With defensive contribution points (DefCon) boosting those at the back, and Erling Haaland (£14.9m) dominates up front, but the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) midfield landscape may be feeling a little flat at the moment.
Mohammed Salah (£14.2m) costs too much and is top scorer Antoine Semenyo (£8.1m) is in a series of three consecutive blanks.
Therefore, the November international break is an ideal time to identify the underlying consistency. Possessing midfielders who have multiple routes to returns can keep managers warm in the winter months ahead.
A LACK OF DELIVERIES
In seven of the eleven gameweeks, FPL’s top scorer was a defender.
Moreover, only three of the eleven goals in which players score sixteen or more points come from midfield: Semenyo, the only goals from Martin Zubimendi (£5.4m), and the occasional starter Diego Gomes (£4.9 million).
In theory though, midfielders should be great because they get DefCon rewards, get one point more per goal than forwards, take one for a clean sheet and take the most set pieces.
ALL-ROUND MIDFIELDERS
Use seasonal statistics from our members zonewe have chosen a cut-off point in nine important categories:
- Shots (16+)
- Great Opportunities (3+)
- Opportunities created (15+)
- Great opportunities created (4+)
- FPL Offensive Returns (5+)
- Corners taken (17+)
- DefCon promotions (90+)
- Expected Goal Engagement (xGI, 3.00+)
- Minutes per performance (80+)
In at least six of them, a number of players successfully exceeded the threshold.
Bruno Fernandes (£8.9 million) and Declan Rice (£6.9 million) are leading the way. Of everyone in the FPL, the former is the best at creating chances (29), and also ranks third for xGI (6.45) and fourth for expected goals (xG, 4.62).
He passed almost all nine tests and also received penalties – which is indicated by an asterisk. Not Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m) is expected to last a long time once Cole Palmer (£10.3m) returns.
I’ll stay at Manchester United, teammate Bryan Mbeumo (£8.5m) joins the Portuguese playmaker in three big chances created but is held back by a lack of DefCon rewards. Yet he is joint fourth overall for attempts (26), shots on target (14) and big chances (eight).
Above: Players sorted by shots on target (On) in 2025/26
The 26-year-old also takes quite a few turns, just like him Bukayo Saka (£10.1 million). The Arsenal star is likely to have penalty kicks, but is surprisingly without an assist. This is someone who has created the third-best chances of 2024/25 despite relatively low minutes.
Speaking of which, Saka’s playing time is highlighted here, but is based on the hamstring injury that affected Gameweeks 2 and 5.
Meanwhile, Enzo and Cody Agat (£7.5m) narrowly misses the corner threshold. The Argentinian has done everything but score lately; it appears in both the Goals Imminent and Assists Imminent tables.
It is worth pointing out that Gakpo and Pedro Neto (£7.1m) are potential rotation risks during their squads’ upcoming tight schedules.
JUST FOG
The inclusion of Neto will raise eyebrows given the absence of Semenyo and Indian education (£6.6 million).
It is fair to say that the Everton attacker comes very close with both chances created (14) and big chances (three). He also has punishments.
Semenyo missed his last one, so those duties could soon be handed over to a Bournemouth colleague Justin Kluivert (£7.0 million). A lack of creativity and steady responsibilities is leaving the leading FPL midfielder in the lurch.
For those looking to cover Liverpool’s excellent games with a non-Salah midfielder: Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.6m) is arguably better than Gakpo. He has not missed any competitive minutes yet, but is one booking away from suspension.
Finally, emerging Bench Boost users will enjoy seeing cheap assets Granit Xhaka (£5.2 million), James Garner (£5.0 million) and Kiernan Dewsbury Hall (£4.9 million) pass five tests. There must be something magical about Everton’s midfield!
#allround #midfielders #FPL