With unlimited transfers up to the Gameweek 17 deadline (Monday, December 26, 11:00), we take a look at the best budget FPL defenders for the restart.
This will include those priced at £4.5m and below, for those who are after a cheap budget enabler to squeeze in the best premium players.

<a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/join">🎄12 Days of Christmas FREE trial to the Hub &#8211; PLUS save 30% on your annual membership! 🎄</a>  
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/my-team">Recommended transfers for YOUR FPL team using the Hub&#8217;s My Team artificial intelligence 🤖</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-ultimate-guide-fpl-tips">The Ultimate Guide to the FPL restart &#8211; everything you need to know under one roof</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Best budget FPL defenders: Let the Hub&#8217;s tools help you decide</h2>
Fantasy Football Hub has a host of handy <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/tools">tools</a> to help you decide who the best picks are.
Start with a look at our<a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fixture-ticker"> fixture ticker</a> &#8211; and check out our detailed guide to the teams with the best and worst fixtures here.
Our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/predictions">points prediction</a> tool is powered the Hub&#8217;s clever algorithm, bringing everything together to forecast who we think is likeliest to haul.
And once you&#8217;ve checked out your shortlisted players&#8217; <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta">Opta</a> <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a> for the season so far, head to our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/my-team">My Team</a> tool to build and plan your team, get it rated and see how it&#8217;s expected to score. It also features <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-live-rank">live rank</a>, as well as offering you a team of the week and best Wildcard squad suggestion.
All this &#8211; and much more, including <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-player-comparision-tool">player comparison</a> and <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-price-rises">player price change predictions</a> &#8211; in our Hub <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/tools">toolbox</a>.
<h2>The best budget FPL defenders for £4.5m or less</h2>
<h3>Hugo Bueno (£3.9m)</h3>
If you&#8217;re shopping in the bargain basement, Wolves&#8217; Bueno is almost as cheap as they come.
The 20-year-old left-back has made six appearances for Wolves in 2022, breaking into the team under caretaker manager Steve Davis.
With Julen Lopetegui now taking charge of the Midlands side, it remains to be seen if Bueno will retain his spot.
If he does, though, he is an attractive option at his price point &#8211; even if Wolves&#8217; fixtures are among the most challenging post-restart.
Bueno played 90 minutes in Wolves&#8217; midweek Carabao Cup match.
<div id="attachment_51514" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-51514" class="size-full wp-image-51514" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Hugo-Bueno-2.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Hugo-Bueno-2.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Hugo-Bueno-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Hugo-Bueno-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Hugo-Bueno-2-610x407.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Hugo Bueno. Picture by Getty Images</div>
&nbsp;
<h3>Nathan Patterson (£4.0m)</h3>
If Bueno isn&#8217;t your trusty budget option, Patterson is the alternative &#8211; providing you can afford the extra £0.1m.
The Everton right-back started the first seven games of the season, before he suffered an ankle injury while on international duty for Scotland.
Seamus Coleman (£4.5m) regained his place in his absence, however Patterson began reintegration into the first team from Gameweek 14.
The Scot played a full 90 minutes in Gameweek 16 and is likely to reclaim his place as a regular starter in Frank Lampard&#8217;s defence when the league restarts.
Considering Patterson is likely to be a third bench option, FPL managers may value the slight saving Bueno brings &#8211; but if security of starts is the priority, the Toffees man is potentially a better bet.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51546" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Patterson.jpg" alt="" width="897" height="731" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Patterson.jpg 897w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Patterson-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Patterson-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Patterson-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px" />
&nbsp;
<h3>Sven Botman (£4.4m)</h3>
Botman has now established himself as a regular starter at St James&#8217; Park and is the cheapest regular starter for the Magpies.
He trails centre-back partner Fabian Schar (£4.9m) in terms of <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a>, however he offers a £0.5m saving and a route into what has been a very solid Newcastle defence.
Newcastle have kept the joint-most clean sheets in the league, with an expected goals conceded (xGC) tally bettered only by Brighton, Manchester City and Arsenal.
Botman tops the ranks for predicted points between now and Gameweek 24 among defenders priced at £4.5m and below. Wesley Fofana (£4.3m) had the edge over him before his injury in a friendly prior to the restart.
According to our ticker, they are sixth best for expected clean sheets between Gameweek 17 and 24 (2.5).
<h3><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51310" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Botman-gw17-2.jpg" alt="" width="897" height="731" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Botman-gw17-2.jpg 897w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Botman-gw17-2-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Botman-gw17-2-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Botman-gw17-2-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px" /></h3>
&nbsp;
<h3>Kenny Tete (£4.4m)</h3>
Fulham are another team who rank highly on our fixture ticker after the Premier League restart.
Leicester and Chelsea await in Double Gameweek 19 after Fulham play Crystal Palace away and Southampton at Craven Cottage.
Tete has three assists this season, joint-most of any budget defender.
His xG of 0.31 is higher than that of Antonee Robinson (£4.4m) on the opposite flank of Fulham&#8217;s defence, while his xA is comparable to the American &#8211; 0.24 to Robinson&#8217;s 0.29.
The <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a> therefore suggest Tete has outperformed in terms of goal creation so far, however as a fixtures pick he could be a good budget enabler.
&nbsp;
<h2>Check out our Premier League fantasy football coverage</h2>
Our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-ultimate-guide-fpl-tips">Ultimate FPL Guide</a> has everything you could ever need to be a successful FPL manager, including guides, team previews, player picks, strategy articles, tools, <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a>, expert team reveals, and much more.
And we have other formats well covered too. Be it <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/sky-fantasy-football-tips" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/sky-fantasy-football-tips&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1659686024528000&amp;usg=AOvVaw20PqWhqZ-u15WA0jNysCPv">Sky Fantasy</a>, <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/dream-team-fantasy-football-tips-the-ultimate-guide" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/dream-team-fantasy-football-tips-the-ultimate-guide&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1659686024528000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2pZfWdoun7KuKyfijOddzp">Dream Team</a> or <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/telegraph-fantasy-football-tips-the-ultimate-guide" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/telegraph-fantasy-football-tips-the-ultimate-guide&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1659686024528000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3AknzyWJmZ4_mtj_9U6R4M">Telegraph Fantasy</a>; we have all the very best fantasy football tips, advice, tools and everything else you could wish for to become a better fantasy football manager and win your mini-leagues.
&nbsp;
<h3>Follow the Hub</h3>
<a href="https://twitter.com/FFH_HQ">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ffootballhub/">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/FantasyFootballHub/?sub_confirmation=1">YouTube</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/FFH_HQ/">Instagram</a> |<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ffh_hq"> Tiktok</a> 
And view all our latest fantasy football tips on our <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/">Homepage</a>

Best budget FPL defenders for the Premier League restart

Win at FPL

Community & tools