As a host of popular midfielders and forwards continue to frustrate managers in Fantasy Premier League, The Scout pinpoints the most consistent players over the first seven Gameweeks and how their success can shape our formations.
It's fair to say that, apart from Manchester City's Erling Haaland (£14.5m) and AFC Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo (£7.9m), the most-popular midfielders and forwards have largely disappointed.
As shown in the table below, both have justified their lofty ownerships of 61 and 59 per cent respectively. Haaland and Semenyo have each blanked only ONCE over their seven outings, a success rate of 86.0 per cent.
That's in stark contrast to most of the others among the 10 midfielders and forwards with the highest ownerships.
Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres (£9.1m) and Man City midfielder Tijjani Reijnders (£5.8m) have each blanked in FIVE of their first seven appearances, while Chelsea forward Joao Pedro (£7.7m), Tottenham Hotspur's Mohammed Kudus (£6.7m), Everton's Jack Grealish (£6.9m) and and Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) have all suffered four blanks.
Success rate of 10 most-owned midfielders and forwards
| Player | Owned | Apps | Blanks | Succ. rate |
| Haaland | 61% | 7 | 1 | 86.0% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semenyo | 59% | 7 | 1 | 86.0% |
| Salah | 38% | 7 | 3 | 57.1% |
| Ekitike | 16% | 6 | 3 | 50.0% |
| Joao Pedro | 61% | 7 | 4 | 42.8% |
| Kudus | 33% | 7 | 4 | 42.8% |
| Grealish | 20% | 7 | 4 | 42.8% |
| Fernandes | 18% | 7 | 4 | 28.6% |
| Reijnders | 33% | 7 | 5 | 28.6% |
| Gyokeres | 26% | 7 | 5 | 28.6% |
Scroll across to see the full table on mobile
Why defensive contributions have redefined what a 'blank' is
Although it's early days in the very first season with the defensive contribution metric, Semenyo's output against Newcastle in Gameweek 5 may ultimately prove a seminal moment in how we now determine what a "blank" is in Fantasy.
The Ghana international picked up two points for his defensive contributions in the goalless draw and also collected a point for a clean sheet due to his classification as a midfielder in Fantasy, totalling five points.
Semenyo was the seventh most-selected captain in Gameweek 5 and if you were one of the 353,000 who backed him with the armband, it's fairly certain you won't be looking at those 10 points as a failure.
By looking beyond just goals and assists, we can get a clearer picture of those players who are consistently rewarding managers through other metrics.
Joao Pedro v Cullen breakdown
A comparison of Joao Pedro and Burnley midfielder Josh Cullen (£5.0m) helps to illustrate why defensive contributions are transforming the reliability of certain types of players in Fantasy.
Joao Pedro has been the most-owned player in Fantasy since the season started and is found in 61 per cent of squads.
The Chelsea forward has rewarded those backers with two goals and three assists to collect 39 points, placing him second in his position in Fantasy.
As you can see from the table below, all of Joao Pedro's returns came across Gameweeks 2-4. In four of his seven appearances he has registered only two points.
Cullen, on the other hand, is exactly the type of player that the defensive contributions metric has been introduced for.
As a ball-winning midfielder for a Burnley side with the lowest average possession in the league, he has collected 10 points for his defensive contributions, more than any other player in his position in Fantasy.
Whereas the majority of Joao Pedro's returns have been two-point hauls, Cullen has produced four or more points in five of his seven outings.
Indeed, in a Gameweek-by-Gameweek comparison, Cullen has outperformed Joao Pedro on four occasions and sits just two points behind the Brazilian on 37 points. Yet he can currently be found in only 2.0 per cent of squads.
Joao Pedro v Cullen Gameweek score comparision
| GW | Joao Pedro pts | Cullen pts |
| 1 | 2 | 4* |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 15 | 14 |
| 3 | 9 | 2 |
| 4 | 7 | 3* |
| 5 | 2 | 4* |
| 6 | 2 | 4* |
| 7 | 2 | 6* |
| Total | 39 | 37 |
*Matches with defensive contribution pts
Who have been the most consistent players in Fantasy this season?
By factoring in defensive contribution points along with goals, assists, clean sheets and bonus points as a "return", you get a better idea of the most reliable performers in 2025/26.
Listed below are the players who have both a minimum of 30 points AND a maximum of two blanks over the first seven Gameweeks.
Arsenal star Declan Rice (£6.5m) and Chelsea's Moises Caicedo (£5.8m) have both matched the consistency of Haaland and Semenyo, with one blank each in seven appearances.
Along with Semenyo, the former two also rank among the five top-scoring midfielders this season, claiming 45 and 40 points respectively.
Crystal Palace's Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m) also merits attention. Indeed, of the 21 outfield players below, the Senegalese and Haaland are the only two who are yet to earn defensive contribution points.
At the back, Sarr's team-mate Maxence Lacroix (£5.1m), along with Bournemouth's Marcos Senesi (£5.0m) and Everton's James Tarkowski (£5.5m), have blanked only once, with the latter pair each claiming 12 points from defensive contributions alone.
Notably, the Eagles are far and away the most reliable club in the assessment, supplying FIVE of the 22 players, with centre-back Marc Guehi (£4.9m) and wing-backs Tyrick Mitchell (£5.0m) and Daniel Munoz (£5.6m) also among the most consistent around.
