Arsenal defender William Saliba (£6.2m) is set for a spell on the sidelines after Mikel Arteta confirmed that he has a muscular issue.
The Frenchman missed his side’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa in Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 22 and their 3-0 midweek Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb, and although we don’t fully know the extent of the injury, it doesn’t look like his return is imminent.
With Arteta stating that he ‘hopes’ Saliba will be fit for Arsenal’s game against Manchester City in Gameweek 24, FPL managers who own the centre-back might want to consider looking at replacements.
Here, we will go through the best potential replacements for Saliba across all price points. If you have double Arsenal defence and are looking to get rid of one of them, these options might also interest you.
Liverpool defenders
The obvious alternatives to Saliba are Liverpool defenders due to their double gameweek in 24. My top pick would be Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.3m) if you can afford him.
He has one goal and five assists this season, and Gameweek 23 is a great time to bring him in ahead of a home game against Ipswich Town. This is a fixture in which he can get both attacking and defensive returns. He has by far the highest xA (expected assists; 5.71) total among defenders.
If you can’t stretch to him however, then Virgil van Dijk (£6.4m) and Ibrahima Konate (£5.1m) are more than viable alternatives. They are cheaper and probably more nailed to start too, although they don’t have the upside that Alexander-Arnold possesses.
Van Dijk has registered 83 FPL points so far this season (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Van Dijk does provide the extra security of starts over Konate but the price difference means there isn’t much between them. Although Konate is a first-choice pick for Arne Slot, he has only just recently returned from a knee injury. However, he was rested for Liverpool’s Champions League win over Lille on Tuesday.
I wouldn’t consider Andy Robertson (£5.9m) since Konstantinos Tsimikas (£4.6m) is direct competition for him and started Liverpool’s last Premier League game against Brentford.
Lewis Hall (£5.1m), Newcastle United
Lewis Hall has been superb value this season. He has started every game since Gameweek 6 and has picked up five assists too. He ranks third overall for xA (3.29) among defenders.
Newcastle still have promising fixtures on the horizon. During the next eight, they play Southampton (A), Fulham (H), Nottingham Forest (H), West Ham (A), Crystal Palace (H) and Brentford (H).
They do have fixtures against Manchester City (A) and Liverpool (A) in that period also, so make sure to have a defender you can play instead during those two games.
Despite their 4-1 loss at Bournemouth last week, Eddie Howe’s team had been in a rich vein of form, with six wins on the bounce before the last gameweek. They have also kept five clean sheets in the last seven and have conceded the fourth-least goals (26) with an xGC (expected goals conceded) of 27.1 (sixth-best) over the season.
Not only are they solid defensively but Hall provides attacking returns too.
Daniel Munoz (£4.8m), Crystal Palace
Daniel Munoz is one of the most attacking defenders in the league. He has two goals and two assists, and has the highest xG (expected goals; 3.35) among defenders this season.
He has been quite unfortunate not to pick up attacking returns in the last few games but Palace have kept two clean sheets in their last two.
They are also unbeaten in the last five, keeping three clean sheets in total during that period. Looking ahead, their fixtures are still good for a while yet.
They play Brentford (H), Manchester United (A), Everton (H), Fulham (A), Aston Villa (H) and Ipswich Town (H) in the next six, so have appealing immediate fixtures and ones where Munoz can profit at both ends of the pitch.
Palace’s Munoz is an attack-minded defender (Warren Little/Getty Images)
He is brilliant value at £4.8m and the savings from Saliba can bolster other areas of your team.
Oliver Glasner’s team have kept six clean sheets so far and have conceded 28 goals (sixth-best) with an xGC of 30.1 (ninth-best).
They are a decent mid-table side when it comes to defence and the goal threat of Munoz makes him a worthy acquisition.
Milos Kerkez (£4.8m), Bournemouth
Bournemouth have been one of the Premier League’s surprise packages this term. They sit seventh in the league, having conceded only 26 goals (fourth-least) with an xGC of 27.8 (seventh).
They are a strong defensive side and Andoni Iraola has done wonders since his arrival. Kerkez has also been worthwhile value and has gone under the radar somewhat, with an ownership of 8.5 per cent at the time of writing.
He has two goals and three assists, and has started every league game so far. so is nailed on as they come. Bournemouth also have good fixtures on the horizon as they play Southampton (A), Wolves (H), Brentford (H), Ipswich (H) and West Ham (A) over the next nine.
Bournemouth play Forest at home next gameweek, which is a decent fixture to bring him in for since they are at home and Kerkez does possess plenty of options going forward, but they also face Liverpool (H) in Gameweek 24, so make sure you have an able backup for that game.
If you want to go even cheaper, Dean Huijsen (£4.4m) is also a fine pick. He is £0.4m cheaper than his team-mate and is nailed-on in that first team with Marcos Senesi (£4.6m) out until April.
Huijsen has started every game since Gameweek 14 and already has two goals, with an xG of 1.4. He is a big aerial target from set pieces and will grab a few more goals this season.
Potential traps to watch out for
The likes of Ola Aina (£5.3m) and Nikola Milenkovic (£4.8m) of Nottingham Forest, and Fulham’s Antonee Robinson (£5.1m) have also been outstanding this season, but I wouldn’t look at them at this moment in time. They have tough fixtures coming up and I think there is better value elsewhere.
Forest play Bournemouth (A), Fulham (A), Newcastle (A), Arsenal (H) and Manchester City (H) during the next six, and as steady as they have been in defence this term, I don’t see many clean sheets here.
Fulham have a mixed bag over the next six gameweeks, and then their fixtures get difficult from Gameweek 29 until the end of the season. Robinson might be a decent option if you plan to wildcard by Gameweek 29 but I still think the aforementioned defenders are better to bring in right now.
(Top photos: Ibrahima Konate, left, and Lewis Hall; Getty Images)
