Fantasy Premier League: Who are the best set-piece takers for FPL?

Fantasy Premier League is a numbers game. In the quest to win, we need to maximise the routes to points within our picks.

One key edge is to back those players involved in taking set pieces. These include penalties, direct free kicks and corners.

For some clubs, their set-piece takers are clear, while it’s less obvious for other teams in the Premier League. So who are the key picks to target?

Who are the dominant Premier League set-piece takers?

With James Ward-Prowse now gone from the Premier League with Southampton’s relegation, the pool of players who dominate all set pieces has got smaller.

Given Ivan Toney (£8.0m) is suspended for Brentford, we could see Bryan Mbeumo (£6.5m) dominate set pieces for the west London side.

He shares corner and free-kick responsibilities with Mathias Jensen (£5.5m) and he should now be on penalties too, having deputised for Toney previously.

Eberechi Eze (£6.5m) was given spot-kick duties by Roy Hodgson late in the last campaign, converting against West Ham, and he’s also on free kicks and corners for Crystal Palace. He does share that duty with Michael Olise (£6.0m), although the winger is set to be out until the end of September with a hamstring tear.

Rumours of a move away for Aleksandar Mitrovic at Fulham could pave the way for even more set-piece responsibility for Andreas Pereira (£5.5m).

The former Manchester United man suffered an ankle injury late last season but is expected to be fully recovered for Gameweek 1.

At Nottingham Forest, keep an eye on Morgan Gibbs-White (£6.0m) who could be worth a spot in our squads given that he dominates on all set pieces.

Premium Picks

Riyad Mahrez’s departure from Manchester City is good news for Kevin De Bruyne (£10.5m) and Erling Haaland (£14.0m) who both battled with him over dead balls last campaign.

Mahrez took a penalty last season but Haaland is clinical from the spot — with seven from seven. De Bruyne, when fit, should be unchallenged for free kicks and corners.

Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) and Harry Kane (£12.5m) both take penalties for Liverpool and Spurs respectively, while Kane also shares direct free kicks with Son Heung-min (£9.0m) — who is also responsible for corners.

For those fantasy managers struggling to pick between Arsenal players, Bukayo Saka (£8.5m) being on penalties could be an important factor. He scored twice from three attempts in 2022-23.

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) has the edge over team-mate Marcus Rashford when it comes to set pieces, given that he’s first choice on penalties. Rashford also shares corners and free kicks with Christian Eriksen and Luke Shaw.

Dominant Defenders

Defenders on set pieces are a gift in FPL, with Kieran Trippier (£6.5m) the headline here given his exclusivity on dead balls.

He led the way for corners (216) and indirect free kicks (70), scoring from one of his 12 direct free kicks last campaign. All set-piece data is available on the OPTA Stats Tool on Fantasy Football Hub.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.0m) is another, sharing responsibility with full-back Andrew Robertson (£6.5m) on the opposite side. But he has the edge when it comes to direct free kicks.

At Chelsea, Ben Chilwell (£5.5m) is reasonably involved in some set pieces — including corners and indirect free kicks — and could benefit from some promising early fixtures for Chelsea.

At Manchester United, there’s plenty of competition for involvement but Luke Shaw (£5.5m) often provides a left-footed option on indirect free kicks and corners.

Potential Penalties

Alexis Mac Allister’s departure from Brighton paves the way for a new penalty taker for the south coast club.

Pascal Gross (£6.5m) is expected to take over and James Milner (£5.0m) has the Premier League pedigree if he becomes a regular in the line-up.

Joao Pedro (£5.5m) did convert from the spot in a pre-season friendly, but Gross was not on the pitch.

The situation is also unclear at Chelsea since Jorginho and Kai Havertz have both left for Arsenal.

Reece James (£5.5m) and Christopher Nkunku (£7.5m) are potential names in the frame and, hopefully, the situation will become clearer in their pre-season friendlies.

Reece James is currently on my FPL avoid list due to his poor fitness history and repeated injuries, but spot kicks could swing the pendulum back in his favour and make him an irresistible pick. We haven’t had a starting defender on penalties since Leighton Baines.

Hwang Hee-chan (£5.5m) could now be on penalties for Wolves following the departure of Raul Jimenez, although we will need to look for confirmation on that.

(Photo: Mike Stobe/Getty Images)