FPL raised prices this year, which made me think: Who are the best budget defenders for FPL 2024-25?
And there are some excellent cheap picks. Let’s find out who they are by analysing the best 4.5 and 4.0m defenders with tactical nuance and data, shall we?
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The Best 4.5 Defenders in FPL 2024-25
The best 4.5m defenders are like a good cup of tea—they’re there for you when no one else is, will give you stability as the rest of your team forgets how to score points. Since they’re cheap, they open up budget elsewhere (unless you’re American, of course, in which case you’ve thrown your tea into the sea).
Joachim Andersen and Dan Burn appear among the most popular 4.5m defenders, so let’s analyse them before moving on to some 4.5m defenders who’ve flown under the radar.
Joachim Andersen (CRY)
If you ever wanted to run a monarchy efficiently, do what the Palace of Crystal did: make Oliver Glasner your king.
Last season, Crystal Palace were ranked 4th in the league for xGA (only behind Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool), and they aren’t likely to lose key players in defence, meaning we can expect defensive stability next season.
What about Andersen himself? His ball-playing ability is well known, and this translates into attacking returns for FPL, as he had 5 G+A last season. He always looks like an attacking threat on set pieces, and you just can’t look past the euphoria of a bullet header.
Marc Guéhi offered better baseline BPS last season, but as far as budget defenders go, Joachim Andersen is a great pick.
Dan Burn (NEW)
If I ever get a pet giraffe, I’d name it Dan Burn. Although I’m quite sure Dan Burn would still be taller than it.
Newcastle’s defence went from being the 2nd to the 11th-best defence on xGA throughout the last two seasons. While this may seem worrying, Newcastle were hit by an injury crisis (and European football), which didn’t help maintain a solid defensive shape. Given that neither of these are concerns at the moment, I expect their defence to improve throughout the 24-25 season.
Dan Burn’s attacking data is also good as far as defenders go, with a npxG+xAG/90 of 0.14. That said, I don’t think Dan Burn’s nailed Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento are more than capable of filling in at LB, and Lloyd Kelly can step up to fill the void Sven Botman has left behind.
All in all, I don’t mind Dan Burn as a budget defender, but I wouldn’t be comfortable relying on him week after week.
Antonee Robinson (FUL)
Let’s start with the obvious: the toe-crunching, terror-inducing, yellow card magnet in João Palhinha has left Fulham. This leaves their defence weakened, but assuming we see a double pivot (as opposed to Lukić as a lone 6), Fulham should remain solid defensively.
They didn’t have the best defence in the league last season (13th for xGA), but Fulham’s fixtures are quite alright as they face LEI, ips, WHU, nfo in their first six. Robinson’s also nailed on for 90 and has decent data from an xA POV.
Castagne (4.5m) is also a good budget defender option with good upside; however, he does have some xMins risk.
Ezri Konsa (AVL)
First things first, Villa’s first six fixtures are excellent: whu, ARS (Good Ebening), lei, EVE, WOL, ips. Secondly, Konsa’s nailed on, and Villa have made excellent signings from a defensive POV, including Amadou Onana and Enzo Barranechea.
Konsa was the highest-scoring Villa defender last season, and I expect that to be the case this season as well. However, I expect him to be slightly more defensive than last season, given how attacking Maatsen will be on the left.
Konsa’s, easily, one of the best 4.5m defenders in the game. There’s only one problem, though: he plays for a team based in… Birmingham. Enough said.
Vitalii Mykolenko (EVE)
Forget the Ghostbusters; if you need cheap defenders, who you gonna call? Sean Dyche! Even though he’ll hang up on you with his gruff voice and oh-so-kind heart.
Everton were genuinely a difficult side to face last season (especially at Goodison), with their prowess simply undone by some poor finishing and some terrible accounting. In fact, they were sixth in the league for xGA across the season and fourth for GA.
Points deductions aside, Everton faces BHA, BOU, lei, CRY, ips, FUL, sou in the first ten gameweeks, giving them some of the best fixtures in the league. Oh, and Mykolenko finds himself in attacking positions and is usually in the running for BPS when Everton keep a clean sheet. He only picked up one yellow card last season too, so those pesky -1’s shouldn’t be a worry.
The Best 4.0 Defenders in FPL 2023-24
Okay, okay, I get it—sometimes even budget defenders can be expensive. Fie this cost of living crisis! So let’s take a look at the three best 4.0m defenders: Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Wout Faes, and Valentin Barco.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis (SOU)
Ah yes, the benchmark for cheap defenders according to Twitter/X. But there’s a good reason for it: Harwood-Bellis is nailed on, and while the sheer number of goals they conceded may not show it, Southampton were pretty alright defensively in the Championship, finishing 4th on xGA.
Harwood-Bellis had 5 G+A last season, and should also be a bonus point magnet when Southampton keep a clean sheet in Russell Martin’s possession-heavy brand of football.
The fixtures are a mixed bag, but Southampton faces NFO, bre, IPS, bou, LEI, EVE within their first ten, meaning Harwood-Bellis is a good option off the bench when you need him. All in all, he’s the best 4.0m defender in the game.
Wout Faes (LEI)
Wout Faes is a superhero. He even scored two goals for Liverpool! Granted, he wasn’t even playing for Liverpool at the time (if you know, you know), but hey, a goal’s a goal.
Even though Enzo Maresca left Leicester, Steve Cooper is more than capable of steadying the ship and building upon Leicester’s solid defence from last season (2nd for xGA). Faes scored two goals for Leicester last season, often looks like a threat from set-pieces, and had a fairly decent time representing Belgium at the EUROs, which is a testament to his ability.
I prefer Harwood-Bellis, but I wouldn’t count out Faes when it comes to cheap defenders, especially given that he’s nailed on.
Valentin Barco (BHA)
…Hear me out. Yes, Brighton doesn’t have great fixtures to start the season, but Pervis Estupiñán won’t be available at the start of the season due to a muscle tear in his calf.
Factor in the fact that Brighton’s new manager, Fabian Hürzeler, likes playing a 3-4-3 with very attacking wingbacks (a role that suits Barco to a tee), and you have a recipe for success.
Barco should also be on some set pieces and has always looked like a threat in open play. His xMins will fall once Estupiñán returns, though, so I’d only go with Barco if you’re sure of an early wildcard.
Who let the dogs out? Barko (even I cringed at that).
