Welcome to our Fantasy Premier League Defensive Analysis For Gameweek 36 article. NaturalFootyFan returns to pick out the clubs with the best clean sheet potential ahead of the weekend's fixtures.
Only four clubs managed to secure clean sheets in Gameweek 35. Question marks surrounded Leicester City - would they slip up without Vardy? However, their response was simple, overwhelming a poor Swansea side in a four-nil victory.
Sunderland and Arsenal fought out a goalless draw at The Stadium of Light, where Big Sam's strategy to set men behind the ball was executed well. Arsene Wenger was visually frustrated, in an overall toothless display from The Gunners.
Elsewhere, Manchester City prepared for their Champions League bout with Real Madrid, with a clean sheet and goal fest at the Etihad. Their opposition, Stoke City, were blown away and hardly got a sniff at goal in a very one-sided encounter.
Moving onto Gameweek 36, our ultimate aim of this analysis is to help you decide on your best starting XI, while pointing you in the right direction for potential defensive transfers.
Leicester took another big step towards getting their hands on the title as they brushed aside Swansea City on Sunday afternoon. It was a case of ‘No Vardy No Problem' as Ulloa stepped up to the plate to hit a brace, while Mahrez was back to his best with a confidence boosting opener.
Enough of their attacking exploits, let's talk defensively. The Foxes have now banked six clean sheets in their last seven Premier League matches - a real touch of Italian class from Ranieri!
Leicester have had no distractions (additional competitions), which has allowed them to prepare extensively on the training ground, for each and every match. We feel this extra planning time has had a pivotal impact on their recent defensive form, but is often overlooked.
Despite the table saying otherwise, Aston Villa remain the fixture during Gameweek 35. Their season is over and they have zero motivation - it might worth backing Watford in this one.
Aston Villa's fixture also features in the chart, which further cements the expectation that their contest with Watford will be low-scoring.
If Sebastian Prodl can fight off Britos for a starting role he offers a decent budget option, across all Fantasy Football websites. The Austrian scored three times in 20 Bundesliga matches last season, to add to his 19 career goals total.
While Heurelho Gomes needs one more clean sheet this season to equal his best ever tally in the English top-flight (12 for Spurs in both 2008-09 and 2009-10).
Although Arsenal have failed to meet expectations in recent months, they are the bookies clear favourite to keep a clean sheet this weekend.
This will be Arsene Wenger's 750th Premier League match in charge; only Sir Alex Ferguson (810) has managed more in the competition. He will be desperate to defuse the headlines surrounding his future, so we're expecting a strong starting XI, and a solid result.
No team in the Premier League has a lower top scorer than Norwich City this season; Redmond and Mbokani (five goals), so if Arsenal can keep this pair on a tight leash, the clean sheet is theirs for the taking.
Watford are next in rank, with a 45% chance of a shutout. The Hornets have lost just one of their previous eight league meetings against Aston Villa at Vicarage Road (W4 D3 L1), and will be looking to bounce back from their FA Cup defeat.
In Form Defences Ahead Of Gameweek 36:
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Leicester | 3 | 2 |
| Sunderland | 3 | 2 |
| Man City | 2 | 2 |
| Tottenham | 2 | 2 |
| Man United | 3 | 3 |
| Crystal Palace | 2 | 3 |
| Arsenal | 2 | 4 |
Easiest Defensive Fixture In Gameweek 36:
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEW | cry | 2 | 4 |
| bou | EVE | 2 | 4 |
| whm | WBA | 2 | 5 |
| WAT | AVL | 3 | 2 |
| avl | WAT | 3 | 3 |
| STO | sun | 3 | 6 |
| sun | STO | 3 | 7 |
Bookies Clean Sheet Odds For Gameweek 36:
The table below displays the top seven teams based on the bookies odds to keep a clean sheet in Gameweek 36. The odds have been converted into implied chance percentage:| Team | Implied Chance % |
|---|---|
| Arsenal | 55% |
| Watford | 45% |
| Man United | 40% |
| West Ham | 40% |
| Newcastle | 38% |
| Liverpool | 32% |
| Stoke | 32% |
Gameweek 36 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 36 - colour coded in terms of likelihood of starting. (Rotation Risk = RR), (Injury Doubt = INJ) & (Lack of Fitness = FIT)Form: Leicester (vs. MUN)
Schmeichel
Simpson Morgan Huth Fuchs
Fixture: Watford (vs. AVL)
Gomes
Nyom (RR) Prodl (RR) Cathcart Ake
Odds: Arsenal (vs. NOR)
Cech
Bellerin Mertesacker (RR) Koscielny Monreal
Bonus: Everton (vs. BOU)
Robles Oviedo Stones Besic Baines
