Everton FPL: Who To Own, Captain And Avoid

The fixture list tells the same story twice. Hull away, Coventry at home, trips to Brentford — that's a kind run for clean sheets, and our projections rate it as a genuinely favourable stretch for shutouts even with Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle wedged in the middle. For the attack, though, it's a tough slog, and a side ranked 16th for goals doesn't suddenly start hauling against that lot.

So the route in is the back line, and the table above gives you three doors. Tarkowski is the model's top pick — nailed, started everything, and the attacking-defender bonus potential a centre-back of his type carries. Nearly 2 in 10 managers already have him, so he's no secret, but at £6.2m he's priced for what he reliably does, not what he might do. That's my kind of player. Branthwaite is the quiet one: same defence, same clean sheets, £5.5m, and hardly anyone owns him — maybe 1 in 50. If you need the £0.7m elsewhere, he buys you almost all of the same thing. Pickford does the goalkeeper version of the same job at £5.5m if your keeper slot needs sorting.

What about the shiny end? Barry's on penalties and starts every week, and Dewsbury-Hall is the model's preferred midfield route — but both are projected a chunk below the defenders despite the attack facing the harder run. Garner takes every set piece going and costs £6.0m, which is a lot of money for a player whose returns depend on someone else's head. I'd leave the Everton attack alone until the fixtures turn.

One caveat: that clean-sheet outlook has to survive Stamford Bridge, the Emirates and St James' Park back-to-back-to-back. If you're buying for those three weeks specifically, temper expectations — the value is in the Hull, Coventry and Brentford games either side.

The call: buy into the Everton defence — Tarkowski if the budget's there, Branthwaite if it isn't — and don't spend a penny on the attack.