Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is just two days away – and we’ve got a comprehensive guide to the best players for defensive contribution (DefCon) points to bring you.
It comes courtesy of Tom Hadley, a former world number one in FPL, and who will be providing data-driven articles for Fantasy Football Scout throughout 2026/27.
This article is an in-depth look into which players offer the most potential value at each price point, chiefly focusing on the players that typically excel at accumulating DefCon points.
I’ll also take a look at bonus point magnets at the bottom of this piece.
DefCon Leaders: Defenders
The most notable talking point ahead of this season is the fact that the vast majority of the best-performing DefCon assets from last season have either changed team or changed manager. This adds a degree of uncertainty to predicting the nature of this season.
Not only that, but the majority of top performers have received a price increase, too.
So, my current thinking is perhaps to instead gamble on a few new potential DefCon gems.
Immediately, the £5.0m bracket looks like the sweet spot. I think there is so much potential at that price across the board.
VUSKOVIC + MUHAREMOVIC
It is new boys Luka Vuskovic and Tarik Muharemovic (both £5.0m) who really catch my eye, both boasting extremely impressive DEFCON numbers and attacking data from their previous clubs.
I’m very keen just to go straight into the season with these two players. I think the upside is potentially huge, and they could match those star men from last season who are now in the £6.0m bracket.
Muharemovic looks to be by far the safer pick of the two. He was straight into the left side of the Leeds back three and seamlessly settled in over pre-season (not to mention his bicycle kick goal!). Leeds look even stronger defensively with the addition of James Trafford (£5.0m), and I can also see Muharemovic chipping in with some attacking returns.
Vuskovic, on the other hand, may not be a week-to-week starter at first. However, the fact that he started the last two friendlies gives me a lot more confidence in his likelihood of a start in Gameweek 1, at least.
The upside with Vuskovic looks huge. He hit DefCon in just 60 minutes in the last friendly and has already had a couple of good chances from corners in pre-season. His goal record from centre back is incredible for his age (17 goals in 91 games). I’d be shocked if we don’t see a good few big hauls from him this season! This is the main reason why I’m likely to just risk him from the off.
Of course, all of these promising numbers may not translate to FPL; I just believe it could be worth just taking the gamble for the huge potential upside. There is an early Wildcard as cover, and a lot of people will likely be using that chip in the opening six Gameweeks regardless.
Which defenders had the highest floor score last season?
This is an important consideration in DefCon.
Players may repeatedly hit the defensive contribution threshold but if they concede significantly or get booked a lot, it slowly loses its value. Look at Maxime Esteve last season: 38 DefCon points but a shortage of shut-outs meant he averaged a miserable 2.5 points per game.
4+ points is the dream target for all defenders. Either a simple clean sheet, an attacking return, or DefCon points with just one goal conceded.
Dan Ballard (£5.0m) and Jaka Bijol (£4.5m) posted quite remarkable numbers from last year, particularly in home games. They’re names to consider if you’re planning a player rotation that involves a lot of home matches.
The Bournemouth defence was ridiculously consistent across the board, but this one maybe needs a bit of time to see how the new manager gets on.
We have the perfect entry point for Bournemouth assets, too, in Gameweek 7 (or on a Wildcard just before that). Adrien Truffert (£5.5m) and James Hill (£5.5m) are very much on my watchlist until then. They could still offer tremendous value, even with price rises, should they replicate the numbers from last season.
Defenders who hit DefCon whilst keeping a clean sheet
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