{"id":308544,"date":"2025-10-16T17:02:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T17:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/308544\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T17:02:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T17:02:21","slug":"top-defcon-performers-in-fpl-best-fixtures-for-defensive-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/308544\/","title":{"rendered":"Top DefCon performers in FPL + best fixtures for defensive returns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tom Hadley \u2013\u00a0a one-time world number one in FPL\u00a0<\/a>\u2013 is the newest addition to our ever-growing team of contributors.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He\u2019ll be providing data-driven articles regularly this season, continuing with this one on defensive contribution points (DefCon)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that time of the week where we go through another defensive contributions (DefCon) update and how we can look to maximise those extra points over the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s my job to analyse any trends that are forming from the DefCon assets and the teams they face. This week, I\u2019ve tried to combine both elements to fully understand the whole picture.<\/p>\n

Top DefCon performers<\/p>\n

Firstly, let\u2019s look through the standout performers after Gameweek 7:<\/p>\n

\"top<\/p>\n

We\u2019re at a point in the season where the data is slowly starting to take shape. I very much expect these names to stay at the top of this leaderboard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Senesi remains the yardstick despite Gameweek 7 blank\"FPL<\/p>\n

Marcos Senesi<\/strong> (\u00a35.0m) maintains his lead at the top of his charts despite failing to hit the threshold for the first time this season in Gameweek 7.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no cause for concern in the slightest, however. Players won\u2019t bank DefCon points every single week and, in fact, we\u2019ve been lucky to see such inflated numbers so far this season (I\u2019ll come back to that later).\u00a0<\/p>\n

For me, the fact that he hit seven contributions in less than 80 minutes against a Fulham side that hasn\u2019t been amazing DefCon opponents and were playing without a recognised striker \u2013 it\u2019s very positive reading.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Regarding Senesi in particular, he still resembles some of the best value in the game \u2013 even now at \u00a35.0m. He is an all-action defender and will continue to get DefCon as regularly as anyone. He also has excellent attacking potential, as we saw in his last full season with four goals and five assists.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s simple for me: don\u2019t bench Senesi in any game, with the possible exception of Manchester City away. Bournemouth are a solid team capable of clean sheets and, therefore, there\u2019s always a chance of a big haul, just like we saw away at Tottenham Hotspur in Gameweek 3. His upcoming fixtures aren\u2019t amazing but I still see a high floor for him and it\u2019s always worth playing him with that frequent 3-4 point safety blanket, knowing that you\u2019re covering a possible big haul.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Value at Palace\"Best<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve said it a few times but the Crystal Palace defenders are simply exceptional value. They lost to Everton two weeks ago but their overall defensive data is superb. I doubt they will concede more than one goal in many games.<\/p>\n

They also have the best total DefCon accumulation across their whole team in the league. The defensive, low-possession approach they take should only continue to generate excellent DefCon numbers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gameweek 8-13 fixtures: Ranked by DefCon potential<\/p>\n

Now, the right-hand side of the leaderboard above incorporates opponent stats and the DefCon points achieved against them.<\/p>\n

So, I have used the full opponent DefCon study across each team and combined it with a fixture difficulty ranking for the upcoming matches:<\/p>\n

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