We had our first proper look at each team’s main set-piece takers in Gameweek 1 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Many of the players involved at dead-ball situations were carrying off where they left off in 2025/26 or in pre-season.
But there are a few new set-play pretenders to report on following the opening weekend.
GAMEWEEKS 1: PENALTY AND SET PIECE TAKERS
Based on the official Opta data in our Members Area, here is a breakdown of the latest round of matches.
| Corners | Crosses from free-kicks | Shots from direct free-kicks | Penalties taken | |
| Arsenal | Saka (5 – right) Rice (3 – left) | Eze (1) | ||
| Aston Villa | Barkley (1 – left) Buendia (1 – left) | |||
| Bournemouth | Scott (2 – both sides) Tavernier (1 – right) | Tavernier (1) | ||
| Brentford | Janelt (4 – right) Damsgaard (2 – left) Jensen (1 – left) | Jensen (1) | Jensen (1) | Thiago (1) |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Gross (3 – both sides) De Cuyper (2 – right) | Gross (1) | ||
| Chelsea | James (1 – left) Estevao (1 – right) Palmer (1 – left) Rogers (1 – right) | James (1) | ||
| Coventry City | Grimes (2 – both sides) | Grimes (1) Torp (1) | ||
| Crystal Palace | ||||
| Everton | Dewsbury-Hall (3 – right) Hackney (1 – left) | Dewsbury-Hall (1) | ||
| Fulham | Bobb (4 – right) Iwobi (1 – right) Kevin (1 – left) | Iwobi (1) | ||
| Hull City | Slater (1 – left) | Slater (1) | ||
| Ipswich Town | Lukic (1 – left) Fatawu (1 – right) Nunez (1 – left) | Lukic (1) | ||
| Leeds United | Wilson (1 – right) Stach (1 – right) | Wilson (1) | Stach (2) | |
| Liverpool | Szoboszlai (6 – both sides) | Szoboszlai (3) | Szoboszlai (2) | Szoboszlai (1) |
| Manchester City | Foden (5 – right) Cherki (2 – both sides) Anderson (1 – left) | Foden (1) | ||
| Manchester United | Mbeumo (4 – right) Fernandes (2 – left) | Shaw (1) | ||
| Newcastle United | Hall (2 – right) | Hall (1) | Osula (1) | |
| Nottingham Forest | McAtee (3 – right) | Gibbs-White (2) Williams (1) | Gibbs-White (1) | |
| Sunderland | Xhaka (4 – both sides) Le Fee (1 – left) | Xhaka (1) | Angulo (1) | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Robertson (2 – right) Tel (1 – left) | Tonali (1) | Tel (1) |
NOTES
SZOBOSZLAI ON… EVERYTHING
Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) was the only Premier League player to register a clean sweep of set pieces in Gameweek 1.
On corners, crossed free-kicks and direct free-kicks, he completed the set with a stoppage-time penalty on Tyneside.
The undisputed first choice on spot-kicks, then? Andoni Iraola stopped short of confirming that on Sunday; you can find some quotes from both player and manager in our Scout Notes.
NEW SIGNINGS ON SET PLAYS
Morgan Rogers (£7.5m), Hayden Hackney (£5.5m), Sasa Lukic (£5.0m), Abdul Fatawu (£5.5m), Harry Wilson (£6.5m), Elliot Anderson (£6.5m) and Andrew Robertson (£4.5m) were straight into the set-piece mix at their respective clubs.
Many of these had taken corners for their new clubs in pre-season, too. Anderson, indeed, had delivered three in the Community Shield.
It should be pointed out that Rogers’ corner was taken short at Craven Cottage. In fact, three of Chelsea’s four corners on Monday, all taken by different players, went short.
Wilson’s transfer to Leeds will be worth monitoring. Anton Stach (£6.0m) was taking corners from both sides at Leeds towards the end of last season, but his new teammate may be eating into his share. At least the German still has direct free-kicks, scoring from one in Gameweek 1.
RETURNING TO THE FRAY
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£6.5m) was a regular on corners and free-kicks at the beginning of last season but his involvement ebbed away in the second half of 2025/26.
He was back on corners on Saturday – although it should be said that regular taker James Garner (£6.0m) was only fit enough for bench duty in Gameweek 1.
Lewis Hall (£5.0m), like his near-namesake at Everton, saw set-piece opportunities harder to come by after January of this year. However, with Messrs Tonali, Gordon and Trippier gone, he took all three of Newcastle’s corners/crossed free-kicks on Sunday.
Morgan Gibbs-White (£8.0m), meanwhile, has already matched the total number of crossed free-kicks/corners that he delivered in the whole of last season!
TZOLIS KNOWS HIS PLACE?
Christos Tzolis’ (£6.5m) corners were a real weapon in pre-season but when the meaningful action got underway on Friday, it was last season’s pair of Bukayo Saka (£9.5m) and, from Tzolis’s side, Declan Rice (£7.5m) who carried on where they left off in 2025/26.
The Greek winger might have to bide his time at set plays for now, then.
ANOTHER STRING TO DE CUYPER’S BOW
Maxim De Cuyper‘s (£4.5m) ‘out of position’ run-outs on the left wing are gaining plenty of FPL attention. But the Belgian full-back also has set pieces in his armory, with his pre-season corner-taking duties spilling over into Gameweek 1.
Yankuba Minteh‘s (£6.0m) absence not only opens up a spot on the flanks for De Cuyper but means one fewer rival for corners on the right.
