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How to pick defenders in UnderPar: clean sheets, steady ratings and who to trust

By the Journeyman team · 5 November 2026

Every UnderPar XI needs at least three defenders. The good news is that defenders are the most predictable players in the game. Here's what 506 defender starts from Gameweeks 4 to 9 of 2026–27 tell us about picking well.

All the figures below are FotMob ratings for players who started the match. We use Gameweeks 4 to 9 because that's when our data starts recording who started. Since Gameweek 9, only starters' ratings count in UnderPar, so starts are what matter.

Defenders are steady, not spectacular

Defenders rate a little below midfielders and attackers on average, and they hit 8.0 far less often: only 7% of defender starts reached 8.0, against 16% for attackers. Their ratings also spread out much less than keepers' or attackers'. That makes them hard to win a Gameweek with, and hard to lose one with too.

The same pattern shows up against PAR. Across Gameweeks 7 to 9, starting defenders beat their PAR 57% of the time, more often than any other position. But only 10% of them beat it by a full point or more, compared with 18% of attackers and 19% of keepers. And only 8% went a full point or more over their PAR, against 22% of keepers. A defender is rarely the player who wins or wrecks your week.

Clean sheets matter more than anything

A defender's rating depends heavily on how many goals his team lets in. Here's the average rating, and the share of starts rated 7.5 or more and under 6.5, by goals conceded (153, 145, 137 and 71 starts):

Each extra goal conceded costs a defender roughly half a point on average. A clean sheet almost guarantees a decent rating: only 2% of defenders in a clean sheet rated under 6.5. Concede three and 70% of them fall below 6.5, and only one defender in 71 starts reached 7.5.

The result matters too. Defenders on the winning side averaged 7.47, in draws 6.98, and in defeats 6.41. A goalless draw isn't quite as good as a clean-sheet win: defenders in 0–0 draws averaged 7.25, against 7.53 when their team won to nil.

Pick defenders from teams expected to win

For Gameweeks 7 to 9 we compared defenders' ratings with how likely their team was to win before kick-off. When a team had more than a 55% chance of winning, its defenders averaged 7.50 and kept a clean sheet 59% of the time. When a team had a 30% chance or less, its defenders averaged 6.57 and kept a clean sheet only 15% of the time.

That's close to a full point between the two groups, which is a big gap for defenders. It's why defenders on strong teams with easy fixtures get higher PARs: the game already expects them to do well. You need them to do better than that. Defenders on the underdog side get kinder PARs, but they're much riskier, because a heavy defeat drags their rating down fast. The exception is the goalkeeper, who can rate well in a defeat if he's kept busy. Our goalkeeper guide explains why keepers work differently.

Home and away

Defenders averaged 7.05 at home and 6.84 away. Away defenders were also more likely to have a bad day: 29% rated under 6.5, against 19% at home. If two defenders look equally good, the one at home is usually the safer choice.

Clean sheets aren't the whole story

Only 23 of the 37 defender ratings of 8.0 or more came with a clean sheet. The other 14 came from defenders who did more: blocks, tackles, interceptions, crosses and chances created all add to a FotMob rating. Twelve defenders even rated 7.5 or more while conceding two goals or more.

Nottingham Forest haven't kept a clean sheet since their 0–0 with Spurs in Gameweek 3, and they lost four of their six games in Gameweeks 4 to 9. Yet centre-back Murillo averaged 7.40 across those six starts, rating 7.6 or more in two defeats. Ipswich haven't kept a clean sheet all season, but Abdoul Ouattara averaged 7.48 and rated 8.1 in their 2–2 draw with Hull. A defender who is busy and good at what he does can beat his PAR even when his team doesn't.

Watch out for early substitutions

Defenders who were taken off before the hour averaged just 6.00, and 72% of them rated under 6.5. Some of those were injuries, but many were defenders being hauled off after a bad first half. Defenders who played the full 90 minutes averaged 7.04. Four defenders were sent off in this period, and each of them rated 6.0 or lower, with the worst at 3.5.

There's not much you can do about a red card, but you can avoid defenders who are carrying a knock or who have been rotated recently. Check our weekly preview for team news before you pick.

The most reliable defenders so far

These defenders have the highest average rating in Gameweeks 4 to 9, among those with at least five starts. The range shows their lowest and highest rating:

Van Hecke has been the standout. He hasn't rated below 7.1 in any of those starts, he managed 7.7 in a 3–2 defeat, and his 9.1 against Crystal Palace in Gameweek 9 is the highest rating by any defender this season. Archie Gray is the steadiest defender in the game: his five ratings all sit between 7.2 and 7.8. Fulham's Antonee Robinson is almost as steady, between 6.9 and 7.5 in all five starts.

Brighton have kept five clean sheets in those six Gameweeks, more than any other team, which explains De Cuyper's numbers. Arsenal have kept four, and Spurs, Liverpool, Fulham, Everton and Bournemouth three each.

The swingiest defenders

At the other end, some defenders swing wildly from week to week. Bournemouth's António Silva has rated as high as 8.1 and as low as 4.1, which came in a 5–1 defeat. Brighton's Olivier Boscagli (4.5 to 8.4) and his Bournemouth team-mate James Hill (5.3 to 8.8) are similar. They can win you a Gameweek, but one bad game can cost you around three points. For more on steady and swingy players across every position, read the most consistent players of 2026–27.

Five tips for picking defenders

1. Look for clean sheets. Pick defenders from teams with a good chance of keeping one, especially at home.
2. Expect a high PAR for top defenders. A strong team at home has a tough mark to beat, so look for defenders who regularly rate above 7.5, not just ones who keep clean sheets.
3. Busy defenders can beat PAR in defeat. Players like Murillo and Ouattara rate well even when their team concedes.
4. Use defenders to steady your team. If you take a risk on an attacker or a keeper, balance it with reliable defenders.
5. Mind the club limit. You can't take more than three players from one club, so you can't stack a whole back line from the best defensive team. Spread your defenders across two or three teams with good fixtures.

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