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Best FPL defenders 2026/27: Watchlist, Fixtures and Price Notes
This starts from 2025/26 evidence, then gets stricter as the summer gives us better information: confirmed club role, World Cup load, opening fixtures, and price. If a club signs a new defender or a current player leaves, the next refresh should move that player up, down, or out.
Player links open the 2025/26 evidence pages until FPL publishes stable 2026/27 player records.
Gabriel
£7.3m
208 pts
45.6% owned
Senesi
£5.2m
173 pts
21.9% owned
Guéhi
£5.1m
179 pts
32.6% owned
Virgil
£6.1m
173 pts
31.3% owned
Truffert
£4.8m
159 pts
5.3% owned
Tarkowski
£5.8m
167 pts
12.6% owned
Mukiele
£4.6m
147 pts
8.6% owned
O'Reilly
£5.3m
160 pts
19.5% owned
Saliba
£6.3m
137 pts
17.2% owned
Van Hecke
£4.7m
147 pts
10.7% owned
Lacroix
£5.2m
154 pts
7.2% owned
Matheus N.
£5.3m
154 pts
2.8% owned
Role first
Do not promote a player from watchlist to pick until starts, position, and minutes look clean.
Fixtures second
Opening run matters more for defenders and goalkeepers, but it still shapes attacker confidence.
Price last
A good player at the wrong price can break your first draft structure.