In this article, we look at the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) defenders who have boasted the most attacking threat since Gameweek 20, the first round of the calendar year.
GOAL ATTEMPTS
Above: Defenders sorted by goal attempts (Tot) in Gameweeks 20-29
You won’t be surprised to see Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.3m) at the top of the above table. He’s had more shots than any other defender in 2025 and, somewhat surprisingly, has posted more goal attempts than Chris Wood (£7.3m) since the turn of the year.
Marc Cucurella (£5.2m) is also riding high. He has been one of Chelsea’s top performers under Enzo Maresca and has recently added goals to his game, scoring three times in his last eight appearances. The Spaniard has been sneakily efficient at hitting the target, too. He’s had five shots on target in 2025, the most of any defender. He also compares favourably in terms of penalty area touches (see below), with his inverted role freeing him up to crash the box.
Above: Marc Cucurella’s touch heatmap in Gameweeks 20-29
Maxence Lacroix (£4.5m) is a name you might not have expected to see. The Frenchman has established himself at the heart of Oliver Glasner’s three-man defence and is arguably proving one of the signings of the season, having arrived at Selhurst Park from Wolfsburg in a deal worth up to £18m last summer. His set-piece threat is evident in the numbers, having amassed seven shots from such situations in 2025, putting him joint-top among defenders, with Nikola Milenkovic (£4.9m) and team-mate Chris Richards (£4.4m).
Above: Defenders sorted by shots from set plays (Att) in Gameweeks 20-29
Lacroix’s goal threat at set-pieces could potentially exploit Southampton’s dead-ball frailties in Gameweek 30, then. That said, it’s hard to look past Daniel Munoz (£5.1m) as the superior Crystal Palace pick, given his advanced position and willingness to attack the box in open play.
As for Milenkovic, he has netted twice in his last four appearances, but it’s actually team-mate Neco Williams (£4.4m) who comes out on top for goal attempts in 2025. However, the towering centre-half has the higher expected goals (xG) per shot figure, with 0.12 compared to Williams’ 0.05, so he is clearly reaching much better positions to score on average.
Diogo Dalot (£5.0m), meanwhile, has been acting more like a marauding winger in Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation of late. He’s yet to score in the Premier League this season but did find the net against Real Sociedad in Europe recently, and has racked up 26 penalty box touches since the turn of the year (see below), the joint-second-most of any defender.
Manchester United team-mates Matthijs de Ligt (£4.8m) and Harry Maguire (£4.9m) carry an aerial threat in the opposition box, too.
Above: Defenders sorted by penalty-box touches (Pen Tchs) in Gameweeks 20-29
Josko Gvardiol (£6.0m) leads the way when it comes to getting big chances, with three, although it is worth pointing out he has now gone five successive matches without a shot.
The gifted Dean Huijsen (£4.5m) is also worth a mention. Composed in possession, he’s racked up four headed shots in 2025, yet surprisingly has won just 60% of his aerial duels overall.
ASSIST POTENTIAL
