FPL 2026/27

Who actually earns defensive contribution points?

A defensive contribution is worth 2 FPL points, capped at 2 per match. A defender earns it by recording 10 or more clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles in a single game — CBIT. A midfielder or forward needs 12, counting those same four actions plus ball recoveries — CBIRT. Goalkeepers are not eligible. The rules are unchanged for 2026/27.

Players ranked

276

SYSTEM CHANGED

119

Top projected DefCon earner

BOU

Cook

pts/start

1.60

MID · £5.0m · 14.8/90

Defenders score 2 points at 10 defensive actions in a match. Midfielders and forwards need 12, and ball recoveries count for them but not for defenders. That single difference is why last season numbers mislead: 119 of these 276 players changed club, manager or position, so the rate they earned describes a system they have left.

Each projection carries a range. Where the system changed, the range is wide on purpose. We would rather show you the doubt than a confident number we cannot defend. Every one of these is graded in public once the season starts.

PROJECTED POINTS PER START

TOP 60 OF 276 · UPDATED 27 JUL, 01:00 UK

FPL defensive contributions 2026/27 — projected DefCon points per start for the top 60 players
#	Player	Club	Pos	Price	Actions / 90	Needs	Hit rate	DefCon pts / start	Range	Note
1	Cook	BOU	MID	£5.0m	14.8	12	80%	1.60	1.28–1.92	System changed
2	Ugarte	MUN	MID	£5.0m	14.6	12	79%	1.57	1.26–1.89	System changed
3	Anderson	MCI	MID	£6.5m	13.9	12	73%	1.47	0.97–1.96	System changed
4	Canvot	CRY	DEF	£5.0m	11.4	10	70%	1.41	1.27–1.55
5	Senesi	TOT	DEF	£6.0m	11.5	10	69%	1.39	0.92–1.86	System changed
6	Danso	TOT	DEF	£5.0m	11.6	10	69%	1.38	1.10–1.66	System changed
7	Hill	BOU	DEF	£5.5m	11.1	10	67%	1.35	1.08–1.62	System changed
8	Tosin	CHE	DEF	£4.5m	11.1	10	67%	1.34	1.07–1.60	System changed
9	Ballard	SUN	DEF	£5.0m	11.1	10	66%	1.32	1.19–1.45
10	J.Cuenca	FUL	DEF	£4.5m	11.3	10	62%	1.24	1.11–1.36
11	Lacroix	CRY	DEF	£6.0m	10.8	10	61%	1.22	1.10–1.34
12	Bijol	LEE	DEF	£5.0m	10.4	10	59%	1.19	1.07–1.31
13	Keane	EVE	DEF	£5.0m	10.5	10	59%	1.19	1.07–1.30
14	Fofana	CHE	DEF	£5.0m	10.8	10	58%	1.16	0.93–1.39	System changed
15	Botman	NEW	DEF	£5.0m	10.6	10	58%	1.16	1.04–1.27
16	Tarkowski	EVE	DEF	£6.0m	10.2	10	56%	1.12	1.01–1.24
17	Rodrigo	MCI	MID	£6.5m	12.3	12	55%	1.10	0.88–1.32	System changed
18	Gomes	AVL	MID	£5.5m	12.3	12	55%	1.10	0.83–1.36	System changed
19	Bentancur	TOT	MID	£5.5m	13.3	12	55%	1.10	0.88–1.32	System changed
20	Garner	EVE	MID	£6.0m	12.1	12	54%	1.09	0.98–1.20
21	Andersen	FUL	DEF	£5.0m	10.3	10	54%	1.08	0.97–1.18
22	Richards	CRY	DEF	£5.0m	9.9	10	53%	1.06	0.95–1.17
23	Ampadu	LEE	MID	£5.5m	12.0	12	53%	1.05	0.95–1.16
24	N.Gonzalez	MCI	MID	£5.5m	11.9	12	52%	1.05	0.84–1.26	System changed
25	P.M.Sarr	TOT	MID	£5.0m	11.9	12	52%	1.05	0.84–1.26	System changed
26	Alderete	SUN	DEF	£5.0m	10.0	10	51%	1.02	0.92–1.12
27	Morato	NFO	DEF	£5.0m	9.7	10	50%	1.00	0.90–1.10
28	Collins	BRE	DEF	£5.5m	9.7	10	50%	1.00	0.90–1.10
29	Ajer	BRE	DEF	£4.5m	9.6	10	49%	0.97	0.88–1.07
30	Lerma	CRY	MID	£5.0m	11.5	12	48%	0.96	0.86–1.06
31	Janelt	BRE	MID	£5.0m	11.5	12	48%	0.96	0.86–1.05
32	Schär	NEW	DEF	£5.0m	9.5	10	48%	0.96	0.86–1.05
33	Caicedo	CHE	MID	£5.5m	11.8	12	47%	0.95	0.76–1.14	System changed
34	Scott	BOU	MID	£6.0m	12.2	12	46%	0.93	0.74–1.11	System changed
35	Christie	BOU	MID	£5.0m	11.3	12	46%	0.92	0.73–1.10	System changed
36	Yarmoliuk	BRE	MID	£5.0m	11.5	12	45%	0.91	0.81–1.00
37	Xhaka	SUN	MID	£5.5m	11.2	12	45%	0.90	0.81–0.99
38	Virgil	LIV	DEF	£6.5m	9.3	10	45%	0.89	0.72–1.07	System changed
39	Iroegbunam	EVE	MID	£5.0m	11.5	12	43%	0.87	0.78–0.96
40	C.Jones	LIV	MID	£5.5m	11.1	12	43%	0.86	0.69–1.04	System changed
41	Adams	BOU	MID	£5.0m	11.8	12	43%	0.85	0.68–1.02	System changed
42	Gabriel	ARS	DEF	£8.0m	9.1	10	42%	0.84	0.76–0.93
43	Dorgu	MUN	MID	£6.0m	10.9	12	41%	0.83	0.56–1.09	System changed
44	Struijk	BHA	DEF	£5.0m	9.1	10	41%	0.82	0.63–1.02	System changed
45	Burn	NEW	DEF	£5.0m	9.2	10	41%	0.82	0.74–0.91
46	Romero	TOT	DEF	£5.0m	9.5	10	41%	0.81	0.65–0.98	System changed
47	Murillo	NFO	DEF	£5.5m	9.4	10	40%	0.80	0.72–0.88
48	Branthwaite	EVE	DEF	£5.5m	8.9	10	40%	0.80	0.72–0.88
49	Van den Berg	BRE	DEF	£5.0m	8.9	10	40%	0.79	0.71–0.87
50	Thiaw	NEW	DEF	£5.0m	8.9	10	39%	0.79	0.71–0.86
51	Rice	ARS	MID	£7.5m	10.9	12	39%	0.78	0.70–0.86
52	Van Hecke	TOT	DEF	£5.0m	8.9	10	39%	0.77	0.51–1.04	System changed
53	Sangaré	NFO	MID	£5.0m	11.6	12	38%	0.77	0.69–0.84
54	Justin	LEE	DEF	£4.5m	8.7	10	37%	0.75	0.67–0.82
55	Mosquera	ARS	DEF	£5.5m	8.7	10	37%	0.74	0.67–0.81
56	Boscagli	BHA	DEF	£4.5m	8.8	10	37%	0.74	0.66–0.81
57	Fernandes	TOT	MID	£6.0m	11.0	12	37%	0.73	0.48–0.98	System changed
58	Ayari	BHA	MID	£5.5m	10.5	12	37%	0.73	0.66–0.81
59	Wharton	CRY	MID	£5.5m	10.7	12	36%	0.71	0.64–0.78
60	Hincapie	ARS	DEF	£5.5m	8.6	10	35%	0.71	0.64–0.78

