The best FIFA 23 Defenders are crucial to creating a strong team who will protect your goal from the opposing team.

Choose your defenders carefully, because they're the backbone of your team and one defender could turn the match in your favour.

This pages covers the entire roster of defending possibilities in FIFA 23, including the best FIFA 23 CBs, the best FIFA 23 LBs, the best FIFA 23 RBs and the best FIFA wing backs. All of the players are ranked by their overall rankings within their category.

FIFA 23 best CB - the best Centre Back in FIFA 23FIFA 23 best LB and LWB - the best Left Backs and Left Wing Backs in FIFA 23FIFA 23 best RB and RWB - the best Right Backs and Right Wing Backs in FIFA 23Other things to know about picking the best FIFA 23 DefendersFIFA 23 Reveal Trailer | The World’s Game

Need helping picking players? Check out our pages on best players overall, best Premier League players, fastest players, wonderkids, best strikers, best wingers and best midfielders. Don’t forget - Chemistry has been reworked for FIFA 23.

FIFA 23 best CB - the best Centre Back in FIFA 23

Virgil Van Dijik continues to be the best Centre Back in FIFA 23, with Marquinhos and Ruben Dias taking the second and third positions. The biggest change in the Centre Back rankings, however, is Sergio Ramos dropping from second place to 15.

We've covered the top 15 CB players for this year to ensure you've got a selection of options.

Image credit: EA SportsRankPlayerClubRating1Virgil Van DijkLiverpool902MarquinhosParis Saint-German883Ruben DiasManchester City884Antonio RudigerReal Madrid885Kalidou KoulibalyChelsea876Aymeric LaporteManchester City867Thiago SilvaChelsea868David AlabaReal Madrid869Milan SkriniarInter8610Niklas SuleBorussia Dortmund8511Matthijs De LigtFC Bayern München8512Jules KoundeFC Barcelona8413Eder MilitaoReal Madrid8414Lucas HernandezFC Bayern München8415Sergio RamosParis Saint-German84

FIFA 23 best LB and LWB - the best Left Backs and Left Wing Backs in FIFA 23

Joao Cancelo has taken the top spot for the best Left Backs and Left Wing Backs in FIFA 23. Andrew Robertson has dropped down to second place due to this and is followed by Theo Hernandez from Milan who has jumped from fifth to third place. Marco Acuna and Raphael Guerreiro have also returned, but at lower spots on the list compared to last year.

Again, you'll find the top LB and LWB players for this year to give you a selection of choices.

Joao Cancelo stats. (Image credit: EA Sports)RankPlayerClubRating1Joao CanceloManchester City882Andrew RobertsonLiverpool873Theo HernandezMilan854Jordi AlbaFC Barcelona855Marcos AcunaSevilla FC856Alphonso DaviesFC Bayern München847Ferland MendyReal Madrid838AngelinoTSG Hoffenheim839Robin GosensInter8210Yuri BerchicheAthletic Club8211GrimaldoSL Benfica8212Lucas DigneAston Villa8213Leonardo SpinazzolaRoma FC8214Raphael GuerreiroBorussia Dortmund8215GayaValencia CF82

FIFA 23 best RB and RWB - the best Right Backs and Right Wing Backs in FIFA 23

The only change to the top three RB and RWB is Kyle Walker jumping from number four to second place - Trent Alexander-Arnold and Achraf Hakimi remain in the first and second slots. Newcomers to this list include Reece James and Rick Karsdorp.

As with the sections above, we've listed the top 15 RB and RWB players to ensure you have a selection of players to choose from.

Trent Alexander-Arnold stats. (Image credit: EA Sports)RankPlayerClubRating1Trent Alexander-ArnoldLiverpool872Kyle WalkerManchester City853Achraf HakimiParis Saint-German844Reece JamesChelsea845CarvajalReal Madrid846Kieran TrippierNewcastle United847Juan CuadradoJuventus838Ricardo PereiraLeicester City839Jesus NavasSevilla FC8310Giovanni Di LorenzoNapoli FC8211Noussair MazraouiFC Bayern München8212Denzel DumfriesInter8213Pedro PorroSporting CP8114Lucas VazquezReal Madrid8115Rick KarsdorpRoma FC80

If you’re just getting started in FIFA 23, check out our Ultimate Team best starter teams page. You can improve your team by trading and spending FUT Coins - some of which can be earned by completing Milestone Objectives. It’s also a good idea to learn how Squad Battles and Champions work in FIFA 23. We also have an OTW tracker and RTTK tracker.Chemistry has been completely changed in FIFA 23 too and don’t forget about the wide variety of Skill Moves, and make sure to claim your Ted Lasso and AFC Richmond rewards in FUT while you can!Finally, if you need help building the perfect team, we have pages on the best players overall, best Premier League players and fastest players. Along with FIFA 23’s best lengthy players, wonderkids, best strikers, best wingers, best midfielders and best defenders.

Other things to know about picking the best FIFA 23 Defenders

There's more to just player ratings to keep in mind when selecting your back three, fouror five in FIFA 23, with differing factors becoming more or less important depending on the mode you're playing and your style of choice:

For Career Mode, potential is important too - Some players have higher built-in potential for growth than others, and if you're planning on playing at least two seasons of Career Mode then it's going to have a major impact on your squad. It's also a great way to pick up a bargain, too.For Ultimate Team, remember you can use Chemistry Styles - Chemistry, if you didn't know, has completely changed for FIFA 23. So, to make sure you know how the new system works, make sure you check out our Chemistry changes guide.Think about your style of play when looking at stats - We mentioned this briefly above, but certain defenders will work better in certain situations. Jérôme Boateng is much more phsyical than Gerard Piqué, for example. Generally with Centre Backs you want to compliment physicality with class - think Vidic and Ferdinand in their prime - whilst Full Backs' attributes will depend on whether you want them bombing forward and crossing, or sitting back and purely defending.

Have fun in FIFA 23!

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