Ahead of the title run in, we look at the best defense in the Premier League right now. There is an old saying that, attack might win you games but defense wins you titles. Managers who want to contend for titles now build their team to defend from the front.
With defenses being the spring board for mounting a title challenge, we look at some of the meanest so far this season.
1. Arsenal
Arsenal have the best defense in the Premier League, so one nil to the Arsenal right? Wrong. They are annihilating teams at the moment and scoring a lot of goals. They have scored the most goals so far this season and have the best goals defended. The platform for their recent performances is provided by their defence which has been steely since Kiwior’s introduction to the side. The defense since the turn of the year have only conceded 3 goals, 23 all season and have an xG conceded per game at 0.31. This is at least 3 times better than anyone else in the league, with Manchester City coming in second.
2. Liverpool
With Van Dijk back to his best and marshalling the defense alongside Joe Gomez and Konate, Liverpool have only conceded 25 goals all season. Despite suffering several injuries and having to change personnel in that backline they have still retained some level of solidity.
The team concedes an xG of 1.43 per game, lower than some of the best sides but they still remain one of the meanest in the league.
3. Manchester City
Pep Guardiola’s side have some of the best individual players in the world and a few are in his backline. Since the turn of the year, they have only conceded 6 goals and have an xG of 0.98 per game. They have also conceded 27 goals all season, making them the third meanest defense in the league.
4. Aston Villa
Aston Villa under Unai Emery are having a wonderful season. Ollie Watkins has more handled his share of the scoring load in attack scoring 21 goals. The defense have been no slouch either, conceding a decent 37 goals in 27 matches. If not for the other teams ahead of them with better defensive stats, they would be in the conversation a lot for their defensive performances.
