As the new season approaches, NaturalFootyFan has outlined the club's with the best overall clean sheet potential ahead of the 2016/17 Premier League campaign.
The majority of defensively orientated articles concentrate on the opening fixtures backed up with defensive team and player statistics from last season. In our opinion, although these are useful areas to look into, they are flawed in many ways.
Just take Everton for example. With Roberto Martinez at the helm last season they were defensively unstable leading to poor statistics on the most part… can you really trust this sort of information with Ronald Koeman taking charge ahead of the new season?
Taking this into account, we have ranked the top five FPL defences. Not by fixture difficulty or statistical history, but instead on the current manager, the current players and the current set-up - in simple terms, their potential based in the here and now.
1) Man United
Mourinho's appointment is a massive stepping stone towards defensive solidarity for United. The Portuguese manager has had the best games to clean sheet ratio in England's top flight for some time, trumping the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Carlo Ancelotti and Rafa Benitez.
Single-goal victories are a specialty of Mourinho sides, and if The Reds manage to take the lead in a match, no matter the opposition, they'll be odds-on for a clean sheet. The fact Jose hooked Juan Mata (who was first introduced as a 62 minute substitute) in the dying moments of the Community Shield, goes to show the serious and often controversial measures he is willing to take to kill a match.
Although the likely back-four haven't played together consistently, Eric Bailly (5.5m) has settled in superbly and looks a bonus-points magnet with his rounded skillset, whereas Antonio Valencia (5.5m) has shown a new lease of life with a handful of encouraging pre-season performances - grabbing four assists over United's last two friendlies
2) Tottenham
Spurs start the season as the defence to beat, having kept 13 clean sheets and conceding just 35 goals, alongside Man United in the 2015/16 season.
It's a familiar backline, bolstered further with Vertonghen return from injury and Mauricio Pochettino will be confident of squeezing the very best out of his players with a full season under his belt.
As we mentioned Spurs were impressive in defence last season, which in turn increases their player's value. Last seasons second highest scoring defender Toby Alderweireld (6.5m) has been bumped up in price, but remains a serious aerial threat. Elsewhere, marauding full-backs Danny Rose (6.0m) and Kyle Walker (5.5m) have been stamped with different price tags - the latter is more budget friendly and will have a higher ownership.
Tottenham secured clean sheets versus Everton, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man United and Southampton last season, so it's safe to say that their backline is practically fixture-proof.
3) Man City
When Pep Guardiola is given the reins at a club, increased possession is almost inevitable… and more possession means less time on the ball for the opposition to create chances. John Stones (5m) arrival will further aid this strategy, at a very affordable price in FPL.
Vincent Kompany's continuous rehab opens the door for the Englishman to slot straight into the back-four, but question marks surround his partnering centre-half with Nicolas Otamendi (6m) flagged at 75% with a mysterious ‘knock'.
However, if the ex-Valencia defender manages to shake off this injury in time for City's opening encounter versus Sunderland, then he's our first choice despite the expense. Otamendi scored six times in the the 2014/15 La Liga season and should pick up bonus-points with ease.
4) Everton
Ronald Koeman played a fundamental role in tightening up the Southampton defence last season and is likely to do the same with Everton, especially with mr consistent and FPL bonus-points magnet Ashley Williams (5m) making his way to Goodison Park.
The other players making up the backline are likely to be Ramiro Funes-Mori (5m), Leighton Baines (5.5m) and Seamus Coleman (5.5m).
All are worth considering; Mori is a continuous danger inside the opposition's penalty area with four goals last season, while Baines and Coleman like to bomb forward on the flanks. Baines' potential slightly outweighs that of Coleman's since he's a designated set-piece taker and possibly on penalty duty.
5) Chelsea
Desperate to put last seasons disappointment behind them, Chelsea will be out to prove doubters wrong with a new manager and new system. Despite their aging backline looking shaky in pre-season, Antonio Conte is definitely capable of steadying the ship.
While in charge of both Juventus and Italy, his player's learnt to defend like machines. This development will be his aim for Chelsea, but don't expect them to be running totally smooth during the early stages.
For Chelsea coverage, your best bet is goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (5.5m). The towering Belgian is one of the best keepers in the world and will play week-in, week-out this season. Cesar Azpilicueta (6m) offers assist potential, while John Terry (5.5m) might chip in with some important goals, but there's better options in their respective price-brackets.
