Top three defenders for Gameweek 37
Gameweek 37 is the final double gameweek of the season. This is therefore the final opportunity for FPL managers to exploit the potential double game time that this could bring. We assess the top three defenders from the teams who play twice in Double Gameweek 37.
There are five teams playing twice in Gameweek 37.
The defenders from these teams having the potential to play an additional 90 minutes over the other 15 clubs in the league. As a result this could mean double the clean sheet points, double the bonus points and increased minutes for attacking potential. Who are the top three defenders for Gameweek 37 from the doubling teams?
1. Lucas Digne
Aston Villa’s Lucas Digne returned from injury in Gameweek 35. Since he has returned in back-to-back Gameweeks. Since his return from injury he has one attacking return, only Man City’s now injured Reuben Dais has more with two.
In this period Digne has created eight chances, more than any other defender.
In addition only Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold has had more touches in the final third than Digne in the last two Gameweeks.
Aston Villa face Burnley and Crystal Palace in Gameweek 37. Digne returned an assist against Burnley in Gameweek 36 and was unlucky to lose his clean sheet points in the final minute of the game. Likewise Digne also had a good record against Palace with his previous club Everton. The defender returned in four of the six fixtures he played in.
2. Mason Holgate
The Everton defender is a good budget enabler for FPL managers. Holgate has started in Everton’s last three fixtures and in that time has returned 14 points. The defender has shown some attacking threat in the last three matches and is one of 17 defenders to score in this period. He is also one of only three Everton players to have scored in this period.
He has also had more goal attempts in this period than any of the other Everton defenders.
Everton’s position in the Premier League for the new season is still not yet secured. This will likely give the Everton players increased motivation heading in to their Gameweek 37 fixtures against Brentford and Crystal Palace.
At just £4.2m Holgate is a good budget enabler, especially for managers looking to Free Hit this week.
3. Joachim Anderson
Crystal Palace sit third on the fixture ticker for Gameweek 36. The Eagles have two fixtures against Aston Villa and Everton. Anderson missed both of the reverse of these fixtures earlier on in the season. However, in the last eight Gameweeks the defender has returned 45 FPL points.
Since Gameweek 28 Anderson has kept five clean sheets, level with Joao Cancelo. Only three defenders, all from Liverpool, have kept more.
Indeed only Wilf Zaha has more attacking returns than the defender across the Palace team since Gameweek 28.
Wondering what to expect from the Gameweek 37 fixtures? Check out our recent article.