FPL Budget Picks: The Best DEF Under £6.5
The call — Budget Defenders Under £6.5m: Who's Actually Worth Your Money Marcus Guéhi at Manchester City for £6.0m is the sharpest number in the whole budget-defender bracket right now. A proven starter in the league's meanest defence, a kind run of fixtures starting with Coventry at the Etihad, and only about 2 in 10 managers have got there. Our model has him…
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We sifted 91 defenders at £6.5m or under. Here's the shortlist, in our order of preference — and yes, the order matters:
- Guéhi (MCI, £6.0m) — starts every week, favourable fixtures, COV (H) next. The pick.
- De Cuyper (BHA, £4.7m) — nailed, a very kind run, Leeds at home next. At that price he's daylight robbery, ~1 in 10 own him.
- Hall (NEW, £5.0m) — starter, lovely fixtures, BOU (H) next. Under 1 in 10 own him. Genuinely underpriced.
- Gvardiol (MCI, £5.6m) — starts, same easy City run, but our model prefers Guéhi in that defence. Don't pay less for the lesser slot.
- Calafiori (ARS, £5.6m) — over 4 in 10 own him, and he's projected well behind the names above with Chelsea up first. The template pick that's quietly gone stale.
- Tarkowski (EVE, £6.0m) — starts, average fixtures, MUN (H) next. Fine, not exciting.
- O'Reilly (MCI, £6.5m) — the dearest City route to the same clean sheets. Pay £6.0m for Guéhi instead.
- Egan (HUL, £4.0m) — expected starter, but unproven at this level. If you need a £4.0m body who plays, he's the one.
- Davis (IPS, £4.0m) — starts, but Liverpool first and a brutal run behind it. Bench fodder only.
- Lacroix (CHE, £6.0m) — starter, Arsenal away next. Pass at the price.
- Ballard (SUN, £5.0m) & Kayode (BRE, £4.6m) — both start, both have decent fixtures, both fine fifth-defender material.
The honest caveats: City rotate everyone eventually, and De Cuyper's Brighton concede more than City ever will. But every name near the top of this list actually plays, which at budget prices is the whole game.
The call: buy Guéhi if you can find £6.0m — he's the best defender money buys in this bracket. If you can't, De Cuyper at £4.7m is the best-value defender in the game right now. Get one of them in before everyone else notices.