FPL 2021/22 Tips: The Best FPL Budget Defenders

Looking for the best FPL budget defenders for the new season? Look no further. You have come to the right place.

In this piece, I will be analysing defenders in the £4.0 – £4.5 price range. Also, I will talk about rotating the budget defenders and the likelihood of them keeping clean sheets in the first 7 game weeks of the season.

Before we dive into the article, here are 10 common mistakes you should avoid as an FPL manager.

Who are the best FPL budget defender?

The best FPL budget defenders are those players that guarantee game time and clean sheets. They also give attacking returns without costing a lot of your FPL money.

We can all agree a good FPL defender is one that plays out of position, gets good game time and gives attacking returns.

We all remember Dallas of Leeds last season and Lundstram of Sheffield United the season before last.

Anyways, you are in luck because, in the list below, I will be naming defenders that have a good budget and also give good attacking returns.

#1 Tariq Lamptey/Joel Veltman – Brighton & Hove Albion

• Price: £4.5

The two Brighton players had two contrasting seasons. Tariq Lamptey started the season brightly playing 11 games. In that period, he racked up one goal, three assists and one clean sheet. He also created 10 chances, 2 big chances, had 6 shots inside the box and also had 1 big chance.

On the other hand, Joel Veltman became FPL managers favourite toward the latter end of the season. Also, with Ben White completing a move to Arsenal and Lamptey likely to miss the start of the season, he seems like the safest option of the two.

In his 25 starts last season, Joel Veltman created 22 chances and 2 big chances. He managed 14 shots, 11 shots in the box and had 2 big chances.

The Seagulls last season had one of the best defensive stats in the league. They managed to keep 12 clean sheets (5th in the league) and conceded 46 goals (7th in the league). Keeping most of their core defenders, there is every chance Brighton will do better than last season. Making their defenders feel underpriced going into the new FPL season.

Graham Potter’s team starts the season with relatively kinder and more favourable fixtures. They will only face Arsenal in the first 8 game weeks of the season. They play Burnley(A), Watford(H), Everton(H), Brentford(A), Leicester(H), Crystal Palace(A), Arsenal(H), Norwich(A). Which makes their two defenders mentioned here one of the best FPL budget defenders.

#2 Wesley Fofana – Leicester City

• Price: £4.5

The is one of the surprises of the new season. After his performances last season and the fact he plays for a top 7 side, I wasn’t expecting to see Fofana’s price at £4.5.

The 20-year-old French international couldn’t have asked for a better debut season. He was a key player in the Leicester City side that kept 11 clean sheets (6th in the league).

Wesley Fofana in his 27 starts, created 6 chances and managed 11 shots. This is a low attacking return but given Leicester City relatively easy run of games, clean sheet points are very likely. Aside from the Manchester City and Manchester United games, they play Westham(A), Norwich(A), Brighton(A), Burnley(H), Crystal Palace(A).

#3 Charlie Taylor – Burnley

• Price: £4.5

Last season, Burnley performed below their own standard as a defensive unit. Unlike the 2019/20 season where they kept 15 clean sheets (2nd in the league), they only managed 11 clean sheets(14th in the league) last term.

This season though, I think Burnley will be a stronger unit defensively. This is why Charlie Taylor has made it into the list as one of the best FPL budget defenders.

Charlie Taylor missed some games last season due to injury but if fit, he starts for the Clarets. He kept 8 clean sheets and registered 2 assists last season. Though he doesn’t guarantee enough attacking returns (He recorded just 4 assists across 3 seasons) but guarantees clean sheet points. He also ranks well on the BPS metric.

Although the Clarets opening fixtures for the season are not the best, however, there are some really good ones in there. Games against Brighton(H), Leed(H) and Norwich(H) make Charlie Taylor a good budget rotating defender for the fantasy premier league this season.

#4 Luke Ayling – Leeds United

• Price: £4.5

After a 16-year absence from the English Premier League, Leeds United came back with a bang!. They were easily the most impressive team in the league last season winning the hearts of viewers with their super exciting and entertaining football.

The Marcelo Bielsa led side finished the season 9th on the log. They conceded 54 goals(15th in the league) but that can be blamed on the defensive injuries they suffered early in the season. They became more solid towards the end of the season conceding the least goals at home in the league in the last 12 games.

