Fantasy Premier League

FPL Draft: Defenders rising in managers' plans

By The Scout 5 Sep 2018
Benjamin Mendy, Manchester City

The Scout analyses trends in selections in FPL Draft leagues to help those starting the game

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If you haven't tried Fantasy Premier League Draft, the international break is an ideal time to experience a new challenge over the remaining 34 Gameweeks.

There is another good reason why starting a Draft league now can work to your advantage.

After four Gameweeks of the season, the form players and teams to pinpoint for selection in your squads are more established.

While popular big-hitters such as Mohamed Salah remain key targets, others have emerged to alter the approach of Draft managers.

This is reflected when comparing the overall Draft rankings for four-team leagues set up early in the season with those created more recently.

Drop in midfielders

Twelve of the 20 top picks in early Draft leagues were midfielders.

But this has dropped to nine in the latest leagues, as managers turn to in-form defenders instead.

Marcos Alonso, Benjamin Mendy and Andrew Robertson failed to make the top 20 most selected players for early Draft squads.

All three now rank among the top 12 targets due to their ability to combine goals and assists with clean sheets.

Indeed, Alonso is the top-scoring player in FPL on 44 points, while Mendy and Robertson are tied for fourth on 32 points apiece.

Robertson's team-mates Virgil van Dijk and Alisson also feature highly in recent plans, which shows the growing faith in Liverpool's defence.

Jurgen Klopp's side have conceded only one goal in the first four Gameweeks.

City rotation

Manchester City's rotation has also had a big impact in FPL Draft, steering many away from their attackers.

Five of their players were among the top 20 early targets. Of those five, only Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling remain favoured.

Aguero is the top-scoring forward on 30 points, thanks to three goals and two assists.

And managers have been quicker to bring him into their starting Draft squads. 

Aguero was the sixth top pick for early squads but has risen to second behind Salah.

See: How Top 20 FPL Draft picks have changed

Also in this series

Part 2: FPL Draft: Laporte a big deal thanks to free trade
Part 3: FPL Draft: Palace pair proving a big hit
Part 4: FPL Draft: Leicester pair making waves
Part 5: FPL Draft: No limits put Milner in the frame
Part 6: FPL Draft: Mitrovic goals spark scramble
Part 7: FPL Draft: Gracia tactics aid managers

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