The Scout compares players' statistics, prices and fixtures in each position to help managers pick their opening squads for 2024/25 Fantasy Premier League, ahead of the Gameweek 1 deadline on Friday 16 August at 18:30 BST.
Budget defenders (£4.5m and under)
By using the early schedules as a guide, it's fair to say that managers in Fantasy are spoilt for choice when it comes to budget defenders.
According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), there are NINE clubs who have three matches which score only two in the first four Gameweeks of 2024/24.
And as many as seven of those nine clubs have at least one regular starting defender who is priced at £4.5m in Fantasy - Aston Villa, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.
Each club's first four matches rated by FDR
| Number of matches scoring 2 in FDR | Club |
|---|---|
| 3 | Aston Villa, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd, Newcastle, Nott'm Forest |
| 2 | Arsenal, Brentford, Everton, Ipswich, Southampton, Spurs |
| 1 | AFC Bournemouth, Brighton, Wolves |
| 0 | Leicester, West Ham |
By focusing on players from those seven clubs, and comparing their statistics from last season, managers can get a good idea of who can be quick to provide early value in Fantasy.
Chelsea’s summer signing Tosin Adarabioyo (£4.5m) leads the way with 3.6 points per start (pps), after combining two goals with six clean sheets for Fulham last season.
The centre-back boasted a major threat at set-pieces. Despite only making 20 appearances, Tosin’s 10 headed shots were just two off top spot for the Cottagers.
Although all eyes will be on Enzo Maresca’s goalkeeper this season, with Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen both priced £4.5m in Fantasy, Tosin could be a better option.
If you bench him against Manchester City in Gameweek 1, the Chelsea defender has a very favourable schedule afterwards. According to the FDR, all six of the Blues’ matches from Gameweeks 2-7 score just two.
Fulham full-backs Timothy Castagne and Antonee Robinson (both £4.5m) were also reliable for attacking returns last season.
Castagne averaged 3.5pps thanks to one goal and three assists, while Robinson supplied six assists on his way to 2.8pps.
Of the two, it’s Castagne who offered the greater goal threat. He bettered Robinson by 13 shots in the box to six, despite playing over 500 minutes fewer than his team-mate.
Robinson did have the advantage for assist potential, though. He averaged a key pass every 99 minutes compared with the 148 minutes of Castagne.
Meanwhile, when comparing all the players who are priced as budget defenders for 2024/25, Crystal Palace’s Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) was the top-performing player in Fantasy last season, on 121 points.
That earned him 10th place among all defenders, and his average of 3.2pps is useful when gauging the prospects of his rivals here.
Nott’m Forest’s Willy Boly and Aston Villa’s Pau Torres (both £4.5m) were near-identical on 3.1pps, both scoring twice to underline their goal threat.
Spurs’ Micky van de Ven (£4.5m) scored three goals and earned 10 bonus points in 27 outings, averaging 3.0pps. Newcastle’s Dan Burn (£4.5m), meanwhile, made a big impact at both ends of the pitch, with two goals, two assists and eight clean sheets.
Budget defenders' 2023/24 stats
| Player | Goals | Assists | Clean sheets | Points per start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tosin | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3.6 |
| Castagne | 1 | 3 | 9 | 3.5 |
| Andersen | 2 | 3 | 10 | 3.2 |
| Boly | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3.1 |
| Pau | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3.1 |
| Van de Ven | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3.0 |
| Burn | 2 | 2 | 8 | 2.9 |
| Robinson | 0 | 6 | 9 | 2.8 |
Back Mykolenko and Davis over longer term
If you’re looking beyond the opening four matches, Everton’s Vitalii Mykolenko and Ipswich Town’s Leif Davis are very strong options at £4.5m.
From Gameweek 3 onwards, five of Everton’s subsequent seven matches score just two in the FDR. Left-back Mykolenko offers a budget-friendly route into a back four that helped the Toffees to 13 clean sheets in 2023/24, second only to the 18 of Arsenal.
Davis arrives from the Championship boasting a huge attacking threat, the left-back scoring twice and supplying an incredible 18 assists in 2023/24. According to the FDR, six of Ipswich’s seven matches from Gameweek 3 onwards score just two, marking Davis out as an enticing option.
Elsewhere among the promoted clubs, there are a number of starting defenders this season who are priced at an ultra-low cost of £4.0m in Fantasy.
Southampton’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis is the most-selected player at this price point, found in over 14 per cent of squads. The centre-back started 40 matches last season and scored in Saints’ recent pre-season win over French side Montpellier.
Elsewhere at £4.0m, Brighton & Hove Albion’s Valentin Barco (£4.0m) has climbed to 10 per cent ownership due to his impressive displays at left-back under new head coach Fabian Hurzeler.
The Argentinian has been handed a share of set-piece duties, and his prospects of minutes have been further boosted because the Seagulls' first-choice left-back Pervis Estupinan (£5.0m) will miss the start of 2024/25 through injury.
It's worth noting that Barco missed Brighton's last match as a precaution due to a muscle problem. But if he returns to the starting XI in their final pre-season friendly against Villarreal this weekend, expect his ownership to rise.
