That’s right, it’s our goalkeeping and defensive Fantasy Football tips for Gameweek 13!

Please bear in mind that our Fantasy Football tips aren’t dead certs, since we don’t know what this weekend’s scores will be – but as educated guesses go they’re as educated as they are guessed.

Furthermore, our Fantasy Football tips are based on the official Premier League version of the game, although the principles should apply more or less across the board.

Oh aye, and you should also check out our midfield and striker Fantasy Football Tips for Gameweek 13.

Now, onwards…

Fantasy Football Tips, Gameweek 13 – Goalkeeper and Defence

Manchester City don’t just score freely at home – they’re also, er, nice and tight at the back.

Sunday’s 6-0 win over Spurs brought City’s fourth home clean sheet of the season, and we fancy them for another when they welcome Michu-less Swansea City to the Etihad this weekend.

Manuel Pellegrini has intimated that Joe Hart will start against Viktoria Plzen on Wednesday, but surely Costel Pantilimon (£4.9m) will remain in goal in the Premier League.

Joleon Lescott (also £4.9m) could prove to be a bargain if his impressive substitute appearance keeps him in the side at the expense of the injured Matija Nastasić (£5.5m).

We don’t know the extent of the injury, so keep an eye on that one.

Otherwise, Pablo Zabaleta is good value at £6m since he seems to play every game, so much so that we’re starting to wonder if he’s been at City since their inception in 1880.

Go back and check your old Panini sticker albums from the mid ’90s, see if he’s suddenly appeared in there like some disturbing Poe short story.

Chelsea finally kept a clean sheet with a 3-0 win at West Ham United, so maybe they’ll repeat the trick at home to Southampton.

Branislav Ivanović and John Terry are decidedly puntworthy at £6.4m apiece, although that assertion is based in part on their very respectable goal-scoring records.

Terry may only have scored once so far this season but he managed a total of ten over the course of the previous two Premier League campaigns, in which time Ivanović ‘notched’ eight times.

Gary Cahill is back in favour and also offers a decent goal-scoring threat, so his £5.7m price tag offers more flexibility.

Ashley Cole (£6.3m) has scored only once in three and a bit seasons and hasn’t an assist to his name so far this time around, so if you’ve got him in your team then you’re definitely missing a trick.

Everton account for three of the top six Premier League defenders in terms of Fantasy Football points, thanks largely to some rather fortunate clean sheets.

Aston Villa missed a penalty against them, Crystal Palace and Chelsea some glaring chances, yet the Toffees emerged from all three games un-breached.

Their 3-3 draw in the Merseyside derby should serve as a warning for the many with Leighton Baines (£7.7m), Phil Jagielka (£5.6m) or Seamus Coleman (£5.5m) in their team, although they are at home to low-scoring Stoke City this weekend so you might do well to persist.

NEWS JUST IN: Baines out for a month. Don’t pick Baines.

Needless to say Liverpool’s defence didn’t look watertight either, but they travel to a Hull City side that just lost 1-0 at home to struggling Crystal Palace so Brendan Rodgers’s side could help you out this weekend.

Despite conceding three goals, goalkeeper Simon Mignolet (£5.7m) earned three bonus points against Everton for making nine saves, so a shut-out isn’t necessarily the be all and end all.

Bloody Hull – we backed them not to concede against Palace so took a punt on £4m right back Liam Rosenior, only to see him dropped to the bench following last week’s 4-1 defeat at Southampton.

He came on as a substitute and cracked a super long-range volley against the post, so hey, it almost paid off.

The lesson is: expected the unexpected. Just because you fancy Norwich City, West Ham United and Aston Villa to keep clean sheets at home to Crystal Palace, Fulham and Sunderland respectively, doesn’t mean they will.

In saying that, the odd cheapo defender frees up valuable funds for points-hoovering attacking players, and you don’t always have to start them.

So, you know, keep your eye on that fixture list and consider the short term as well as the long term.

NOW: check out our midfield and striker Fantasy Football Tips for Gameweek 13!