Best Defenders in La Liga – Week 10

With another round of La Liga games now in the bag, it’s time to see just which defenders contributed to their team’s cause by doing their job best.

With Barcelona still leading the pack and the rest chasing, it seems a little harsh that four of the top five defenders in this weekend’s list are Barcelona’s back line.

With that said, they will be grouped together here, with relevant tallies supplied. Only three teams kept clean sheets in La Liga this weekend, so the list is a relatively small one this time.

We will get things underway by welcoming Anaitz Arbilla to this weekend’s list of best defenders. The Eibar star is valued at just 1.50m, but the goals his side concede work against his total. Ironically, Eibar weren’t actually one of the sides to keep a clean sheet – they drew 2-2 at home against Levante. Arbilla did score one of the goals though – that would have given him four points, but considering his side conceded two he lost one there for a final total of three.

Alaves defender Alexis R. Delgado endured a very similar outing this weekend. He scored his side’s only goal as they fell to a 1-2 home defeat against Valencia. For the exact same reasons as Arbilla, Delgado therefore finished up with three points. At a 2.50m valuation, he wouldn’t be a bad addition if you need to free up some funds to strengthen elsewhere perhaps.

The biggest defensive winner of the weekend was Espanyol’s Aarón Martín. The clean sheet his side kept against Real Betis was a real highlight, and at just 4m he is certainly worth a look for bringing in to your fantasy squad. Frankly, his performances some weekends have been wonderful – though admittedly discipline does get in the way from time to time.

He has been booked a few times so far this season, but he has returned some points as well with good clean sheets.

Now then, the other four of the top five in this weekend’s biggest points scorers – the Barcelona defensive line.

Barcelona are making things look easy in La Liga to be honest, and while the lead they holder over second placed Valencia is relatively slender considering their form – it’s just four points – it would take a brave man to bet against the Catalans lifting the title this season.

Much of that is thanks to their defensive solidarity. Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, Nelsinho and Jordi Alba have been sensational for much of the campaign. Pique and Umtiti picked up four points each, Nelsinho fie and Alba seven points. That means Alba tops this weekend’s list of La Liga defensive winners for points scored, even though Espanyol’s Aarón Martín did well to beat two of those players on points.

At a combined value of a whopping 30.5m that is a defensive group that doesn’t come cheap – but if the budget can be rearranged it could be worth throwing two or even three of them in if you can!

If you fancy yourself as a Euro Fantasy League manager, why not get involved and register your team? It is always fun, and gives you the opportunity to show your tactical nous (or psychic tendencies, if you prefer) against other like-minded fans around the world.

If you feel La Liga specifically is more your cup of tea, then head over to Fantasy Liga, where you can play a version of the game containing only players and teams from the Spanish game. That is always an alternative if you prefer a more specific style of fantasy football management.