EA Sports FC 27 - Strongest Premier League Defenders

Big, strong defenders are the cornerstone of any good EA Sports FC 27 Ultimate Team. In an ideal world, your defenders would be tall, fast, strong, and able to tackle anything that moves, but in reality you often have to sacrifice some of those attributes depending on how your team is set up and what players you can afford.

In this list, I'll focus on players who can play anywhere across the back line and have the highest physicality rating. This includes players who don't necessarily play defense as their primary position, but can do so in FC 27 without hurting your team chemistry.

10 Murillo

83 Physicality

The first of two back-to-back Nottingham Forest entries on this list, Murillo has a physicality rating of 83, the same as in FC 26, but he has largely regressed between games. His overall rating is down by one to 82, and his pace and defensive ratings are also down by one. On the plus side, his shooting skills are up by seven, ideal for any center-back.

A player's physicality rating combines jumping, stamina, strength, and aggression.

His 79 pace rating makes him a strong early contender in FUT, and the right evolutions should make him a serious threat from attacking set pieces while improving his defensive abilities.

9 Nikola Milenkovic

84 Physicality

Nikola Milenkovic is up next with a physicality rating of 84 and an overall rating of 80. His drop-off between FC 26 and FC 27 is even greater than that of Murillo. He's lost three points from his overall rating, four in pace, two in dribbling, three in defense, one in passing, and, crucially for this list, two in physicality.

While still a solid addition whose pace can be made up for with evolutions and chemistry styles, Milenkovic is likely to fall out of favor compared to some of the other cards on this list because he has tricky national chemistry to build around.

8 James Tarkowski

84 Physicality

James Tarkowski continues to be Mr. Consistent when it comes to his EA Sports FC ratings, a little like Marcus Rashford from our fastest FC 27 Premier League wingers list. It's his third consecutive year rated 80 overall, and since he debuted in FIFA 18, he's always been rated between 78 and 81. Like many defenders, as they get older, they start to overcompensate for a lack of pace with increased physicality. Tarkowski's pace has dropped to 41 in FC 27, down four points from FC 26, but his physicality is up two points to 84.

Tarkowski is a popular card to play as an anchor, the last line of defense who plays deepest in a pairing or group of three. This shifts the focus away from pace, and toward physicality, meaning cards like Tarkowski are still playable even if he struggles to keep up with the pace of a typical FUT match.

7 Dan Burn

84 Physicality

Dan Burn gets an upgrade of sorts to a gold rare card in FC 27, the first time he's had a rare base card, having been in the game since FIFA 21. His physicality has dropped one point this year to 84, but he is still playable in a similar role to the one we mentioned with Tarkowski. He's also incredibly tall, meaning he wins virtually every aerial duel.

He has a strength rating of 90, a heading accuracy rating of 79, and a jumping rating of 71. These all combine with his 6ft 7" height to make him dominant in the air. Don't underestimate him as a passing defender, though. A short pass rating of 75, composure of 76, and reaction rating of 77 help him move the ball effectively through the lines.

6 Gabriel

84 Physicality

One of the highest-rated players in FC 27 with an 89 overall, Gabriel has a physicality rating of 84, which is great; even if it doesn't top this list, his other attributes also make him a great player for any team.

His stats in FC 26 show him gaining an additional point in dribbling, while his defensive score is up three points. This contributes to an overall rating increase of one.

Given that Gabriel is a very defensive-minded player, you may want to reinforce this by using chemistry items or evolutions to further boost his defensive and physical capabilities.

5 Calvin Bassey

85 Physicality

Fulham may be tipped as a team to struggle in the Premier League this season, but based on his FC 27 Ultimate Team stats, Calvin Bassey will be no pushover, thanks to his physicality rating of 85. Despite being rated only 78 overall, Bassey's physical and defensive attributes, paired with very good speed for a defender, mean I can see him playing quite a bit early in the season.

While he just about cracks the top five for physicality in the Premier League this year, Bassey has actually lost two rating points in this category, and he's also lost four in pace. That wasn't enough to trigger an overall rating decrease, but it's something to consider if you used him last year and expected the same this time around.

4 Virgil Van Dijk

85 Physicality

Age and a poor season for Liverpool both contribute to Virgil Van Dijk losing serious steam in his attributes. He's still rated 88 overall, which isn't bad, but that's a drop from 90 last season. His pace has also dropped by three, his dribbling by two, defense by one, and his physicality by two.

This makes him arguably one of the biggest unknowns this year, and we'll have to wait until we're in-game to get a feel for how he plays and whether he's still a top choice for teams looking to build either a Premier League or Netherlands team.

3 Cedric Kipre

87 Physicality

Up next is Cedric Kipre from newly promoted Ipswich, who has a physicality rating of 87, meaning he holds the third-place position all to himself. Kipre is no stranger to the Premier League, but despite a good promotion season, he fails to return to his previous overall of 75 and remains a silver card at 74.

A solid defender with good pace, Kipre lacks a lot of the required skills to be part of a progressive and passing defense, but if you're simply looking to keep clean sheets and bully your opponents, there are worse places to look. He's also a great addition to a silver Premier League team for the inevitable Silver Stars challenges.

2 Ousmane Diomande

88 Physicality

The first Premier League debutant hits the list in second place as Forest's new centre-back, Ousmane Diomande, comes in with 88 in physicality, a two-point upgrade on FC 26. He's also been given one point improvements to his passing and general defense, which earned him a one point overall rating increase to 81. With 80 pace, he's also sure to see a ton of play with those who love to have pace in every position.

An abysmal shooting rating of 26 and worrying passing rating of 52 don't look great and likely contribute to Diomande not being higher than 81, but all that matters right now is that within his passing stat, his short and long passing skills are both rated at 73, which is great for a center back, so he shouldn't struggle with the ball at his feet.

1 Caleb Yirenkyi

89 Physicality

The most physical defender in the Premier League in FC 27 will surprise a ton of player, as it's Coventry City midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi. The Ghana starlet can play anywhere from CB to CDM and CM in FC 27, and with 89 physicality, he's in sole possession of the top spot for eligible defenders.

Now, because center back isn't his natural position, Yirenkyi's defensive ratings are lower than pretty much everyone on this list, but that doesn't mean he's not viable in the position. With 75 pace, 70 defending, 67 passing, and 73 dribbling, it wouldn't take much to have Yirenkyi become a brilliant progressive defender who, in the right systems, could easily move up the pitch in attacking situations.

His Festival of Football: Phenoms 94-rated card from last year is a great example of what he's capable of in a promo situation, or if you can apply the right evolutions to him. Keep an eye on this card moving forward; it could be getting a lot of attention.