The Scout offers advice on what managers should do with the defender and who to replace him with<\/p>\n
With popular defender Marcos Senesi (\u00a35.0m) suspended<\/a> for Gameweek 14 in Fantasy Premier League<\/a> and set for a tough run of matches, The Scout looks at what managers should do and who his best replacements are.<\/p>\n Before making any decisions, Fantasy managers must remember that they will have five free transfers after Saturday’s Gameweek 15 deadline passes due to the departure of some key players for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). \u00a0<\/p>\n Depending on the make-up of your FPL squad, you could look for a short-term option and aim to attack the next two Gameweeks only, before swapping the player out again with your extra transfers, or alternatively you could pinpoint players who have favourable schedules over a longer period.<\/p>\n First of all, it’s worth bearing in mind that Senesi is only banned for AFC Bournemouth<\/a>‘s home match against Everton<\/a> on Tuesday evening, and he will then be available to face Chelsea<\/a> on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n See: Who’s suspended or close to a ban?<\/a><\/p>\n So if you have bigger issues to deal with elsewhere in your squad and you have a strong enough defence to simply bench him, there’s an argument that you can wait until you have five free transfers in Gameweek 16 to deal with Senesi.<\/p>\n Either way, Bournemouth’s form and fixtures suggests it\u2019s time to look for a replacement sooner or later.<\/p>\n The Cherries have managed only one clean sheet in the last eight Gameweeks and now have a tough schedule ahead, facing seven of the top 10 teams in their next 10 matches.<\/p>\n As Senesi currently costs \u00a35.0m, the players listed below all come in under the \u00a35.5m mark.<\/p>\n Nico O\u2019Reilly (Man City) \u00a35.2m<\/p>\n The Manchester City<\/a> left-back is the third top-scoring defender in Fantasy since making his first start of the season in Gameweek 4.<\/p>\n O\u2019Reilly has started nine of those last 10 Gameweeks and amassed 55 points in that spell, combining a goal and three assists with five clean sheets.<\/p>\n The underlying data backs up the 20-year-old\u2019s huge attacking potential. O\u2019Reilly\u2019s 13 shots, 10 shots in the box and 12 chances created all rank among the top five defenders over the last 10 Gameweeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Crucially, his prospects for more starts looks promising as his rival for the left-back spot, Rayan Ait-Nouri (\u00a35.7m), is set to depart for AFCON.<\/p>\n Man City\u2019s home matches with Sunderland<\/a> and West Ham United<\/a> in the next four Gameweeks alone give O\u2019Reilly the chance to bring in huge returns.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea) \u00a35.2m<\/p>\n His goal against Arsenal<\/a> last weekend has cemented the Chelsea\u2019s centre-back status as a fixture-proof pick for your defence.<\/p>\n Chalobah has climbed to fourth spot among defenders on 70 points, with three goals, an assist and six clean sheets showcasing his impact at both ends of the pitch.<\/p>\n If you also factor in his eight points from defensive contributions<\/a>, Chalobah has essentially blanked just twice in his 12 starts.<\/p>\n A visit to Leeds United<\/a> and a home match with Everton<\/a> in the next three Gameweeks look very encouraging for more clean sheets.<\/p>\n Malick Thiaw (Newcastle) \u00a34.9m<\/p>\n Newcastle United<\/a>\u2019s centre-back has both the short and mid-term schedules to offer a ready-made solution.<\/p>\n According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings<\/a> (FDR), where the difficulty of each fixture is ranked from one to five – with one being the easiest possible match and five being the hardest – each of the Magpies\u2019 next 10 matches score no more than three.<\/p>\n That run gets under way with back-to-back home matches against Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> and Burnley<\/a> in the next few days.<\/p>\n Newcastle’s next 10 matches<\/p>\n Gameweek 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 *1=easiest possible match, 5=hardest possible match<\/p>\n Thiaw offers a secure route into the Newcastle defence at a point where full-backs Lewis Hall (\u00a35.2m) and Tino Livramento (\u00a34.9m) are perhaps more prone to rotation in this congested period, because they have both only recently returned from injury.<\/p>\n Thiaw’s eight shots in the box this season are more than the combined seven of all other Newcastle defenders, marking him out as their likeliest source of attacking returns from the back.<\/p>\n Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton) \u00a34.4m<\/p>\n The centre-back provides a secure route into an improving Brighton & Hove Albion<\/a> defence that have produced all three of their clean sheets this season in the last four Gameweeks.<\/p>\n Van Hecke has proven the most reliable of the Brighton defenders in Fantasy for defensive contributions, with his 10 points more than twice the total of any of his team-mates.<\/p>\n Brighton have three home fixtures in the next four Gameweeks and two of those \u2013 against West Ham and Sunderland \u2013 score only two in the FDR.<\/p>\n
\nOpponent
\nFDR*<\/p>\n
\nSpurs (H)
\n3<\/p>\n
\nBurnley (H)
\n2<\/p>\n
\nSunderland (A)
\n3<\/p>\n
\nChelsea (H)
\n3<\/p>\n
\nMan Utd (A)
\n3<\/p>\n
\nBurnley (A)
\n2<\/p>\n
\nPalace (H)
\n3<\/p>\n
\nLeeds (H)
\n2<\/p>\n
\nWolves (A)
\n2<\/p>\n
\nVilla (H)
\n3<\/p>\n