After three Gameweeks, the picture is starting to take shape.
This FPL stats review for Gameweek 4 looks at the standout Fantasy Premier League performers by position—defenders, midfielders and forwards—using key metrics such as shots, xG, xA, chances created, clean sheets and bonus.
Use these numbers to spot form, value and early bandwagons before the Gameweek 4 deadline!
Defenders are dominating the early FPL points chart: Calafiori (28), Chalobah (27) and Jurrien Timber (26) are three of the top scorers so far—only João Pedro (26) among attackers can match them.
As shown in the Opta Stats Sandbox, only Virgil van Dijk and James Tarkowski (both priced above £5.0m) sit inside the top ten defenders for Defensive Contribution (DEFCON) points across the first three Gameweeks.
Meanwhile, Marcos Senesi, Tarkowski and Sepp van den Berg are the only defenders to clear the 10-point DEFCON benchmark in every match so far. The FPL takeaway: the gap between budget and premium defenders looks narrower than expected, with DEFCON emerging as a major source of Fantasy Premier League points.
The Stats Sandbox points to attacking threat driving their returns: Calafiori and Jurrien Timber—Arsenal’s full-backs—both rank in the top three defenders for shots in the box so far.
For creativity, Pedro Porro leads attempted assists (5), with Cucurella, James, Gudmundsson and Diouf joint-second on 4.
All six highest-scoring midfielders so far—Enzo, Semenyo, Grealish, Antony, Lucas Paquetá and Cullen—are priced under £7.5m.
With premium picks like Palmer and Saka sidelined early on, FPL managers have been rewarded for backing value midfield options, a key trend in the FPL stats heading into Gameweek 4.
As the above image from our Stats Sandbox feature shows, Semenyo leads the way for xFPL (23.43) over the first three Gameweeks with the Man. Utd. duo of B. Fernandes (20.04) and Mbeumo (18.47) rounding off the top three.
No midfielder has been afforded more 'big chances' than Semenyo (five) or racked up a higher 'Expected Goals' (xG) tally. B. Fernandes has taken only four shots in the box, but two of these have been penalties which has led to a total of 1.89 xG.
Salah has attempted just four shots in the box so far and has not been afforded a single 'big chance', which is surprising. The Egyptian international has managed just 0.57 xG and attempted three assists.
No midfielder has created more chances than B. Fernandes (12) although the Portuguese international has yet to craft a single 'big chance' which means that he ranks as low as 18th for 'Expected Assists' (xA) (0.61).
Stach (10) and Dewsbury-Hall (eight) look like they could be great value at just 5.0m, both midfielders are in the top five for chances created.
Caicedo leads the way for DEFCON (42) with B. Fernandes (41) in second. The latter features in all three aforementioned categories, illustrating his multiple routes to points. L.Paquetá (32) also makes the top 10 which enhances his appeal, with spot-kick duties already in his locker.
Only three forwards have crossed the 20 point mark in FPL so far - João Pedro (26), Haaland (24) and Ekitiké (22).
As the above image from our Stats Sandbox feature shows, Haaland (13) leads the way for shots in the box with the misfiring Watkins (eight) in second. The England international is yet to find the back of the net this season but is ranked fourth for xG (1.37) amongst forwards which indicates that owners should keep the faith.
No forward has been afforded more than two 'big chances' bar Haaland who has managed six. The Norwegian international has at least double the xG (2.91) of any other forward in the game which shows that he really is in a league of his own.
The top scoring forward João Pedro has attempted just six shots in the box with Richarlison (eight), Evanilson and Wood (seven) rounding off the top five. Ekitiké has scored from two of his four attempted in the box and with Isak signing for Liverpool, his appeal looks limited. These are poor numbers in general and one would expect improvement over the coming weeks.
As the above image from our Stats Sandbox feature shows, Evanilson (six) and Ekitiké (four) are the only forwards to have created more than three chances. No forward has created more than two 'big chances' with João Pedro and Bowen (two each) leading the way.
Several forward options like Isak, Strand Larsen and Wissa have seen limited gametime over the first few Gameweeks due to Transfer Window activity which has seen options limited for FPL players but this should naturally improve as the season goes on.
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