Fantasy Football Insider – Gameweek 31: The case for the United defence

Now, with less than nine games to go, only Manchester City (26) and Chelsea (30) have conceded less than the 31 goals United have conceded this season with five consecutive clean sheets meaning that the Red Devils haven’t conceded in the league since the home victory over Southampton at the end of January.

Fergie said he wasn’t going to lose the title on goal difference this time around; it just seemed to take him a while to realise that the concession of goals as well as the scoring of them contributes to the overall figure in the end.

Despite their tendency to concede, United’s defenders were actually doing OK as far as Fantasy Football is concerned, mainly because they were having such an impact at the other end. Patrice Evra’s four goal haul this season, for example, is twice the amount he had managed in six previous seasons and although he’s the second most expensive defender in the league at £7.3 million, he is the highest scorer ahead of Leighton Baines.

Rafael (£6.3 million) is also in the top ten of the highest scoring defenders after three goals and five assists so far, while you don’t have to go too far down the list to find Jonny Evans (£5.6 million), who has three goals and two assists to date.

Because of Fergie’s rotation policy it is hard to argue in favour of the selection of Rio Ferdinand (£5.8 million) or Nemanja Vidic (£6.6 million) because you simply don’t know if they are going to play from one week to the next, but Evra and Rafael are pretty reliable, as is David de Gea (£5.7 million) now that he’s the undisputed number one at Old Trafford.

The Spaniard has been growing in confidence and influence at United in the second half of this season and although he has a long way to go to catch some of his peers in the points stakes, if United can keep up this new-found solid approach between now and the season’s end, he won’t be long getting there.

JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:

Top Dollar: Carlos Tevez (£8.7 million). Although the title is as good as out of reach after defeat to Everton, we still expect a Citeh backlash against Newcastle on Saturday and Tevez has been their most potent threat up front of late.

Mid-Range: Lukas Podolski (£8.1 million). Arsenal and Reading have played twice this season and provided 19 goals between them in the two games. If that pattern continues at the Emirates this weekend, Podolski is likely to be in the thick of the action.

Bargain Basement: Jean Beausejour (£5.3 million). If you like us think Wigan will pull off another great escape or at least go mighty close, it is worth taking a punt on one or two or players between now and the end of the season, players like Beausejour who scored his first goal of the season against Newcastle but also has eight assists to his name in this campaign.

Irish Pick: Seamus Coleman (£4.6 million). Against both Sweden and Austria the Donegal man continued the brilliant vein of form he had been enjoying with his club and he'll be looking to impress against a Stoke side in pretty crappy form at the moment.

Captain’s Pick: Wayne Rooney (£12.0 million). Scored in both of England’s games during the international break and has five in his last five starts in the league. Sunderland are very fragile at the moment and Rooney won’t have forgotten their fans’ jibes at United’s expense on the final day of last season.

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