Welcome to our Fantasy Premier League Defensive Analysis For Gameweek 35 article. NaturalFootyFan is back to highlight the clubs with the best clean sheet potential ahead of the weekend's fixtures.
Following the double-gameweek madness, in which Klopp decided to burn wildcard users by rotating his whole defence and goalkeeper in Liverpool's first of two matches, we now must brace ourselves for the blank gameweek 35.
With the standard 10 fixtures reduced to seven, and Crystal Palace, Everton, Manchester United, Norwich, West Ham and Watford all sitting this one out, we are left with the task of picking out the top four teams who are most likely to keep it clean!
The ultimate aim of this analysis is to help you decide on your best starting XI for Gameweek 35, while pointing you in the right direction for potential defensive transfers.
It's no surprise that Tottenham lead the way in terms of defensive form. They are extremely well drilled and have, without doubt, the strongest backline in the Premier League. The return of vice-captain Jan Vertonghen has further bolstered their chances of securing their third clean sheet in succession.
Despite conceding for the first time in six matches, Leicester continue to flirt near the top of our form chart. West Ham managed to break through the Foxes stubborn defence on Sunday - this will be treated as a lesson, and we expect Ranieri to stabilise things once again in Gameweek 35.
Man City complete the top three following their decisive 3-nil victory over Chelsea, and frustrating low-scoring draw away to Newcastle. Like Vertonghen for Tottenham, Man City will be aided by the re-emergence of club captain and leader Vincent Kompany.
Searching for Aston Villa's ‘goals scored' and ‘big chances created' statistics has become the routine task to find the easiest defensive fixture. Villa have been absolutely dire this season, and the fact they've have only managed to conjure up two goals, while conceding 17 in their last five matches at Villa Park highlights their deficiencies.
The lucky club facing them in Gameweek 35 is Southampton. Ronald Koeman will be smirking with delight, and hoping to orchestrate his side's eighth clean sheet on the road this season. Their opposition have failed to score in five of their last six Premier League matches.
A club with a sneaky chance of a clean sheet this weekend, but have crept under the radar is Chelsea. They've been very solid on their travels under Hiddink, conceding just three goals in eight Premier League away matches, and travel to Dean Court in a match where both sides don't have much to play for. Bournemouth seemed to have reached safety on 41 points, while Chelsea sit in 10th place, and out of reach of Champions League places.
Tottenham are the clear bookies favourites to secure a clean sheet this weekend, with a 64% implied chance of a shut-out. This is the first time a club has topped two of our charts in a single gameweek, which goes to show what a cohesive unit Pochettino has constructed.
With United hot on their heels for a Champions League slot, the bookies feel that there's a slight chance that Man City's focus could switch from scoring goals to not-conceding them. However, this is not Pellegrini's style, so approach their backline with care.
Southampton are equal to Man City in clean sheet probability, according to the bookies. We have already mentioned their attractive fixture, and with man-mountains Virgil Van Dijk and Fraser Forster making up the spine of the defence, they've always got a reasonable chance of a clean sheet.
In Form Defences Ahead Of Gameweek 35:
First off let's take a look at recent form. The following table displays the top seven defences based on their number of clean sheets and average goals conceded in their last four Premier League matches:| Team | Clean Sheets | Goals Conceded |
|---|---|---|
| Tottenham | 3 | 1 |
| Leicester | 3 | 2 |
| Man City | 2 | 2 |
| Sunderland | 2 | 3 |
| Liverpool | 1 | 3 |
| Arsenal | 2 | 4 |
| Swansea | 2 | 5 |
Easiest Defensive Fixture In Gameweek 35:
The table below displays the top seven defences based on opposition goals scored and big chances created. Capital letters are used for home teams and lowercase for away teams. The data is taken from the last four Premier League matches:| Team | Vs. | Goals Scored | Big Chances |
|---|---|---|---|
| sou | AVL | 1 | 3 |
| TOT | wba | 1 | 6 |
| che | BOU | 3 | 3 |
| ars | SUN | 4 | 3 |
| LEI | swa | 4 | 5 |
| MCI | sto | 5 | 8 |
| BOU | che | 6 | 3 |
Bookies Clean Sheet Odds For Gameweek 35:
The table below displays the top seven teams based on the bookies odds to keep a clean sheet in Gameweek 35. The odds have been converted into implied chance percentage:| Team | Implied Chance % |
|---|---|
| Tottenham | 64% |
| Man City | 54% |
| Southampton | 54% |
| Leicester | 45% |
| Arsenal | 40% |
| Liverpool | 40% |
| Chelsea | 32% |
Gameweek 35 Clean Sheet Verdict:
Based on our analysis and research methods we now have our top two recommendations based on form, fixture and odds. We have also thrown in a bonus, which is generally a side ranked high across all of our charts. Here is our verdict and predicted backlines for Gameweek 35 - colour coded in terms of likelihood of starting. (Rotation Risk = RR), (Injury Doubt = INJ) & (Lack of Fitness = FIT)Form & Odds: Tottenham (vs. WBA)
Lloris
Walker Alderweireld Vertonghen Rose
Dier
Fixture: Southampton (vs. AVL)
Forster
Martina (RR) Fonte Van Dijk Bertrand
Bonus: Leicester vs. (SWA)
Schmeichel
Simpson Morgan Huth Fuchs