HOW THIS IS BUILT

DEF: clearances+blocks+interceptions+tackles, threshold 10. MID/FWD: the same plus ball recoveries, threshold 12. Goalkeepers are not eligible.

Pool: >=600 minutes and >=5 starts in 2025/26. Seeded from 2025/26 season totals and re-based onto each player 2026/27 position. Snapshot 2026-07-27.

THE PRICE TRAPS WHO CHANGED POSITION THE NEW BONUS RULES

QUESTIONS

What is a defensive contribution in FPL?

Defenders score 2 points in a match when they record 10 or more clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles combined. Midfielders and forwards score 2 points at 12 or more, and for them ball recoveries count towards the total as well. Goalkeepers are not eligible. The 2 points are capped, so there is no extra reward for going well past the threshold.

Why do defenders and midfielders have different thresholds?

Because they are counted differently. A defender total excludes ball recoveries; a midfielder total includes them. The higher threshold for midfielders compensates for the extra category. This is why a player who changes position between defender and midfielder cannot be judged on last season number without re-basing it.

Did defensive contributions change for 2026/27?

The defensive contribution rules themselves are unchanged. What changed is the Bonus Points System around them: clearances, blocks and interceptions now earn 1 BPS per 3 actions instead of 1 per 2, players are no longer penalised for being tackled, and goalkeepers earn 2 BPS for every save plus 1 more for saving a big chance. The stated intention was to reduce the overlap between bonus points and defensive contribution points.

How accurate are these projections?

They are seeded from 2025/26 season totals, re-based onto each player 2026/27 position. Where a player has changed club, manager or position, last season rate describes a system he has left, and we widen the range rather than applying a correction we cannot defend. Once the season starts these projections are graded in public against what actually happens.