We had our first proper look at each team’s main set-piece takers in Gameweek 1 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Since then, however, we’ve seen new signings arrive, players return from injury and new set-play pretenders come to the fore.
So, in this piece, we look back on who was on dead-ball duties in Gameweeks 2-5.
As well as providing a table of all 20 Premier League clubs’ corner, free-kick and penalty takers, we’ll discuss any notable changes from our last article.
GAMEWEEKS 2-5: 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 (9) Rice (7) Dowman (1) | Rice (2) | Odegaard (1) | Saka (1) |
| Aston Villa | McGinn (8) Buendia (3) Garnacho (1) Mbaye (1) | McGinn (2) | Buendia (1) | |
| Bournemouth | Tavernier (9) Scott (8) Brooks (1) | Tavernier (4) Truffert (4) Scott (3) | Tavernier (2) Scott (1) | |
| Brentford | Damsgaard (8) Janelt (4) Lewis-Potter (2) Carvalho (1) | Damsgaard (2) Janelt (1) | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Gross (12) De Cuyper (10) | Gross (4) Boscagli (3) De Cuyper (1) | Gross (1) | |
| Chelsea | James (9) Neto (9) Henderson (7) Gusto (3) Estevao (1) | Palmer (1) Rogers (1) | James (3) Palmer (1) Rogers (1) | |
| Coventry City | Grimes (6) Rudoni (6) Tchaouna (3) Torp (1) Hamer (1) Mason-Clark (1) | Rudoni (5) Grimes (3) Tchaouna (2) Torp (1) | ||
| Crystal Palace | Pino (6) Wharton (5) Kamada (1) | Pino (3) Wharton (1) | Pino (2) | |
| Everton | Dewsbury-Hall (10) Garner (8) Hackney (3) | Garner (3) Hackney (1) | Garner (1) | |
| Fulham | Iwobi (9) Bobb (8) Kevin (3) Sessegnon (2) | Iwobi (3) Palacios (1) | ||
| Hull City | Belloumi (6) Slater (4) Giles (4) Cho (1) Gelhardt (1) | Belloumi (1) Giles (1) | ||
| Ipswich Town | Lukic (7) Fatawu (7) Philogene (1) | Fatawu (1) Davis (1) | ||
| Leeds United | Stach (16) Wilson (4) | Stach (5) Wilson (1) | Stach (2) | |
| Liverpool | Szoboszlai (11) Tsimikas (2) Mac Allister (1) | Szoboszlai (6) | Szoboszlai (4) | |
| Manchester City | Anderson (8) Cherki (7) Fernandez (5) Foden (2) Ndiaye (1) | Fernandez (3) Cherki (2) | Fernandez (1) | |
| Manchester United | Fernandes (21) Mbeumo (8) Cunha (1) | Fernandes (3) Shaw (1) | Rashford (2) Fernandes (1) | Fernandes (1) |
| Newcastle United | Hall (11) Barnes (3) Elanga (3) Murphy (2) Miley (1) | Hall (3) Barnes (1) Murphy (1) | Dedic (1) | Wissa (1) |
| Nottingham Forest | McAtee (7) Williams (6) Netz (1) | Gibbs-White (4) McAtee (1) | Gibbs-White (1) | Gibbs-White (1) |
| Sunderland | Xhaka (8) Le Fee (6) Hume (1) | Xhaka (8) Le Fee (2) | Xhaka (1) Isidor (1) | Le Fee (2) |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Savinho (11) Tel (6) Fernandes (5) Maddison (3) Porro (3) Kudus (3) Robertson (2) Marmoush (2) | Robertson (3) Maddison (2) Porro (2) | Marmoush (1) Maddison (1) Tel (1) |
NOTES
USUAL SUSPECTS ON PENALTIES
There weren’t any real shocks from the spot, with the likes of Bruno Fernandes (£11.9m) and Bukayo Saka (£9.5m) continuing where they left off in 2025/26. Saka’s penalty-taking prospects are boosted by the lack of game-time given to Viktor Gyokeres (£7.1m), with whom he job-shared last season.
