FPL Defensive Contributions
19th July 2025
FPL 2025/26: Why Centre-Backs and Defensive Midfielders Could Be FPL Gold This Season
Introducing FPL Defensive Contributions. For years, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers have focused almost exclusively on attacking players. Centre-backs and defensive midfielders have rarely offered consistent value, and there’s been little incentive to include them in FPL squads.
But that changes in the 2025/26 season.
New FPL Rule: Defensive Contributions Now Earn Points
This season introduces a major shift: defensive contributions will now be rewarded in FPL, creating new opportunities for savvy managers. For the first time, defensive actions like clearances, blocks, interceptions, and tackles (collectively known as CBIT) will earn players additional FPL points.
How Defensive Points Work in FPL 2025/26
- Any defender who records 10 or more CBIT in a single match will earn 2 bonus FPL points.
- This includes centre-backs, full-backs, and defensive midfielders.
- Points are capped at 2 per match, even if the player exceeds 10 CBIT.
- Midfielders and Attackers must earn 12 CBIT – although ‘Recoveries’ are also included in their Contribution calculation.
While these new points can’t stack beyond the 2-point cap, players could still benefit further through the Bonus Points System (BPS)—especially if their defensive work drives overall team performance.
Who Benefits Most? Centre-Backs and DMs Top the List
At Statz, we analysed 2024/25 data to identify which players would have scored the most from this new rule. The results reveal a clear trend: centre-backs and defensive midfielders dominate the top 10.
| Player | Position | Club | Defensive Contribution Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Tarkowski | DEF | Everton | 44 |
| Moises Caicedo | MID | Chelsea | 42 |
| Jan Bednarek | DEF | Southampton | 40 |
| Dean Huijsen | DEF | Bournemouth* | 38 |
| Murillo | DEF | Nott’m Forest | 38 |
| Elliot Anderson | MID | Nott’m Forest | 36 |
| Joao Gomes | MID | Wolves | 36 |
| Idrissa Gueye | MID | Everton | 36 |
| Wout Faes | DEF | Leicester | 34 |
| Christian Norgaard | MID | Brentford | 34 |
No forwards made the list—highlighting how this change is designed to finally give credit to the unsung defensive heroes of the Premier League.
At Statz, we think that Tackles are the key statistic to look at in CBIT. A player can rack up 5,6 or even 7 tackles in a particularly active fixture and we have all of the data to help you identify the most frequent tacklers for every Premier League teams. As per the table below, Wolves midfield pair Joao Gomes – who recorded an astonishing 9 tackles in the final game of the season – and Andre were tackle machines in 24/25.
What This Means for FPL Strategy
With the 2025/26 season just around the corner, it’s time to rethink how you build your FPL squad:
- Centre-backs who consistently hit high CBIT numbers now offer value even without attacking returns
- Ball-winning midfielders could rival budget enablers in other positions.
- Managers who spot underpriced players with high defensive output will gain a valuable edge.
At Statz.ai, we’ll be tracking all key metrics like CBIT totals, defensive contributions per 90, and player value vs. price—to help you identify the best defensive picks each gameweek.