With all but one of their defenders priced at £4.5, Luke Ayling stands out of the bunch attacking wise. He created 27 chances and 5 big chances while also managing to have 24 shots, 14 shots in the box and 6 shots on target. It is a shock Luke Ayling didn’t have any attacking return but is likely to change this season.

On top of that, Leeds United have a nice opening set of games. They play Everton (H), Burnley (A), Newcastle United (A), West Ham United (H), Watford (H) and Southampton (A) in the opening 8 GWs.

#5 Conor Coady – Wolverhampton Wanderers

• Price: £4.5

An ever-present for Wolves, Conor Coady comes at a budget FPL price of £4.5 and that is looking like a bargain already. He scored once last season and kept 10 clean sheets.

Wolves underperformed by their standard last term. They conceded 52 goals (8th in the league) and kept 10 clean sheets (15th in the league). However, I expect great things from them defensively and attacking wise even with the change of manager.

The opening three games are pretty difficult but after they have very nice fixtures. Between GW4-9, they play Watford (A), Brentford(H), Southampton(A), Newcastle(H), Aston Villa(A), Leeds(A). This should make their defenders good rotation options.

Best £4.5 defenders worth mentioning

This is an honourable mention to those who narrowly missed out on my best FPL budget defenders. I omitted some because of the uncertainty around them starting. Others because they are new to the league and relatively unknown. This doesn’t mean they can be a bargain for you.

• Rob Holding – Arsenal
• Ben White – Arsenal
• Lowton – Burnley
• Ait Nouri – Wolves
• Aarons – Norwich
• Danny Rose – Watford
• Francisco Sierralta – Watford
• Rico Henry – Brentford

Best £4.0 FPL budget defenders

From the 17 £4.0 defenders available in the fantasy premier league so far, there doesn’t seem to be any viable option among them.

Manquillo of Newcastle, Kelly of Crystal Palace and Bardsley of Burnley seem like the ones likely to get some game time through the course of the season.

Unlike previous seasons where we had Aaron Wan Bisaka, John Lundstram and more recently, Tyrick Mitchel priced at £4.0, it appears this season that area is a no-go zone.

Best Rotating Pairs FPL budget Defenders

In this section, I will be discussing the best rotating pairs defenders you should consider starting the season with. If things go right, this could guarantee some clean sheet points from GW 1-9.

How does this work?

You need to own defenders from 2 different teams that have alternating relatively easy fixtures. After listening to pods and watching youtube videos, I came up with the best rotating pairs defenders.

These defenders are budget-friendly and they have good fixtures that can guarantee points.

# Aston Villa and Wolves

• Watford vs Aston Villa
• Aston Villa vs Newcastle
• Villa vs Brentford
• Watford vs Wolves
• Wolves vs Brentford
• Southampton vs Wolves
• Wolves vs Newcastle
• Villa vs Wolves

The fixtures above is a blend of Aston Villa and Wolves fixtures for the first 8 GWs of the season. Owning a defender from each of those teams means you can avoid playing against the big side until GW9 at least.

The defenders I will advise using as your rotation pairs from these teams are;

Wolves – Conor Coady or Ait Nouri (Registered as a defender but has played as left midfield in pre-season under the new manager). Both players are priced at £4.5.

Aston Villa – Matt Targett (7th best defender in the FPL rankings last season. He is also an ever-present for Villa). He registered 4 assists and kept 16 clean sheets last term. Priced at £5.0

# Brighton and Leeds

• Burnley vs Brighton
• Brighton vs Watford
• Burnley vs Leeds
• Brentford vs Brighton
• Newcastle vs Leeds
• Crystal Palace vs Brighton
• Leeds vs Watford
• Norwich vs Brighton

Going by their first 8 Gws, I will be picking Luke Ayling and Joel Veltman as your budget rotating pairs for these two teams. If u have the extra £0.5, you can consider Lewis Dunk for his threat from set-pieces.

Other teams, you can consider for rotating pairs defenders are Watford and Burnley. The blend of their fixtures makes them a very good candidate to pick a budget defender from for the GW 1.

Conclusion

With these rotating pairs of defenders and the best FPL budget defenders, you should be able to add a premium defender to your team. Also, picking the right players can help banish those early wildcard thoughts.

On a personal, I don’t like spending much on defenders but I will likely settle for 2 premium defenders and 3 budget defenders for the start of the season.

Let me know what you think in the comment section.