Everton FPL: Who To Own, Captain And Avoid

Everton: the value's all at the back — and it usually is

The answer first: yes, Everton are worth buying into over the next six — but only through the defence. Our model has them as the seventh-meanest back line in the league with a kind run of fixtures for clean sheets, while the attack ranks a grim 16th of 20 and faces a tough slate. Buy the clean sheet, not the goals.

Start with Tarkowski. He tops our list for a reason: nailed, never rotated, and the sort of defender who adds value even when the clean sheet goes — he throws himself at everything, so the bonus and defensive-contribution points keep ticking. About 1 in 10 managers own him; that should be higher. Pickford is the same bet a rung cheaper, and goalkeepers who play every single minute behind a top-seven defence are exactly what a budget is for.

The sneaky one is Branthwaite. Hardly anyone owns him — fewer than 1 in 40 — and he's the same clean sheet as Tarkowski at a cheaper price. If the £6.2m is funding something bigger elsewhere, he's the honest substitute.

Now the romance check. Dewsbury-Hall and Barry sit next on the list, and Barry's on penalties, which matters at his price. But this is the league's 16th-ranked attack heading into Chelsea at home, Arsenal and Newcastle away. A striker on pens in a side that doesn't create much is a lottery ticket, not a plan. Garner takes the free kicks and shares corners, but he's only started four of five — and a set-piece taker who might not start is a bench headache you don't need.

One word of caution on the defensive run itself: it's favourable overall, but Stamford Bridge, the Emirates and St James' Park sit in the middle of it. The clean sheets are most likely to land at Hull, home to Coventry, and at Brentford. Price that in — this is a steady 4-5 points most weeks with the odd 8-9, not a weekly haul.

Maitland-Niles at £4.5m? Two starts in five. That's not an enabler, that's a hope. Skip it.

The call: buy Tarkowski if the budget stretches, Branthwaite if it doesn't, and Pickford if you need a keeper who never misses a minute. Leave the Everton attack to someone with more imagination and fewer points.