Everton brought Aston Villa’s fine home run to an end on Sunday, with James Garner’s (£5.2m) defensive contribution (DefCon) haul among the key Fantasy talking points.
Here’s what we saw at Villa Park.
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GARNER’S DEFCON RECORD
In a superb defensive display, Garner racked up 29 (!) DefCons at Villa Park, the most any player has managed in a single match all season:
| DefCons | Player | Gameweek | Opposition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | James Garner | 22 | Aston Villa (a) |
| 25 | Mats Wieffer | 13 | Nott’m Forest (a) |
| 23 | Moises Caicedo | 3 | Fulham (h) |
| 23 | Mateus Fernandes | 15 | Brighton (a) |
The central midfielder has now banked DefCon in seven successive Gameweeks, another Fantasy high.
Garner also provided the cross for Jake O’Brien’s (£4.9m) disallowed goal on Sunday, but even without that assist, he is now level on points with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (£10.1m, see image below), highlighting his value as a budget differential.
PICKFORD HEROICS/EVERTON’S AWAY FORM
Thierno Barry’s (£5.7m) second-half strike, his third goal in four Gameweeks, won the match for Everton, who had previously hit the post and had a goal controversially ruled out for offside.
But this victory was very much built on defensive organisation, with Garner and three of the back four – James Tarkowski (£5.7m), Nathan Patterson (£4.4m) and O’Brien – all banking DefCon.
On the rare occasions Villa did threaten, Jordan Pickford (£5.6m) was equal to it, with five saves helping him claim the maximum bonus and his fourth double-digit haul of the campaign, the most of any goalkeeper:
Above: Goalkeepers sorted by double-digit hauls (DD) in 2025/26
Everton have now won four of their last six away games, keeping a clean sheet in five of those matches.
In a further boost, Idrissa Gana Gueye (£5.4m) and Iliman Ndiaye (£6.2m) should be back in time for next Monday’s home clash with Leeds United, having helped Senegal win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Sunday night.
ROGERS’ SHOTS
In a disjointed attacking display, Villa missed the chance to put pressure on Arsenal at the top of the table.
Substitute Evann Guessand’s (£6.2m) looping header hit the crossbar, but Morgan Rogers (£7.7m) always looked Villa’s most likely player to score.
He was often wasteful, but did have a fine curling effort saved by Pickford, with six shots in total.
Above: Morgan Rogers’ shot map v Everton (shots on target in green)
While he didn’t have his shooting boots on against Everton, Rogers is at least racking up the goal attempts, which hasn’t always been the case this season.
Indeed, he’s now produced 27 shots since Gameweek 16, the most of any player except Erling Haaland (£15.1m).
MCGINN INJURY
In his post-match interview, Unai Emery confirmed that John McGinn (£5.4m) has suffered a knee injury, having been forced off in the first-half.
He was at least able to walk off the pitch, but losing McGinn would be a significant blow for Villa, particularly with central midfielders Boubacar Kamara (£4.9m) and Amadou Onana (£4.8m) already out injured.
“Of course, when some players are getting injured, it is not good. It is football and we have to accept it. It is another opportunity for other players to play.
“I don’t know, it’s his knee.” – Unai Emery on John McGinn
Jadon Sancho (£5.8m), meanwhile, missed out on Sunday due to illness.
