20 Centre-Back Partnerships With Most Clean Sheets Since 2000

You know what ex-Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: “Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles.” The stubborn Scot – who managed at Old Trafford between 1986 and 2013 – would know given he picked up 13 Premier League crowns before his final outing in the dugout. Central to his success was the partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in the heart of the back line.

Strikers in England’s top flight knew they were in for a tough day at the office when tasked with unlocking the telepathic connection between Ferdinand and Vidic, who are widely regarded as two of the Premier League’s greatest-ever defenders.

But how does the aforementioned duo’s clean sheet record rank in terms of the best centre-back partnerships? The folks over at Transfermarkt have listed the top 20 in the Premier League, since the turn of the millennium, in terms of how many clean sheets they managed to keep. Only matches where both centre-backs (from William Gallas-John Terry to Tyrone Mings-Enzri Konsa) started have been taken into account.

20 Centre-Back Partnerships With Most Premier League Clean Sheets Since 2000: 20-11

Not the sexiest centre-back pairing on the list, Stoke City’s Robert Huth and Ryan Shawcross may have lacked the agility of some but, as a two, they were as defensively robust as they came. More than willing to put their hearts on the line and in the correct position most of the time, the burly pair kept 30 clean sheets as a result.

To highlight how well Jonas Olsson and Gareth McAuley worked as a pair at West Bromwich Albion, they both signed one-year contract extensions (until 2017) in April 2016, and they also sang from the hymn sheet on the pitch. Altogether, the less-fashionable pairing in the West Midlands managed to keep 31 clean sheets in 125 outings alongside one another.

The clean sheet tally of the Stoke duo is one short of five centre-back partnerships – but only one has the chance of increasing their tally by virtue of still playing for the same club. That’s Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster, who have the ability to increase their tally (currently 31) given they still both ply their trade for Brighton & Hove Albion.

Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel kept the same number in 71 appearances, as did Joleon Lescott at Vincent Kompany at Manchester City. The latter pairing managed to do so in 64 appearances alongside one another. William Gallas and John Terry struck up a wonderfully-aligned partnership in west London. During Chelsea’s golden days, the Frenchman and Englishman were a centre-back pairing on 43 occasions – and, in that short timeframe, they kept a more-than-impressive 31 clean sheets.

Bootle-born Carragher, by virtue of his lengthy 737-match spell on the red half of Merseyside, also spent time playing alongside Daniel Agger at the back and 32 clean sheets were as a result of their connection in the heart of the Liverpool back line.

The combination of Harry Maguire, whose £80 million move in makes him one of the most expensive defenders in the history of football, and Victor Lindelof may not be remembered well by those of a Manchester United persuasion, but their record of 33 clean sheets in just shy of 100 appearances together (98, to be precise) proves they were sturdy enough in times of struggle at Old Trafford.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Belgian duo, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, picked up 34 clean sheets while playing as the centre-back partnership in north London. That tally is the same as when Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate have played together, though the Liverpool pairing have done so in two fewer matches (95 compared to 97).

20 Centre-Back Partnerships With Most Premier League Clean Sheets Since 2000: 10-1

Van Dijk – who is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders in the history of the Premier League – does creep into the top ten, however, and that is alongside Joel Matip and not Konate, though their respective positions on the list do have time to change. Matip is no longer in Liverpool’s books, having retired in 2024, but his partnership with the Dutchman will be remembered fondly.

Heading to the other side of Merseyside, the blue half, and we’ve got Everton’s Sylvain Distin and Phil Jagielka. Their tally of 36 clean sheets is the same compared to that of John Terry and Gary Cahill, though the Chelsea pairing managed to accrue that number of clean sheets in far fewer matches (92 compared to 121).

Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa, who both have a chance to join Thomas Tuchel’s England in North America this summer, have managed to keep a haul of 42 clean sheets – the seventh-best tally in the Premier League since 2000 – in 126 matches. That’s one fewer than James Tarwowski and Ben Mee, who played at Burnley together.

Fulham may not be a team linked with the idea of conceding zero goals – but the unlikely duo of Brede Hangeland and Aaron Hughes’ is one looked back on fondly. With those two at the heart of their back line, not only did the Cottagers manage to secure three top-half finishes in the Premier League but also a spot in the 2009/10 Europa League final.

Staying in London but moving to the north of the capital, Arsenal once had Laurent Koscielny commanding the back four alongside Per Mertesacker. The two played 114 times alongside one another and kept a total of 45 clean sheets in that period.

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Renowned for conceding a record-low 15 goals in a single Premier League campaign (2004/05 under Jose Mourinho), Terry and Ricardo Carvalho is a partnership written into the history books, but there are still two pairings with more clean sheets than their 46 in 88 outings. That includes Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba (47 in 104).

To answer the question of how the Vidic-Ferdinand partnership compares to those in the history of the Premier League, it turns out quite well – and 70 clean sheets in 138 matches. The Englishman was a calm presence; the Serb was a defensive monster. The partnership was perfect, and it was the beating heart of United’s unprecedented success under Ferguson.

All statistics per Transfermarkt – correct as of 24/01/2026