In this first Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season of defensive contribution (DefCon) rewards, only two of the top 12 points scorers after Gameweek 10 are traditional attackers.
Beyond this dozen, 18 of the best 25 are players we can label as ‘defensive’, including Declan Rice (£6.8m), Moises Caicedo (£6.0m), Ryan Gravenberch (£5.6m), Granit Xhaka (£5.1m) and Joao Palhinha (£5.5m). These are five of the leading nine midfielders.
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Such tallies aren’t simply based on DefCon points; they’re getting attacking returns too.
Looking at data from our Members Area, let’s try to identify if this trend is sustainable or an early-season quirk.
THE ADDITION OF DEFCON
Introduced to add appeal to more players and allow more varied FPL squads, DefCon is a small factor in these five doing well, though Gravenberech has surprisingly only once reached the threshold.
Throughout the Premier League, more DefCon points have been awarded than in last season’s Gameweeks 1 to 10. Yet this is mostly benefiting defenders. Instead of 153 midfield rewards, there have only been 125 by now, something we looked at two weeks ago.
| DEFCON POINTS | CLEARANCES | BLOCKS | INTERCEPTIONS | RECOVERIES | TACKLES | DEFCON ACTIONS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 654 | 5,184 | 652 | 1,546 | 7,419 | 3,342 | 15,200 |
| 2024/25 | 618 | 4,000 | 744 | 1,704 | 8,048 | 3,624 | 14,982 |
This can be explained by a 2025/26 tactical trend, where it’s currently fashionable to cross and launch the ball more often. It means less midfield action and more centre-back clearances – for example, Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.6m) is doing far better for DefCon than last season.
So far, the leading midfielders in this area are Caicedo, Xhaka, Elliot Anderson (£5.3m), Josh Cullen (£5.0m) and Mats Wieffer (£4.9m), who’ve each collected 10 points from it.
However, when checking out 2024/25’s top midfielders, the existence of DefCon would’ve given big boosts to Caicedo, Anderson, Joao Gomes (£5.3m) and Idrissa Gueye (£5.4m), albeit not enough to have them amongst the leading men:
So the great defensive midfielder start must be about more than this.
ASSIST POTENTIAL
Replacing the need for engine room action is more set-pieces. Rice’s Arsenal grab the headlines for their 10 goals from such situations, but it’s not just the Gunners. Having long been a neglected area, it feels like all teams have hired specialist coaches to capitalise on these moments of control.
Sure enough, even though last season had more corners (1,126 v 977) and more attempts from set-pieces (759 v 751), these ones are being executed better. It’s a case of quality over quantity.
| 2025/26 | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CORNER GOALS | 49 | 34 | 29 |
| FREE-KICK GOALS | 14 | 19 | 22 |
| THROW-IN GOALS | 10 | 5 | 2 |
| SET-PIECE GOALS | 73 | 58 | 53 |
| TOTAL CORNERS | 977 | 1,126 | 1,079 |
| CORNER ATTEMPTS | 400 | 478 | 478 |
| FREE-KICK ATTEMPTS | 213 | 229 | 239 |
| THROW-IN ATTEMPTS | 138 | 52 | 37 |
| SET-PIECE ATTEMPTS | 751 | 759 | 754 |
Improved routines have brought 73 goals instead of 58, where throw-ins have particularly started to shine. Goals from these have doubled, comparing both campaigns’ opening 10 Gameweeks. 138 throw-in attempts are a big rise from 52, led by the 22 of Brentford.
So, who is taking these better set-pieces?
None of our five focused names really take the throws: Antoine Semenyo (£8.1m) is the best midfielder for those.
Yet Rice and Xhaka do take corners and free-kicks. Each of the England international’s four FPL assists has come from one, with both goals being in open play.
Sunderland’s star summer signing has assisted via a cross and a free-kick, ranking joint-first for big chances created (five) and falling narrowly behind Rice’s 17 chances created (up in tenth place).
| RICE | CAICEDO | GRAVENBERCH | XHAKA | PALHINHA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHANCES CREATED | 17 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 2 |
| BIG CHANCES CREATED | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| TOUCHES IN FINAL THIRD | 108 | 77 | 90 | 74 | 36 |
| CROSSES | 52 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 1 |
| TOTAL ASSISTS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| XA | 1.98 | 0.68 | 0.56 | 1.16 | 0.30 |
Of course, Rice probably shouldn’t be considered as a defensive midfielder now that Martin Zubimendi (£5.5m) has arrived.
GOAL THREAT
