New FPL Defensive Contribution Points – What It Means and Who to Target

By: Ahsan Ejaz

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Biggest Scoring Change Ever in FPL?

FPL is looking to level the playing field when it comes to how you score points and therefore the types of players FPL managers typically choose to own. For a long time the mantra when it comes to Defenders has been to prioritise attacking fullbacks and goal scoring CB’s; think Trent and Robertson over the years or Gabriel last season. Your old school, low block, hard nosed CB types on bottom half teams, think Tarkowski or Murillo for example, have no real appeal in FPL.  When it comes to Midfielders, we all look for wingers and attacking midfielders who score goals and get assists, simple as. Moises Caicedo or Declan Rice don’t really garner much consideration despite the fact they’re £100 million plus footballers in real life. Well now that is all changing…

 

FPL Defensive Contributions

How it works:

Defenders:

• Any Defender who completes a combined total of 10 blocks, clearances, interceptions and tackles in a single match will score two FPL points. It is a similar concept to GK’s receiving 1 point for every 3 saves they make. However, all players can only score a maximum of 2 defensive contribution points per match, it is capped at 2.

Midfielders and Forwards:

• Defending for Midfielders and Forwards is obviously different to the task at hand for a Defender. In order to capture the importance of pressing and turning defence into attack quickly in the Premier League, Midfielders and Forwards also get rewarded for ‘ball recoveries‘ as well as blocks, clearances, interceptions and tackles.
• Because of this added defensive contribution for Defenders and Midfielders, they have to to get 12 defensive contributions in a match to be rewarded with 2 FPL points.
• ‘Ball recoveries’ tend include actions on the pitch such as players recovering second balls and loose balls, or like winning the ball in a duel and starting a counter attack.
• Something that is key to understand is that the action a Midfielder or Forward attempts after winning a tackle or getting an interception does count as a defensive contribution. If a player wins a tackle in midfield in a 50/50 duel, he gets a defensive contribution for the tackle, but if he then successfully retains possession of the ball or completes a pass to a teammate, that WILL count as a ‘ball recovery’ and therefore does go towards the 12 defensive contributions Midfielders and Forwards need for the 2 DC points.

While all 3 outfield positions (DEF, MID, FWD) can all score 2 defensive contribution points per game, the goal of this change in scoring is to add value to players who previously were not very valuable in FPL: defenders, particularly centre-backs and defensive midfielders. The table below displays that the system works as intended, as last season the top 10 defensive contribution point scorers were CB’s and DM’s.

 

The likes of James Tarkowski, Moises Caicedo, Elliot Anderson and Murillo are good or even great players but FPL just did not reward points for what they do well on a football pitch. And I think for the better, that is now not the case. The below table also highlights that even though any Midfielder or Forward could earn DC points, it really does favour defensive midfielders:

 

Which Players Could Benefit Most From Defensive Contribution Points?

Centre-backs on defensively minded, low possession, low-block teams:

• Tarkowksi
• Murillo
• Milenkovic
• Collins
• Branthwaite

Busy, up and down full-backs on mid table teams:

• Munoz
• Aina
• Kayode
• Mitchell
• Mykolenko
• Tete

True defensive midfielders:

• Caicedo
• Rice
• Gravenberch
• Rodri
• Wharton
• Baleba
• Gomes

 

 

Last updated: 18/07

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