The Scout on why defensive midfielders will be among the main beneficiaries of the new defensive contribution points system in Fantasy Premier League.
The addition of defensive contribution points in Fantasy will help reward specific types of players for their involvement in a match.
Any midfielder or forward who reaches a combined total of 12 clearances, blocks, interceptions, recoveries and tackles (CBIRT) in a match will score two points.
A look at the top-performing players for defensive contribution points in recent seasons shows that defensive midfield is by far the dominant position.
Indeed, they account for as many as 13 of the best 14 totals from 2021/22 onwards, with the 44 points of Everton centre-back James Tarkowski (£5.5m) last season making him the odd man out.
Declan Rice (£6.5m) claims the top two places over the last four campaigns thanks to his displays for West Ham United, before he joined Arsenal.
Rice would have collected 62 defensive contribution points in 2022/23, earning them in a massive 86.1 per cent of his 36 starts. That would have surpassed his total of 54 defensive contribution points (DC) from the season beforehand while playing for the Hammers under David Moyes.
Manchester City’s Rodri (£6.5m) also features twice in the analysis. He would have delivered 44 points in 2021/22 and followed it up with 46 points in the ensuing season.
Top players for defensive contribution points in last four seasons
| Player | Season | Starts | % starts with DC | DC pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | 22/23 | 36 | 86.1% | 62 |
| Rice | 21/22 | 35 | 77.1% | 54 |
| Gueye | 22/23 | 32 | 75.0% | 48 |
| Palhinha | 22/23 | 35 | 68.6% | 48 |
| Hojbjerg | 21/22 | 36 | 66.7% | 48 |
| Rodri | 21/22 | 33 | 69.7% | 46 |
| Norgaard | 21/22 | 35 | 65.7% | 46 |
| Neves | 21/22 | 31 | 71.0% | 44 |
| Palhinha | 23/24 | 31 | 71.0% | 44 |
| Tarkowski | 24/25 | 33 | 66.7% | 44 |
| Rodri | 22/23 | 34 | 64.7% | 44 |
| Romeu | 21/22 | 34 | 64.7% | 44 |
| Norgaard | 23/24 | 30 | 70.0% | 42 |
| Caicedo | 24/25 | 38 | 55.7% | 42 |
Which midfielders would have benefited last season?
The dominance of defensive midfielders is again very much in evidence when assessing the 2024/25 defensive contribution points.
ALL of the 11 top-scoring players midfielders for this statistic played as defensive midfielders for their clubs.
Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo (£5.5m) led the way on 42 points, which placed him second only to Tarkowski among all players.
The Ecuadorian started all 38 of his side’s matches and picked up defensive contribution points in 21 of them, which equates to a 55.3 per cent success rate.
Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson (£5.5m), Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Joao Gomes (£5.5m) and Everton’s Idrissa Gueye (£5.5m) all collected 36 defensive contribution points to rank among the top eight players for this statistic last season.
Notably, both Wolves and AFC Bournemouth each supplied two of the top-performing midfielders for defensive contribution points in 2024/25.
Alongside Gomes, Wolves’ Andre (£5.5m) picked up 26 points, while Bournemouth duo Lewis Cook (£5.0m) and Ryan Christie (£5.0m) collected 30 and 26 points respectively.
Top midfielders for defensive contribution points in 24/25
| Player | Starts | % starts with DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caicedo | 38 | 55.3% | 42 |
| Anderson | 33 | 54.6% | 36 |
| Gomes | 35 | 51.4% | 36 |
| Gueye | 35 | 51.4% | 36 |
| Norgaard | 34 | 50.0% | 34 |
| Baleba | 31 | 48.4% | 30 |
| Cook | 32 | 46.9% | 30 |
| Gravenberch | 37 | 40.5% | 30 |
| Lerma | 26 | 53.9% | 28 |
| Christie | 27 | 48.2% | 26 |
| Ndidi | 28 | 46.4% | 26 |
| Andre | 31 | 41.9% | 26 |
How does this compare with attacking midfielders last season?
Factoring defensive contribution points into each player’s totals from last season helps paint a clearer picture of how they compared with more attacking midfielders.
Caicedo earned just 98 points last season, with only one goal and four assists to his name. But with his 42 defensive contribution points added, he would have totalled 140 points.
Put into perspective, that’s three points MORE than the 137 of Tottenham Hotspur’s Brennan Johnson (£7.0m).
While Johnson produced 11 goals and six assists, the Welshman earned ZERO defensive contribution points across his 33 outings.
Nottingham Forest’s Anderson delivered 107 points last season thanks to one goal and seven assists. However, with defensive contribution points added, his total would have been 143 – just two points behind Brighton & Hove Albion’s Kaoru Mitoma (£6.5m).
The Japanese winger combined 10 goals and five assists in 2024/25 to claim 145 points but, similarly to Spurs’ Johnson, would have earned no defensive contribution points.
Selected midfielders with defensive contribution points added
| Player | Att. returns | DC pts | 24/25 pts | New total pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitoma | 15 | 0 | 145 | 145 |
| Anderson | 8 | 36 | 107 | 143 |
| Norgaard | 10 | 34 | 107 | 141 |
| Caicedo | 5 | 42 | 98 | 140 |
| Johnson | 17 | 0 | 137 | 137 |
| Martinelli | 12 | 2 | 125 | 127 |