Best Defenders in FPL 2025/26

By initially securing the best long-term defenders, your 2025/26 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) fortunes could look very good.

This guide picks out the individuals that have the perfect mix of form, clean sheet potential and attacking threat.

READ MORE: Best Goalkeepers in FPL 2025/26

Murillo (£5.5m)

A resolute defence almost took Nottingham Forest to the Champions League, securing 13 clean sheets in their first 30 matches. So when FPL managers saw that the Tricky Trees are facing Brentford, West Ham, Burnley and Sunderland by Gameweek 6, owning one of them quickly became essential.

But which one? Neco Williams (£5.0m) is cheap and a regular shooter. Had FPL’s new defensive contribution (DefCon) points been around, five-goal Nikola Milenkovic (£5.5m) would have been the highest-scoring defender.

Yet Murillo seems to be the community’s favourite. An average of 10.69 DefCon actions per 90 meant he reached the threshold for two extra points in 52.8% of his starts.

Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m)

Elsewhere, Sunday’s Community Shield brought mixed fortunes for Liverpool defenders. Van Dijk was at fault for both Crystal Palace goals, while exciting new full-back Jeremie Frimpong (£6.0m) scored one himself.

The latter currently has higher ownership but van Dijk is captain of a team that kept the most clean sheets (14) last time. His 22 hypothetical DefCon points meant he’d have been the third-best defender.

As well as that, the 34-year-old averages three goals over each of his previous seven seasons. He just seems safe and reliable in this early period of FPL uncertainty.

Everything you need for the Gameweek is in our Essential Guide!

James Tarkowski (£5.5m)

Yet the most frequent DefCon success would have been Tarkowski. Nobody accumulated more than his 44 points, gathered from 66.67% of league starts.

10.97 actions per 90 makes him a monster for this new rule, explaining the price rise. Everton’s initial trips to Leeds and Wolves look promising too.

Ezri Konsa (£4.5m)

Next up is a centre-back not known for his goals. Someone who only once would have reached the DefCon threshold.

But Aston Villa’s Konsa is cheap and has superb early fixtures that rotate well with other popular picks. As of now, 23.8% have him against Sunderland, Burnley, Fulham, Brentford and Everton between now and Gameweek 7.

Micky van de Ven (£4.5m)

Owning a Spurs defender for their opener at home to the Clarets would be brilliant. Pedro Porro (£5.5m) is attack-minded and likely about to take even more set-pieces but, as each saved million is crucial, van de Ven could provide great coverage.

The Dutchman is a riskier pick, considering hamstring and thigh problems restricted him to only 12 league starts in 2024/25. Hopefully new head coach Thomas Frank can give out a few clues with Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup team selection.