FPL 2025/26 Big at the Back Draft
Building a team packed with premium defenders is back on the radar for Fantasy managers this season. In this article, we reveal our FPL 2025/26 Big at the Back Draft – a defensive-heavy setup targeting clean sheets, bonus points, and attacking returns from the backline.
With options from top clubs seemingly offering more potential, this strategy could offer a strong start to Gameweek 1.
Big at the Back Draft
Brighton rank among the top six sides on the Fantasy Football Scout Fixture Ticker until Gameweek 13 (when many will look to activate the Wildcard chip). With that in mind and taking into account his price-point Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m) could be a great pick.
It’s not yet clear if former Newcastle man Karl Darlow will take over as number one between the sticks for Leeds. But, with his £4m price-tag, he could help enable funds elsewhere.
No side conceded less goals, less shots on target and less big chances last season. So, backing the Arsenal defence makes sense. For now, based on his pre-season gametime, William Saliba (£6m) fills that role. This is at least until the more attacking Gabriel (£6m) returns into the fold.
Our big at the back theme continues with Liverpool. Arne Slot and his men collected a league leading 14 clean sheets during the 2024/25 campaign. The safest route is arguably Virgil Van Dijk (£6m). The Dutch centre-back ranked among the top 10 in his position for defensive contributions last time out. He also has goal threat from set-plays.
Van Dijk could be a great placeholder for attacking full-backs Jeremie Frimpong (£6m) and Milos Kerkez (£6m). Both need to display strong pre-seasons in regards to minutes and output to be worth of consideration.
Chelsea have excellent fixtures to start the season. Finding a reliable asset at the Blues could be tricky. But, one player who offers security of minutes is Marc Cucurella (£6m). As well as ranking second among his defensive teammates for defensive contributions last season, the Spaniard scored five goals and created one assist.
Only one defender managed more defensive contributions than Everton’ James Tarkowski (£5.5m) last season. The Toffees rank fourth on the fixture ticker from Gameweek 1-13 and they head into it after ranking among the top six teams in the league for total clean sheets last time out.
Completing the defence is £4m defender Maxime Esteve of Burnley. Esteve was vital for the record-breaking Burnley defence last season, so can be called upon if needed.
Still looking for a good team name? Check out our 100+ Funny Premier League Fantasy team names for ideas!
Going big at the back hasn’t taken much away from the attack. Heavy hitters Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) of Liverpool and Cole Palmer (£10.5m) of Chelsea are shoo-ins.
There are plenty of great cheap midfield options to choose from for the 2025/26 campaign, including Everton penalty taker Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m) who was one of the best in the league last season for big chances to goal conversion rate, and Sunderland set-piece taker Enzo Le Fee (£5m).
Aston Villa’ fixtures are too good to ignore. One of the safest and most effective routes into the attack in terms of gametime and attacking threat is Morgan Rogers (£7m).
Brighton’ good schedule and the departure of Joao Pedro to Chelsea makes Danny Welbeck (£6.5m) a great option at his price. Talking of Joao Pedro (£7.5m), he also makes the cut. The Brazilian was excellent in his first matches for Chelsea so looks set to lead the line.
Completing the attack is Wolves man Strand Larsen (£6.5m). Main man and penalty taker Matheus Cunha recently left for Manchester United, which could leave room for Larsen to become the main man in attack.
1 Response