Fantasy Premier League 2016-17: Players to watch out for 2

In the second edition of this series of blogs, I'll talk about defenders. In terms of defence, the 2015-16 season was the complete opposite of what happened in 2014-15. In 2014-15, Chelsea and Southampton stood out above the rest in terms of defence, followed by Arsenal and Manchester City. Compared to that, none of the teams managed to produce clean sheets on a consistent basis throughout the last season or have a defensive performance that stood out from the rest. However, several teams did have spells when they were strong at the back. In the first half of the season, Manchester United had several clean sheets as they produced a bunch of stalemates or 1-0 wins. In the second half, Leicester racked them up as the pressure mounted on their ability to hold on to the top spot. Arsenal's strong defence gelled well with their new keeper Petr Čech and helped them keep plenty of clean sheets too.

However, the stakes are higher this season. There have been a bunch of managerial changes in the Premier League. The smaller clubs have also decided to rein in some fresh talent. Needless to say, all teams are going to start by sorting out their defence. Several clubs have made significant signings in this department but not all of them are likely to have the impact expected of them. I'm going to mention a few defender signings in this post that are most likely to have an impact, specially in the first few gameweeks of the FPL.

Defenders

Joel Matip or Ragner Klavan (Liverpool)

Ragner Klavan comes in from Augsburg

Defence has been hurting Liverpool over the past few seasons. Klopp has been swift in doing something about it. In addition to bringing in 2 goalkeepers (mentioned in previous blog), he has also brought in two new centre backs into the squad. Joel Matip comes in from Schalke on a free transfer whereas Klavan comes in for £4.2m. An addition for Moreno's position is also likely in the coming days. With Sakho nursing an injury, these two are likely to get significant minutes on the pitch too. Matip is priced at £5.5 and Klavan at £4.5. If Klopp's efforts on the training ground work out, these aren't bad prices for a defence that can possibly rack up several clean sheets and also contribute significantly up front during set pieces (Matip stands at an impressive 1.95 metres). 

While there's no doubt Klopp will be working hard on defence over the summer, the defence will be put to test in the first few weeks of Premier League. Liverpool face a tough opening draw as they face Arsenal, Leicester, Spurs and Chelsea within the first 5 weeks of premier league and 3 of them being away games. My advice would be to wait it out for the first 5 Gameweeks, gauge the performance and also see what players among the Liverpool's defensive lineup, old and new, are getting major playing time before deciding on picking one of the players. 

Luis Hernandez (Leicester City) 

One big reason why Leicester managed to clinch the title was that they did not let their weaknesses hold them back. Instead, they worked on them and kept getting better as the league progressed. In the first half of the season, it was visible that defence was their weakness. They were scoring a lot of goals but at the same time conceding as well. This was the reason why many pundits were skeptical even around Christmas break and didn't expect Leicester to hold on to the pole position for long but Leicester responded in style in the second half. Following the 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on Boxing day, Leicester responded with an undefeated run of 7 matches which included 5 clean sheets (including a 2-0 thrashing of Liverpool in Boxing day's reverse fixture). They went on to pile up 6 more clean sheets before the season ended. 

With European football also on their schedule this season, Ranieri would like to keep his defence in top form. This would require bringing reinforcements into the squad and Luis Hernandez seems to be the answer. In addition, Leicester don't have a very difficult draw at the beginning. While they face Arsenal and Liverpool in second and fourth gameweeks respectively, they start their campaign against the newly promoted Hull City and face Swansea and Burnley in third and fifth gameweeks respectively. This should give Leicester's defence the right amount of time to settle in. We'll have to wait and see if Hernandez becomes a permanent name in the first team. If he does, he is certainly a player worth keeping at £4.5. That said, it is not a bad idea to have a defender from Leicester in your squad for the first few gameweeks. Perhaps, an established name like Morgan if not the Spaniard.  

Eric Bailly (Manchester United)

A strong defence is at the heart of Mourinho's management style. It was visible during Mourinho's title winning season with Chelsea (2014-15) when they conceded only 32 goals. It is quite likely that Mourinho will lay similar stress on a strong defence at United as well. 

Eric Bailly will wear the No.3 shirt this season! #MUFC pic.twitter.com/atcVNhABX8

— Manchester United (@ManUtds_News) July 21, 2016

The Ivorian is Mourinho's first signing at United and cost the Red devils nearly £30m. Bailly spent his last season at Villareal and comes at a price of £5.5 on FPL. Considering the fact that Mourinho is in charge at Old Trafford and the fact that United don't have a very difficult draw at the start, keeping a United defender isn't a bad option. Southampton and Manchester City are the 2 difficult fixtures in the first 5 weeks but you can expect clean sheets against Bournemouth, Hull and Watford (GW 1, 3 and 5 respectively). If the defence works out the way Mourinho wants, you can expect a lot of clean sheets by keeping a United defender in your team.  

Bernardo Espinosa, Jordan McGhee and Antonio Barragan (Middlesbrough)

Espinosa becomes Middlesbrough manager Karanka's 2^nd summer signing

I mentioned it in my previous blog how Middlesbrough has been on a shopping spree this season following their promotion to the Premier League. To strengthen their back line, they bring in Espinosia and Barragan from La Liga teams Sporting Gijon and Valencia respectively and McGhee on loan from Heart of Midlothian. 

Middlesbrough has been blessed with a very easy set of fixtures for the first 4 gameweeks which would give me plenty of time to get settled into the league. They will face their first real challenge against Everton and Spurs in gameweeks 5 and 6 respectively. All the defenders from Middlesbrough come at £5 or less. This means having a defender from their ranks is a very attractive prospect for a lot of FPL managers who would be looking for low cost defenders with high probability of clean sheets in the first few gameweeks. 

Other important signings 

In addition to the ones I've mentioned above, Swansea and Watford are 2 clubs which have made significant signings in the defence department. Swansea bring in Mike Van Der Hoon from Ajax and Tyler Reid from United. However, apart from the first 2 gameweeks, they have a testing schedule from gameweeks 3 to 8. I would suggest a wait an observe approach before adding a defender from their ranks into my team. 

Similarly, Watford bring in Kabasele, Zuniga and Dja Djedje from Gent, Napoli and Marseille respectively. Watford were quite impressive last season and they would certainly like to improve this season. However, Watford have an even worse draw than Swansea. While the welsh side gets the first two weeks easy, Watford will have to step up their game right from day 1 of the Premier League. Hence, I would suggest a wait and observe approach to their signings - definitely in the defence department if not the other departments. Wait for the first five gameweeks and gauge their performance before considering one of their defenders for your FPL team.