The Premier League’s Best Defensive Teams This Season

Top Defensive Premier League Teams This Season

As the first month of this new Premier League betting season comes to an end, we can start to get an idea of which teams are going to be title contenders and which outfits are going to find themselves struggling at the bottom of the table.

While the difference between championship glory and a trip to the Championship the following season is usually due to a couple of factors. The first of those is, how many goals you can score at one end, and the second is, how many you keep out at the other.

This means although it is the attack that usually gets all the praise, it is now time to make a case for the defence. A case that often is the difference between a team avoiding relegation or reaching the promised land of Champions League football at the end of the season.

With this in mind, we highlight the best Premier League teams of the 2022/2023 season.

WOLVES

Are Bruno Lage’s men the new Burnley? That is the question that many outsiders are asking themselves and with the Clarets no longer part of the Premier League, somebody will have to unwillingly fill their shoes.

A role that could well be taken by the Molineux outfit and although they are a team that almost resembles the Portuguese national team these days, this cosmopolitan look is not translating itself into goals.

Of course, this is not for the want of trying, but it seems to be that the style of football has regressed since they burst back into the top tier of English football and now it is very much a safety-first approach in the West Midlands.

Lack of Goals

However, one could argue that their current approach has come about since the goals have dried up and with these being at a premium, the mindset has shifted towards trying to suffocate teams at the other end of the field.

A perfect example of this would have been their recent trip to Tottenham and although they managed to frustrate Antonio Conte’s men for the best part of an hour, they were eventually foiled in North London.

This means Wolves seem to be operating under the mantra of “if we do not concede, at least we cannot lose” – one which although will get you points along the way, is also one which is hardly going to get pulses racing either.

TOTTENHAM

Although Tottenham finished in the top four last season and also possesses a player who won the Golden Boot (or at least Heung min-Son shared it with Mohamed Salah of Liverpool), it was not all about lightning-fast attacks in the white half of North London.

Because to attack with confidence, you need a secure platform at the other end of the field and under the stewardship of Antonio Conte, it is fair to say that the club is now operating with a perfect balance between the two.

This is not a team that is not overly defensive, but still knows exactly when to dig in and press and exactly when to sit back. Not to mention, with the likes of Cristian Romero and Eric Dier marshaling the back line, it allows Tottenham’s more attacking players to push forward.

New Arrivals

Not only that, but the addition of Ivan Perisic seems to be a rather inspired one and with the Croatian international being deployed at wingback, he is the perfect conduit for possession moving from one area of the pitch to the other.

With Spurs operating in a 3-5-2 formation, it allows an overload when operating with the ball and also a numerical advantage in midfield when trying to win it back and with only one goal against them in the first three matches of this season, the tactics certainly seem to be working.

Admittedly they have yet to go up against a true Premier League powerhouse and it will be interesting to see how they operate against the likes of Manchester City or Liverpool. Then again, if we use the tail end of the previous season as an example, they should be more than capable.

BRIGHTON

Although Brighton will not want to consider themselves as a defensive team, the stats for Graham Potter’s men say otherwise. Because after the first three matches of this Premier League season, the Seagulls have only shipped one goal.

While to dig further, the one goal that they have conceded thus far was an own goal at Old Trafford, and were it not for Alexis Mac Allister putting through his own net on the opening weekend, it would have meant three successive clean sheets for the Seagulls.

Then again, we can also look to the whole of the previous campaign as more of an indication. The AMEX outfit conceded the sixth least goals in the Premier League last season, which only strengthens the case we are trying to make.

In Defence of The Seagulls

The four teams that conceded the least goals last season all qualified for the Champions League. Reinforcing the principle that attack is always the best form of defence.

While the team who conceded the fifth least goals was none other than our first entry Wolves. With Brighton shipping just 44 from 38 matches, it means that the South Coast outfit conceded 1.15 goals on average during the 2021/22 edition of the Premier League.

Of course, it must be noted that manager Graham Potter is not necessarily setting up his teams to be overly defensive, it is more their possession-based game which is managing to keep the ball out of their own net.

If they are in ownership of the ball, then the other team cannot score. Again, a rather simple way to look at the game, but one that is certainly working for Brighton. If they can find a bit more ruthlessness in the final third, then this side can be even more dangerous.

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