Sunderland's centre-back Omar Alderete (£4.1m), meanwhile, is the No 1 player for value in terms of points per million spent this season thanks to his many routes to returns. The Paraguayan has combined a goal and an assist with two clean sheets, four bonus points and eight defensive contribution points.
Success rate of players with 30+ points and maximum two blanks
| Player | Position | Apps | Blanks | Succ. rate |
| Haaland | FWD | 7 | 1 | 86.0% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pope | GKP | 7 | 1 | 86.0% |
| Lacroix, Senesi, Tarkowski | DEF | 7 | 1 | 86.0% |
| Caicedo, Rice, Semenyo | MID | 7 | 1 | 86.0% |
| I.Sarr | MID | 5 | 1 | 80.0% |
| Alderete, Burn, Gabriel, Guehi, Keane, Munoz, Mitchell, Porro | DEF | 7 | 2 | 71.4% |
| Cullen, Garner, Ndiaye, Xhaka | MID | 7 | 2 | 71.4% |
| Chalobah | DEF | 6 | 2 | 66.7% |
Scroll across to see the full table on mobile
Applying this to each player's points per Gameweek helps to highlight those who are both consistent in terms of quantity and quality of output, and those who will tick along nicely, albeit with a lower ceiling.
As you can see, only four players - Haaland, Semenyo, Caicedo and Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope (£5.1m) have produced a minimum of four points in six of the first seven Gameweeks.
Using Haaland as an example here, the table below shows that he is the only player to return six or more points in six of the first seven Gameweeks, while five of his hauls have been a minimum nine points.
In defence, meanwhile, Arsenal's Gabriel (£6.3m) and Newcastle's Dan Burn (£5.1m) have been the best around. Both have collected at least six points in five of the first seven Gameweeks, and at least nine points in three of them.
Further down, Everton's James Garner and Sunderland's Granit Xhaka (both £5.0m) have followed the pattern set by their fellow budget midfielder Cullen, each producing a minimum of four points in five of the first seven Gameweeks.
Although this has raised the points floor of all three in terms of what to expect each Gameweek, the statistics also reflect their low ceilings - Cullen, Garner and Xhaka have only managed eight or more points in one of their seven outings.
| Player | 4 pts+ | 5pts+ | 6pts+ | 7pts+ | 8pts+ | 9pts+ |
| Haaland | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semenyo | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Pope | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Caicedo | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Burn, Gabriel | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Guehi | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Ndiaye | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Mitchell | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Munoz | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Rice | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Porro | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Garner | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Alderete | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Cullen | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Xhaka | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| I.Sarr | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Senesi | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Chalobah | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Lacroix | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Tarkowski | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Keane | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Scroll across to see the full table
A breakdown of those players above in terms of position in Fantasy shows that defenders and midfielders are far and away the most consistent positions and the least likely to let managers down.
Between them, they supply 20 of the 22 players, with defenders leading the way by 12 to eight.
Although Haaland has set the pace with nine goals, an assist and 70 points, he is the ONLY forward to feature in the analysis.
Which positions have been the best performers in Fantasy?
Midfielders and defenders mainly dominate the top of the player standings over the first seven rounds of matches.
Of the 53 players who have earned 30+ points this season, a combined 42 of them are from those two positions, with midfielders having the slight edge by 22 to 20.
Forwards, on the other hand, have been more or less matched by the output of goalkeepers, with six and five respectively returning 30+ points.
Crucially, a comparison with the top-scoring players over the opening seven Gameweeks of the previous campaign shows that defenders have come on leaps and bounds this season.
At this time last season, only five defenders had picked up 30+ points, whereas this time around as many as 20 of them have managed to do so. Indeed, when it comes to players with 40+ points in 2025/26, defenders lead the way with a total of six.
The quantity of midfielders with 30+ points season-on-season has also risen, albeit slightly from 18 to 22, while goalkeepers pretty much remaining as they were.
Forwards, on the other hand, have clearly let managers down. Whereas Haaland is the anomaly with 40+ points, he was one of five players in his position to hit this mark in Gameweeks 1-7 last season.
| 2024/25, GW1-7 | 2025/26, GW1-7 | |||
| Position | 30+ pts | 40+pts | 30+ pts | 40+pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GKP | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| DEF | 5 | 1 | 20 | 6 |
| MID | 18 | 7 | 22 | 5 |
| FWD | 10 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
Scroll across to see the full table on mobile
What does this tell us about the best formation to play?
As the two tables above suggest, equal investment in defence and midfield looks likely to be both the most reliable and productive route to returns.
From a Fantasy perspective, then, that indicates a 4-4-2 formation could reward managers the most.
At the back, Arsenal, Newcastle, Palace and Sunderland are the most appealing teams to invest in, with Senesi's potential for huge hauls also making him a key figure. Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah (£5.1m) is another reliable contender ahead of the Blues' kind schedule from Gameweek 9.
This approach allows you to play the fixtures with your heavy-hitter in midfield, bringing in Arsenal's Bukayo Saka (£9.9m) for his own favourable run alongside Semenyo.
Sarr, Rice and Everton's Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m) also merit consideration, with set-piece and penalty duties furthering the appeal of the latter two respectively. Set-pieces are another factor in Xhaka's favour and one which may ultimately make him the best of the budget midfielders.
Up front, it's Haaland plus one other forward. Again, fixtures and form should drive your decision here, with Newcastle's Nick Woltemade (£7.2m) and West Ham's Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m) both scoring in three of the last four and five Gameweeks respectively.