Also staying on penalties is Enzo Le Fee (£5.7m). Despite a miss from 12 yards in Gameweek 4, he was back successfully converting spot-kicks in the subsequent UEFA Europa League win over AZ Alkmaar.
As pretty much expected, Yoane Wissa (£6.2m) and Pascal Gross (£5.8m) stepped up after the summer exits of last season’s penalty takers. Wissa missed his effort in Gameweek 5, of course.
Morgan Gibbs-White (£8.0m) got the nod over Liam Delap (£5.6m) and Igor Jesus (£5.8m) when Nottingham Forest were awarded a penalty in Gameweek 2, although Chris Wood (£5.8m) was off the field at the time.
In the cups, Jorgen Strand Larsen (£6.0m) and Victor Torp (£5.3m) took spot-kicks for Crystal Palace and Coventry City. With Ismaila Sarr (£6.2m), Jean-Philippe Mateta (£6.3m) and Haji Wright (£5.4m) all absent, however, those two may still be far from first choices.
ENZO INTO THE EQUATION AT CITY
Enzo Fernandez (£6.9m) got off the mark for Manchester City with a well-taken direct free-kick in Gameweek 5.
It marked a busy afternoon of set-piece duties for the Argentine international, who was on corner-taking duties from both sides against Sunderland. Those were the first corners he’d taken in a City shirt since his move.
Elliot Anderson (£6.3m), who’d taken at least one corner in all four preceding Gameweeks, took a backseat at dead-ball situations.
DEFENDERS ON DUTY
Lewis Hall (£5.3m), Maxim De Cuyper (£5.0m) and Reece James (£5.4m) are the only defenders who have taken corners in all of their 2026/27 appearances to date, although Neco Williams (£5.0m) has also been a regular for Nottingham Forest.
Hull City’s bargain-bin buy, Ryan Giles (£4.0m), is another name to mention. He wasn’t involved with set plays until Gameweek 5, when he replaced budget midfielder Regan Slater (£4.5m) on left-sided corners.
Despite not being involved with corner kicks, Adrien Truffert (£5.4m), Oliver Boscagli (£4.5m) and Luke Shaw (£4.3m) have taken more than one crossed free-kick for their respective sides.
SPURS MESS
The mess at Tottenham Hotspur is encapsulated by their chaotic set-piece pecking order. We’re only five Gameweeks in but nine different Spurs players have taken a corner or crossed free-kick this season, with Roberto De Zerbi still trying to find the right starting XI blend.
Savio (£6.5m) was most heavily involved in Gameweek 5, taking a whopping eight corners.
PALMER AND ROGERS NOT TOO HEAVILY INVOLVED
Cole Palmer (£9.7m) and Morgan Rogers (£7.7m) both took a corner in Gameweek 1 but neither player has done since. Palmer, indeed, hasn’t been involved with any indirect set piece since Gameweek 2, although Rogers did take a crossed free-kick in Chelsea’s most recent game.
Each of them has taken one direct free-kick, with Reece James on three.
SOME OTHER DEVELOPMENTS SINCE GAMEWEEK 1
In terms of any other notable developments since our last article, John McGinn (£5.4m) has returned to the set-piece fold at Villa, taking corners in each of the last four Gameweeks.
We’ve already mentioned the Giles/Slater switcheroo at Hull but the in-form Mohamed Belloumi (£5.1m) has begun taking corners from the other flank over the last four Gameweeks.
Another budget midfielder from another newly promoted side, Jack Rudoni (£4.9m), has similarly wrested control of (some) corners over the last three Gameweeks.
As we expected would happen when he was fit to start, James Garner (£6.0m) has resumed set-piece duties for Everton. He was only available for bench duty in Gameweek 1.
Harry Wilson (£6.2m) dropping out of the side/squad due to form/fitness has helped Anton Stach (£6.0m) reassert almost total control at Leeds.
Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) meanwhile continues to hog all manner of dead-ball duties at Liverpool, although we did see his monopoly broken slightly by Kostas Tsimikas (£4.9m) and Alexis Mac Allister (£5.4m) in the last two Gameweeks.
