Which FPL players are taking penalties and set pieces?

For the final time this season, a spot of housekeeping as we have a glance which players are taking set pieces and penalties in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) and update our Set Pieces tab in the process.

What we’re particularly looking for is any notable changes in clubs’ pecking order.

Based on the official Opta data in our Premium Members Area, here is a breakdown of the latest four Gameweeks.

GAMEWEEKS 31-34: PENALTY AND SET PIECE TAKERS

GAMEWEEKS 31-34: KEY TALKING POINTS

• Milos Kerkez‘s (£5.3m) open-play assist potential is well documented but until Gameweek 31, the Bournemouth full-back hadn’t been remotely involved at set plays. Since then, he’s taken seven corners (his first of the season) and three crossed free-kicks. Justin Kluivert‘s (£6.0m) absence wasn’t even a factor, as Kerkez has been responsible for corners from the other side of the pitch.
• Cole Palmer (£10.6m) is not only floundering in the goals department but currently deprived of set-piece duties, too. In the last seven Gameweeks, he’s taken just one corner and no crossed free-kicks. Palmer did get a set-play assist against Ipswich Town, receiving a short corner and teeing up Jadon Sancho (£6.2m), but he’s mostly taking a back seat.
• Matheus Cunha‘s (£7.0m) four-match absence saw Rayan Ait-Nouri (£5.0m) take up more of a prominent role at set plays. Even after Cunha’s return, Ait-Nouri has carried on doing so. From two corners taken in Gameweeks 21-27, he’s delivered 11 in the subsequent seven Gameweeks.
• Trent Alexander–Arnold (£7.2m) continues to be down the pecking order at Liverpool, and the exclusion started long before his recent absence through injury. From the second instalment of the Reds’ Double Gameweek 24, he’s taken just one corner. In that time, Alexis Mac Allister (£6.2m) has been responsible for 53 of them.
• Eberechi Eze (£6.9m) took and missed a penalty with Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.7m) on the pitch in Gameweek 32; and Mateta did exactly the same in last Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final. Oliver Glasner said after Eze’s saved attempt:

“Ebs and JP (Mateta) are the two penalty takers and they decide on the pitch. Ebs had the ball and takes many penalties after training. He scores many goals from these situations and we trust him completely.” – Oliver Glasner

• Speaking of saved attempts, you don’t need us to remind you that Marco Asensio (£6.2m) missed two spot-kicks in the same game, also in Gameweek 32. Marcus Rashford (£6.7m), Villa’s declared number one taker, had just gone off before the Villans’ first penalty in that game. The loanee then stepped up and scored from 12 yards in Gameweek 33. He’s now injured, of course, so Villa’s pecking order is something to consider for the run-in.

“We have our penalty shooter and the first one is Marcus Rashford. The second one is Asensio. Third ones are Tielemans, McGinn and Watkins. They are responsible when penalties are coming. We have to accept it and decide for the next match.” – Unai Emery

• Mathys Tel (£5.8m) scored a penalty for Spurs in Gameweek 31 but the likes of Dominic Solanke (£7.3m), Richarlison (£6.8m) and Son Heung-min (£9.7m) were all off the field at the time. Solanke then netted a spot-kick in the Europa League two weeks later with Tel on the field but hitherto regular taker Son off it.

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