With the international break in progress, many people have opted to activate their wildcards. Here, I analyze 10 defenders you should be looking to buy.

1. Marcos Alonso (£7.1m, Chelsea)

Chelsea wingback Marcos Alonso is at the top of my list. For me, he’s as close to a defensive must-have as it gets. At the start of the season, his long-term future as a starter was in doubt, with the Blues plotting a £60m coup for Juventus’ Alex Sandro. But that move failed to materialize, and that makes Alonso an outstanding Fantasy option. With Alonso, you’re basically paying £7.1m for a midfielder who gets points for clean sheets. His darting runs forward have been a constant feature of Chelsea’s games ever since last season, and it’s something that continued this season. To enhance his appeal further, he also takes direct free-kicks. And as he showed against at the Wembley against Spurs, he’s pretty darn good at them.

It’s much better to go for the Spaniard, instead of a midfielder of the same price. Last season, he scored 5.86 points per start. As a comparison, Wilfried Zaha, who amongst the current £7.0m mids top scored last season, managed 4.35. You must be wondering, how can you go for a defender instead of a midfielder? Simple – instead of a £7.0m mid and a £4.5m/£5.5m defender, you go for Alonso and a £4.5m/£5.5m midfielder. Instead of the 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 you play currently, you can shift to a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2 with Alonso. His output will be far greater than any midfielder in the same price range. To emphasize his darting runs down the left, here’s a heat map from Chelsea’s opener against Burnley this season. He followed this up with a brace away to Spurs, and a clean sheet against Everton.

The best thing about the raiding left wingback is that in the games he doesn’t contribute offensively in, he’ll get you points defensively. After all, Chelsea do have one of the best defenses in the league. He’s decent with the bonus points too. In Gameweek 4, he comes up against Leicester away, the fixture he scored a biblical 21 points in last season.. is it at all possible for you to resist him?

2. Phil Jones (£5.1m, Man Utd)

At number 2 is Phil Jones, who represents phenomenal value in defense. At £5.1m, he’s a massive bargain, the price for a starting Man Utd defender almost a pittance. He has formed a robust centre-back pairing with partner-in-crime Eric Bailly. They have not conceded in any of their 3 Premier League games thus far, but going further backwards to last season, they have not conceded a goal in over 10 hours of football when they have started together. With Mourinho at the helm, Jones has started almost every game when he has been fit. It is clear that he’s a favorite of the Portuguese, and it’s very well known how the United boss backs his favorites to the hilt.

With STK (A), EVE (H), SOT (A), CRY (H), LIV (A), HUD (A) in the next 6, the Red Devils should be good to bag a few more clean sheets, to add to their 3 in a row. With how effortless their defense has been so far, Jones could be a contender to grab a clean sheet in even the toughest of fixtures. He’s a monster with bonus points as well. The 25-year-old averages 9 defensive actions (clearances, blocks and interceptions) per game so far. Next is Bailly, with 7. Even last season, Jones averaged 10 CBI per game, 1 more than the next best United defender in Marcos Rojo. In a low scoring United win, you can expect Jones to be in the mix for maximum bonus points. At this throwaway price, the next Duncan Edwards is hard to ignore..

3. Cedric Soares (£5.0m, Southampton)

Southampton’s Cedric Soares makes the list at number 3. He is another defender who presents terrific value at the back, playing in a tight defense and with excellent fixtures. The Saints have kept 2 clean sheets in 3 games thus far, and with Virgil van Dijk staying at St. Mary’s for another few months, and Wesley Hoedt signed, their rearguard should only get stronger. The Southampton fixtures are incredibly alluring. Till GW11, their fixtures list reads WAT (H), CRY (A), MUN (H), STK (A), NEW (H), WBA (H), BHA (A) and BUR (H). I see only one team there able to pose considerable threat to them in that, in Man Utd. Add into the mix he’s also a fullback, and will contribute with the odd assist with his crosses. £5.0m seems like a snip.

4. Kyle Naughton (£4.5m, Swansea)

Kyle Naughton provides an excellent budget option who has both form and fixtures to go with him. Life after Gylfi Sigurdsson has been tough for Swansea offensively, but they’ve had no such problems defensively. Paul Clement’s new system has earned them two clean sheets in three games, and in the other, they did frustrate Man Utd till late. With their new found defensive solidity, their next 5 fixtures, NEW (H), TOT (A), WAT (H), WHU (A) and HUD (H), should be more conducive to clean sheet. Naughton, in particular, has benefited from the new 3 at the back system. He has been stationed at right wingback, allowing him to make darting runs forward. It showed immediate results, as he bagged a 12 point haul against Crystal Palace. Here’s his heat map from that game, showing just how much of a license to roam he’s got.

5. Jonny Evans (£4.9m, West Brom)

Rounding off the first half of the top 10 is West Brom captain Jonny Evans, back fit from his “injury”. Unless you have Ben Foster in goal, it seems almost essential to have a Baggies defender, given their resoluteness in defense. They have kept 2 clean sheets in their opening 3, and were looking set for a third one in a row before Peter Crouch broke their run. They’ve seemed much like a typical Tony Pulis team thus far, building upon solidity at the back, and aiming to score off set pieces. Both aid the Northern Irish centre-back, who is no mug with the head either. West Brom’s fixture list reads BHA (A), WHU (H), ARS (A), WAT (H) and LEI (A) in the next 5, and they’ll be aiming to add a few to the 2 clean sheets.

