goalkeeper Neto (£4.7m) could reward immediate investment, with his 94 points at least 25 points more than any Bournemouth defender.
Wolves’ schedule from Gameweek 31 onwards is also very promising. Four of their subsequent five matches score just two in the FDR, although the main issue is that one of their DGW34 matches is at home to Arsenal.
Everton and Crystal Palace could be handy rotation budget picks - according to the FDR, two of each club’s next three matches score just two. Both also have two home matches in DGW34, albeit one of Everton’s two is against Liverpool.
Similar to Bournemouth, the Everton and Palace goalkeepers, Jordan Pickford (£4.6m) and Sam Johnstone (£4.4m), better any of their defensive team-mates for points per match (ppm), with both offering the likelihood of save points at the very least.
FDR analysis of next six matches
| Team | FDR total | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth | 15 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Wolves | 17 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Everton | 17 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Sheff Utd | 18 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Crystal Palace | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Who has had the greatest goal threat?
Sheff Utd’s Jayden Bogle (£4.5m) has boasted the main goal threat over his last six matches.
The right wing-back’s seven shots and six shots on target are both more than any other rival in the analysis.
Bogle earned an assist and nine points in the Blades’ last match, against Bournemouth, in Gameweek 28.
Everton are the most-represented club, with three of their defenders featuring.
Ben Godfrey (£4.3m) has matched the six shots of Vitalii Mykolenko (£4.6m), bettering his fellow full-back by four shots in the box to three, and by three shots on target to zero.
James Tarkowski’s (£4.6m) major threat from set-pieces is underlined by his five shots in the box.
Crystal Palace’s Chris Richards (£3.9m) has mirrored Tarkowski for both shots and shots in the box, scoring his first-ever Premier League goal and earning 14 points against Burnley as recently as Gameweek 26.
Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.5m) is also among four of the eight defenders in the assessment who scored in their previous six.
The left wing-back ranks in the top two players for shots, big chances and shots on target.
The creativity statistics add further weight to Ait-Nouri’s prospects.
His eight key passes, two big chances created and two assists are all more than any other player in the assessment.
The Moroccan’s all-round potential has been evident recently, with Ait-Nouri delivering a goal, an assist, a clean sheet and 22 points in his last two home appearances.
His team-mate Nelson Semedo (£4.5m) made six key passes and claimed his second assist of the season against Fulham in Wolves’ last match in Gameweek 28.
Palace pair Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell (both £4.5m) also feature prominently.
January signing Munoz supplied seven key passes and collected his first-ever assist in Fantasy against Luton in the Eagles’ last match in Gameweek 28.
Everton’s Mykolenko has the clear edge over his team-mate Godfrey when it comes to creating scoring opportunities, leading his fellow full-back by five to one.
Who are the best picks?
So, Ait-Nouri looks a strong option for managers aiming to invest beyond the Arsenal and Liverpool defences ahead of DGW34.
The Wolves wing-back has attacking form and fixtures to make a big impact at the back, with a kind Gameweek 35 clash against Luton furthering his appeal.
Elsewhere, Palace’s Richards, at a cost of £3.9m, and Everton’s Godfrey, at £4.3m, offer cheaper alternatives to their respective goalkeepers, while Neto seems the likeliest Bournemouth defensive pick to collect returns.
