Will Rice and Caicedo stay among the top-scoring players in FPL?

The Scout explains the success of midfielders Declan Rice (£6.8m) and Moises Caicedo (£6.0m) so far in 2025/26 Fantasy Premier League and assesses whether it is sustainable.

With 10 Gameweeks gone this season, Rice and Caicedo are among the eight top-scoring players in Fantasy, continuing to outperforming a host of more expensive players thanks to their all-round styles of play.

Arsenal's Rice ranks second among midfielders and sixth overall, scoring twice and supplying four assists to collect 63 points.

He is one of four Gunners players to rank among the top seven players in Fantasy, along with defenders Gabriel (£6.6m), Jurrien Timber (£6.1m) and Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m). 

Top-scoring players in FPL, 25/26

Scroll across on mobile to see the full table

Caicedo is Chelsea's sole representative in the table above. The Ecuadorian is enjoying his best ever campaign for attacking returns, with three goals and an assist helping him to 58 points.

To say this has taken managers by surprise is an understatement. Prior to 2025/26, Caicedo had only scored once in each of his previous four seasons in Fantasy.

So is this success sustainable for both players, and should Fantasy managers be snapping them up? Let's take a closer look.

Why have Rice and Caicedo made such good starts in FPL this season?

A breakdown of each player's points this season helps to highlight their different routes to points. 

Rice's consistency across all these metrics has played a huge part in his successful campaign. Essentially, he's produced either a goal, an assist, defensive contribution points or bonus points in eight of his nine starts.

The Arsenal star has earned 10 points from his two goals and collected a further 12 points from his four assists.

Watch: Rice's sensational GW10 performance v Burnley

What's notable about Rice's statistics is that he has picked up the same number of points from clean sheets as he has for his own defensive contributions, with six points for each.

Caicedo, on the other hand, has been far more dependent on points from goals and defensive contributions.

The Ecuadorian has 15 points from his goals and has hit the threshold for defensive contributions in five of his nine starts to pick up a further 10 points.

That all-round style of play means he has blanked in just two of those outings in Chelsea's starting line-up. 

How Rice and Caicedo have got their points

Who's more likely to score a goal?

As shown by the goal-threat statistics, we shouldn't be overly optimistic here as both Rice and Caicedo are only averaging around one shot per match.

Regardless, the numbers are clearly in favour of Rice.

He has had double the number of shots in the box, by four to two, and leads Caicedo by three to one for big chances, which are situations where the player is expected to score.

Rice and Caicedo's shots, 25/26

Swipe across to see Caicedo's shot map

Although Caicedo has the slightest edge for shots, producing 10 to nine, it's fair to say his efforts have been far more speculative.

As many as eight of those attempts have come from outside the box. He has produced three goals from an Expected Goals (xG) score of just 0.56, compared with the 0.95 of Rice. 

Rice and Caicedo's goal threat

Who's more likely to get an assist?

As a key set-piece taker for the league's most threatening side from corners and free-kicks, Rice's advantage over Caicedo is extended by some margin here.

The Arsenal midfielder has taken 48 of his side's set-pieces, whereas Caicedo has no dead-ball duties for Chelsea.

That has helped Rice create 17 chances, more than three times Caicedo's total of five. Indeed, Rice's average of 47 minutes per chance created isn't too far behind the 39 minutes of his team-mate Bukayo Saka (£10.1m), who is much more expensive.

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Rice has also created four big chances which, added to the three of his own, means he has been involved in a total of seven such opportunities.

Caicedo, by contrast, has totalled only two big-chance involvements.

Rice and Caicedo's creativity stats

Who's more likely to get clean sheets?

As mentioned above, the fact that Rice is profiting equally from clean sheets and defensive contributions means that both metrics should be taken into account when assessing the pair's prospects.

Once again, the numbers are very much in Rice's favour. This time, it's down to the Gunners' resilient defence, with Mikel Arteta's side keeping seven clean sheets in 10 matches, conceding only three goals and six big chances.

These are all league-leading totals which account for the huge success of Gabriel, Timber and Calafiori. This has arguably been the main reason for not owning Rice in FPL so far, with many managers instead focusing on Arsenal's defenders.

Meanwhile, Chelsea's total of 21 big chances conceded ranks midway and is nearer the 31 of Burnley in last place than the Gunners' six at the summit.

Clean-sheet potential compared

Defensive contributions

When it comes to their potential for defensive contribution points, Caicedo wins hands down.

His 10 points from those actions are joint-top among midfielders, compared with the six of Rice.

As the table below shows, the Chelsea star has been unfortunate not to earn even more points from the new metric. 

In the four matches where he has started and failed to earn defensive contribution points this season, Caicedo has twice totalled 11 actions - falling just one short of the threshold of 12 needed for midfielders. 

Breaking the analysis down by home/away match location also helps to show each player's role for their club and their manager's tactics.

It's noticeable that all three of Rice's successful matches were away from home, an indication that Arteta places less emphasis on his attacking qualities in such contests.

All of them have come in Arsenal's last four away matches - against Liverpool in Gameweek 3, Newcastle United in Gameweek 6 and Burnley in Gameweek 10.

Caicedo's world-class ball-winning abilities have shone through both home and away. Four of his defensive contribution points have come at Stamford Bridge, and six have come on the road.

Across the four starts where he has failed to collect defensive contribution points, Caicedo has averaged 9.5 actions per appearance, compared with the 5.8 of Rice, showing why he's the likelier of the pair to increase his success rates even further. 

Defensive contributions per Gameweek

*Substitute appearance. Scroll across on mobile to see the full table

As evidenced in Chelsea's 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, Enzo Maresca is using Caicedo's ability to press opponents and win the ball high up the pitch to great effect. 

Indeed, the midfielder's first assist of the season came in this match when he won two tackles in quick succession and passed to Joao Pedro (£7.4m) to score.

Watch Caicedo's assist v Spurs

So, who is more likely to keep delivering in FPL?

Rice's superior attacking numbers give every encouragement that he's the likelier of the two to maintain his lofty position at the top of the midfielder standings.

His involvement in big chances, boosted by his set-piece duties, shows why he merits strong consideration alongside Gabriel as one of the three best Arsenal picks this season. 

In fact Rice's output, combined with the strong showings of a number of defenders such as Marc Guehi (£5.0m), Micky van de Ven (£4.8m) and Marcos Senesi (£5.0m) - who are all among the 10 top-scoring players in FPL - indicates that doubling up on Arsenal's defenders is perhaps not as essential as it seems. 

Although both Timber and Calafiori are certainly strong options, you could have Rice's fellow midfielder and set-piece taker Saka, who is expected to be on penalties.

If you look at it from a positional point of view rather than focus simply on Arsenal, there's also an argument for having David Raya (£5.8m) as he is the goalkeeper who is most likely to earn a clean sheet in any Gameweek.

In Caicedo's case, the attacking returns are highly unlikely to continue at this rate. 

The Chelsea star's ability to influence attacks high up the pitch through pressing and winning the ball can lift his prospects for assists, but it's mainly through defensive contributions where he will continue to excel.