The reason I go for Evans over other alternatives is his security of starts. West Brom rebuffed multiple bids of above £25m from Arsenal, Man City and Leicester, showing just how indispensable their captain is to them. He’s £0.1m cheaper than Allan Nyom, Craig Dawson and Kieran Gibbs, and his CBI stats from last season better all 3. Ahmed Hegazi may be £0.1m cheaper than the ex-Man Utd man, but I expect Nyom, Evans, Dawson and new signing Gibbs to be their first choice defense now, with Gareth McAuley soon in the mix to relegate the Egyptian further down the pecking order.

6. Harry Maguire (£5.1m, Leicester)

In at number 6 is man mountain Leicester’s Harry Maguire. Leicester may have a tough fixture after the resume, facing champions Chelsea, but it is their fixtures thereafter which are tough to ignore. From GW5, their fixtures read HUD (A), LIV (H), BOU (A), WBA (H), SWA (A), EVE (H) and STK (A). The Foxes have been resurgent under Craig Shakespeare’s tutelage, and they will be looking to add more to their clean sheet against Brighton.

What makes Maguire stand above his fellow Leicester defenders (of course, at 6 feet 2, he also does that literally) is his offensive contributions. Last season, at Hull, he was always a nuisance in the box with his build, and he has carried this forward this year. In 3 games, he has already scored 1 and assisted 1. Compare that to his namesake Harry Kane, who costs £12.5m, is a striker, and a two time Golden Boot winner, who has no goals and no assists so far. Sounds good value for £5.1m, doesn’t it?

7. Chris Lowe (£4.5m, Huddersfield)

At number 7 is another bargain option in Chris Lowe. Huddersfield have surprised one and all with their defensive prowess this season, having kept 3 clean sheets in 3. Part of the reason is German leftback Lowe. Huddersfield do have decent fixtures to go with their solidity at the back. They take on WHU (A), LEI (H), BUR (A), TOT (H), SWA (A) in their next 5. The reason I go for Lowe over Christopher Schindler or Adam Zanka is, he takes penalties as well. The defender took Huddersfield’s last league penalty, at home to Fulham in the Championship. A penalty taking defender is always Fantasy gold – if things fall right, you could be netting a 15-point haul from Lowe.

8. Nacho Monreal (£5.4m, Arsenal)

You might have not expected to see an Arsenal defender in this list – so here’s a surprise pick. Nacho Monreal makes it at number 8, not based on form, but on fixtures. Arsenal have endured a torrid time so far, conceding 8 goals in their opening 3 games. But I expect them to give their manager a reaction now, and bounce back strongly. They’re a decent side after all, and with Alexis Sanchez’s future certain for at least 4 more months, they should be presenting a more united front.

Arsenal’s fixtures read BOU (H), CHE (A), WBA (H), BHA (H), WAT (A), EVE (A) and SWA (H) in the next 7. With 4 plum home games, they should definitely be getting a few clean sheets. At a cut-price, Monreal could be a decent differential. If you’re looking to splurge more lavishly, Sead Kolasinac at £6.0m could offer you offensive returns from left wingback.

9. Ben Mee (£4.5m, Burnley)

Ben Mee makes the list at number 9. Another team with great fixtures up ahead is Burnley – the Clarets face CRY (H), LIV (A), HUD (H), EVE (A), WHU (H) in their next 5. Even after that, they play MCI (A), NEW (H), SOT (A) and SWA (H). With 5 very favorable home fixtures in their next 9, Burnley defenders should be decent value for money. Their home form was phenomenal throughout last season – if only home games counted, they would have finished in the top 5 last season – grabbing 33 of their 40 points at home. Mee is also a monster with bonus points. The Englishman has the most blocks in the league thus far, and ranks third for clearances. If you can get someone whom he could rotate with for his tougher, away fixtures, he could be good value.

10. Michael Keane (£5.5m, Everton)

At number 10, to round off the list, is Everton’s Michael Keane. If I was making this list in a couple Gameweek’s time, Keane would definitely feature around the top. But with two more fixtures to go before Everton’s torrid run ends, he’s handed a spot at #10. After TOT (H) and MUN (A) in the next two, Everton embark on a phenomenal run of fixtures. They take on BOU (H), BUR (H), BHA (A), ARS (H), LEI (A), WAT (H), CRY (A), SOT (A), WHU (H), HUD (H) all the way over till GW15. With a long term run that good, it will be impossible to resist their defenders. Add to the mix a manager who instills defensive solidity, solid attacking threat from set-pieces and being decent with the bonus points, he’ll be in many teams come GW6.

IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR ARTICLES I SHOULD COVER IN THE INTERNATIONAL BREAK, DO LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS. AS ALWAYS, FEEL FREE TO USE THE COMMENTS FOR ANY TIPS YOU NEED WITH YOUR FANTASY SIDES.