FPL Budget Picks: The Best DEF Under £6.5

Budget Defenders Under £6.5m: Who Actually Plays?

De Cuyper at £4.8m is projected for 39 points over the next six gameweeks. That's the sharpest number in the whole bracket — a near-premium return from a price that leaves change for your midfield. He starts, he's proven, Brighton's run is kind, and only about 2 in 10 managers have caught on. Arsenal at home first up isn't pretty, but look past it and the road clears.

Here's the rest of the bracket, in the order we rate them — and that order matters:

Hall (NEW, £5.2m) — starts, lovely fixtures beginning with Hull at home, good for 33 points over six. Only ~1 in 10 own him. The best alternative if you're covered on Brighton.

Guéhi (MCI, £6.0m) — nailed at City, Sunderland (H) next, a very kind run. Solid, unspectacular, does the job.

Tarkowski (EVE, £6.0m) — starts every week, but the fixtures are only average and he costs the same as Guéhi. Ipswich at home is nice; the run after is less so.

Muharemović (LEE, £5.0m) — hardly anyone has him (fewer than 1 in 20), kind fixtures, Palace at home first. Unproven at this level, though — that's the whole caveat.

Van Hecke (TOT, £4.9m) — starts, favourable run, Villa at home. Quietly decent at the price.

Gvardiol (MCI, £5.6m) — same fixtures as Guéhi, cheaper, but the model prefers his teammate. Respect that.

Ajayi (HUL, £4.2m) and Egan (HUL, £4.1m) — both start, both unproven, average fixtures, Newcastle away first. Bench-fodder that actually plays, which is the only qualification that matters at £4.2m.

Davis (IPS, £4.0m) — the cheapest starter here, but a tough run starting at Everton. Fifth-defender money, nothing more.

Vuskovic (BHA, £5.0m) — starts for Brighton with the same lovely fixtures as De Cuyper, owned by almost nobody. But if you want a Brighton defender, buy the better one.

Everyone on this list is an expected starter — that's the filter, because a cheap defender who sits on 60 minutes of nothing is dead money. Eighty-three defenders qualified for this bracket; these twelve play.

The call: De Cuyper is the buy. £4.8m for the biggest points haul in the bracket is the kind of value that funds a premium elsewhere. If two in 10 ownership feels too crowded already, or you've got Brighton cover, Hall at £5.2m is the alternative. Everything else is squad-filling — useful, but don't pretend otherwise.