Best center-backs for FIFA 23 Ultimate Team
EA SportsFIFA 23 center-backs are key to preventing goals in FIFA 23 and reducing attacks from your opponents. To help your play and build a wall in front of your opponents, we’ve compiled a list of the top-tier meta CBs that players should use in Ultimate Team.
One of the biggest decisions you need to make in FIFA 23 before diving into all of the key elements in Ultimate Team – including the best custom tactics and formations – is which players to put on your team.
Speedy wingers set up scoring chances, a world-class striker gets you goals, and midfielders hold down the middle of the park and dictate play. On the other hand, center-backs are essential to your defensive tactics as their primary job is to prevent the opposition from scoring goals.
Therefore, if you don’t have a CB with the right qualities, your defense won’t be nearly as effective – or as intimidating.
We’ve compiled a list below of the best meta CBs in FIFA 23 that you’ll want to use in your best Ultimate Team.
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Best center-backs in FIFA 23
The game’s player ratings and overalls are known to the world, meaning we can see the very best that the game has to offer, as well as the fastest.
Whether you have two or three center-backs, they ideally need to have a good balance of speed, height, strength, mobility, and tactical nous.
To do this, we present to you the best meta center-backs in FIFA 23, but also the quickest ones as well to cope with pacy forwards.
Best meta center-backs in FIFA 23
As we are now well into FIFA 23’s lifecycle and Team of the Year has crashed the market as usual, the cost of the game’s highest-rate CBs is quite low now – outside of maybe Van Dijk.
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For the most part, though, you get what you pay for, and these are the best center-backs for a reason in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team.
These are the ratings for the best center-backs in FIFA 23.
| Player Name | OVR | Club |
| Virgil Van Dijk | 90 | Liverpool |
| Marquinhos | 88 | PSG |
| Ruben Dias | 88 | Manchester City |
| Antonio Rüdiger | 87 | Real Madrid |
| Kalidou Koulibaly | 87 | Chelsea |
| Milan Skriniar | 86 | Inter Milan |
| Aymeric Laporte | 86 | Manchester City |
| Thiago Silva | 86 | Chelsea |
| David Alaba | 86 | Real Madrid |
| Niklas Sule | 85 | Borussia Dortmund |
| Matthijs de Ligt | 85 | Bayern Munich |
| Jules Koundé | 84 | Barcelona |
| Eder Gabriel Militao | 84 | Real Madrid |
| Lucas Hernandez | 84 | Bayern Munich |
| Sergio Ramos | 84 | PSG |
| Raphael Varane | 84 | Manchester United |
| Mats Hummels | 84 | Borussia Dortmund |
| Fikayo Tomori | 84 | AC Milan |
| Alessandro Bastoni | 84 | Inter Milan |
| Leonardo Bonucci | 84 | Juventus |
| Joel Matip | 84 | Liverpool |
| Giorgio Chiellini | 84 | Los Angeles FC |
| Stefan De Vrij | 84 | Inter Milan |
| Stefan Savić | 84 | Atletico Madrid |
| Bremer | 83 | Juventus |
| Pau Torres | 83 | Villarreal CF |
| Presnel Kimpembe | 83 | PSG |
| John Stones | 83 | Manchester City |
| Ronald Araujo | 83 | Barcelona |
| Diego Carlos | 83 | Aston Villa |
| Gerard Piqué | 83 | Barcelona |
| Cristian Romero | 83 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Giménez | 83 | Atletico Madrid |
| Nico Schlotterbeck | 82 | Borussia Dortmund |
| Azpilicueta | 82 | Chelsea |
| Nacho Fernández | 82 | Real Madrid |
| Willi Orban | 82 | RB Leipzig |
Fastest center backs to buy in FIFA 23
As well as the best-rated CBs in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team, you also need to know who the absolute fastest players are because sometimes ‘best’ doesn’t actually mean the best.
An 86-rated CB may have the defensive qualities to read the game, but if they’re slow, then someone like Mbappe will absolutely burn them with pace.
So here are the game’s absolute fastest defenders to consider for your Ultimate Team.
| Player Name | OVR | Pace | Club |
| Jeremiah St. Juste | 76 | 93 | Sporting CP |
| Maxence Lacroix | 77 | 87 | Wolfsburg |
| Lukas Klostermann | 80 | 86 | RP Leipzig |
| Eder Gabriel Militao | 84 | 86 | Real Madrid |
| Fikayo Tomori | 84 | 86 | AC Milan |
| Jules Kounde | 84 | 84 | Barcelona |
| Antonio Rudiger | 87 | 82 | Real Madrid |
| Ben Godfrey | 77 | 82 | Everton |
| Dayot Upamecano | 81 | 82 | Bayern Munich |
| Josko Gvardiol | 81 | 82 | RB Leipzig |
| Jurrien Timber | 80 | 82 | Ajax |
| Kalidou Koulibaly | 87 | 82 | Chelsea |
| Ibanez | 79 | 82 | Roma |
| Jordan Teze | 77 | 81 | PSV Eindhoven |
| Konstantinos Mavropanos | 78 | 81 | Stuttgart |
| Lucas Verissimo | 79 | 81 | Benfica |
| Raphael Varane | 84 | 81 | Manchester United |
| Virgil Van Dijk | 90 | 81 | Liverpool |
| Evan Ndicka | 81 | 80 | Eintracht Frankfurt |
| Goncalo Inacio | 79 | 80 | Sporting CP |
| Joe Gomez | 81 | 80 | Liverpool |
| Kim Min Jae | 79 | 80 | Napoli |
| Pierre Kalulu | 78 | 80 | AC Milan |
| Presnel Kimpembe | 83 | 80 | PSG |
| Min Jae Kim | 79 | 80 | Napoli |
| Timo Hübers | 76 | 80 | 1. FC Koln |
| Marquinhos | 88 | 79 | PSG |
| David Alaba | 86 | 79 | Real Madrid |
| Moussa Niakhaté | 78 | 79 | Nottingham Forest |
| Kevin Danso | 75 | 79 | RC Lens |
| Josip Šutalo | 75 | 79 | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Bremer | 83 | 78 | Juventus |
| William Saliba | 80 | 78 | Arsenal |
| Milan Škriniar | 80 | 78 | Inter Milan |
| Dávid Hancko | 77 | 78 | Feyenoord |
| Ibrahima Konaté | 81 | 78 | Liverpool |
| Ezri Konsa | 79 | 78 | Aston Villa |
That wraps up both of our comprehensive FIFA 23 CB lists with you now having full knowledge of the best and fastest center-backs in the game.
Also, if you enjoyed this guide, why not check out even more of our FIFA 23 guide content below:
FIFA 23 ICONS | FIFA 23 FUT Heroes | FIFA 23 crossplay explained | Best FIFA 23 custom tactics, meta formations & player instructions | FIFA 23 TOTW squads: Team of the Week explained | How to do the best FIFA 23 celebrations | Best FIFA 23 camera settings for Ultimate Team