Ipswich Town FPL: Who To Own, Captain And Avoid

Ipswich: the value is real — just don't confuse it with clean sheets

Four £4.0m defenders, all nailed, all starting every week. That's the headline from Portman Road, and it's the kind of thing that gets my attention faster than any shiny mid-priced winger ever will. A defender who costs nothing and never misses a game is the quiet engine of a good FPL squad — he's what pays for the Haaland at the other end.

But let's be honest about what you're buying. Our model has Ipswich as the third-leakiest defence in the league, and the run — Everton away, Man City away, Bournemouth at home — is about as unkind a clean-sheet schedule as you'll find. So nobody's buying these lads for shutouts. You're buying appearance points, the odd bonus, and the fact that Davis — top of our list — also stands over free kicks, which gives a £4.0m man a route to something more than the standard two. Just about nobody owns him (fewer than 1 in 10), he starts every week, and he's projected to out-score plenty of defenders a full million dearer. That's the definition of a bench that funds your front end.

One word of caution on Diop: he's the most-owned of the four (about 1 in 10 have him), but our model ranks him below both Davis and O'Shea. If you're picking one, pick from the top of the list, not the template.

Going forward, it's a middling attack facing a tough run, so temper expectations — but Emersonn at £5.5m is the interesting one. Nailed, on penalties, hardly anyone owns him (about 1 in 5 of 10 — call it 2 in 100... fine, roughly nobody), and projected to match Davis over the six. Fulham, Forest and Bournemouth at home give him enough to work with. He won't haul weekly, but a cheap forward on pens who starts is a rare thing.

The call: buy Davis as your £4.0m enabler — set-piece duties, guaranteed minutes, done. Take Emersonn only if your third forward slot is currently occupied by someone who doesn't play. Skip Scherpen and don't chase Ipswich clean sheets; that's not what this squad is for. Davis in, money spent up top. That's the whole trick.