Everton put an end to Aston Villa’s excellent home run on Sunday with James Garner‘s (£5.2m) defensive contribution (DefCon) is among the top Fantasy talking points.
This is what we saw at Villa Park.
GARNER’S DEFCON RECORD
In an excellent defensive performance, Garner achieved 29 (!) DefCons at Villa Park, the most a player has managed in one match all season:
| DefCons | Player | Game week | Opposition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | James Garner | 22 | Aston Villa (a) |
| 25 | Mats Wieffer | 13 | Nott’m Forest (a) |
| 23 | Moses Caicedo | 3 | Fulham (h) |
| 23 | Matthew Fernandes | 15 | Brighton (a) |
The central midfielder has now made DefCon seven consecutive Gameweeks, another Fantasy high.
Garner also provided the cross Jake O’Brien‘s (£4.9m) disallowed goal on Sunday, but even without that assist he is now level with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (£10.1m, see image below), highlighting its value as a budget difference.
PICKFORD HEROICS/EVERTON’S ROAD SHAPE
Thierno Barry‘s (£5.7m) second-half strike, his third goal in four Gameweeks, won the match for Everton, who had earlier hit the post and had a goal controversially disallowed for offside.
But this victory was largely based on defensive organisation, with Garner and three of the back four – James Tarkowski (£5.7 million), Nathan Patterson (£4.4m) and O’Brien – all bank DefCon.
On the rare occasions when Villa threatened, Jordan Pickford (£5.6m) was equal to that, with five saves helping him claim the maximum bonus and his fourth double-digit win of the campaign, the most of any goalkeeper:
Above: Goalkeepers sorted by double digits (DD) in 2025/26
Everton have now won four of their last six away games and kept a clean sheet in five of those games.
In a further boost, Idrissa Gana Gueye (£5.4 million) and Indian education (£6.2m) should be back in time for next Monday’s home game against Leeds United after helping Senegal to victory in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Sunday evening.
ROGERS-SCHOTTEN
In a disjointed attacking display, Villa missed the opportunity to put pressure on Arsenal at the top of the table.
Replacement Evann Guessand‘s ( £6.2m ) running header hit the crossbar, but Morgan Rogers (£7.7m) always looked Villa’s most likely player to score.
He was often wasteful, but did have a fine curling effort saved by Pickford, with six shots in total.
Above: Morgan Rogers’ shot map against Everton (shots on target in green)
Although he didn’t have his shooting boots on against Everton, Rogers is at least scoring the goal attempts, which has not always been the case this season.
He has now produced 27 shots since Gameweek 16, the most of any player except Erling Haaland (£15.1 million).
MCGINN INJURY
In his post-match interview, Unai Emery confirmed that John McGinn (£5.4m) has suffered a knee injury after being forced off in the first half.
At least he could walk off the pitch, but losing McGinn would be a big blow for Villa, especially in central midfielders. Boubacar camera (£4.9 million) and Amadou Onana (£4.8 million) already out injured.
“Of course, if some players get injured, it’s not good. It’s football and we have to accept it. It’s a new opportunity for other players to play.”
“I don’t know, it’s his knee.” – Unai Emery on John McGinn
Jadon Sancho (£5.8m), meanwhile, missed Sunday due to illness.
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