As we enter the final stretch of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season, the numbers are beginning to tell some fascinating stories.
From elite finishers consistently beating their underlying data to players being quietly unlucky with bonus points, these stats offer valuable insight for FPL managers looking to gain an edge.
Harry Wilson is the biggest xG overperformer, scoring 10 goals from just 4.98 expected goals.
Harry Wilson is this season’s biggest xG 'overachiever' 📈
— Fantasy Football Fix (@FantasyFootyFix) March 26, 2026
10 goals
4.98 xG
That’s clinical finishing 👏 pic.twitter.com/0swIyuUEKe
What makes this even more compelling is that this isn’t a new trend for the Welsh international — he’s consistently outperformed his xG in previous seasons too.
In 2024/25, he scored six from 3.58 xG; in 2023/24, four from 2.90; and in 2022/23, two from 1.84. That kind of consistency suggests his finishing may be genuinely clinical rather than just variance.
At the other end of the scale, the Custom Stats table shows Mohamed Salah has been the biggest underperformer, with just five goals from 9.74 xG.
For FPL managers, that raises an obvious question heading into the run-in — is he due a correction before he says goodbye to Liverpool at the end of the season?
Defensive Contribution (DEFCON) points are typically dominated by defenders and defensive midfielders, so it’s notable that only three forwards have picked up any this season.
DEFCON is usually dominated by defenders & midfielders… but some forwards have been chipping in 👀
— Fantasy Football Fix (@FantasyFootyFix) March 28, 2026
Only THREE forwards have picked up Defensive Contribution points this season:
Bowen (5 times)
Broja (1)
Thiago (1) pic.twitter.com/FRuWdw4Ud6
Bowen leads the way, earning DEFCON points on five occasions, while Broja and Thiago have each done so once. It’s no surprise to see Bowen also top the charts for total defensive contributions among forwards with 232, followed by Thiago on 174.
More surprising, perhaps, is João Pedro sitting third with 119. However, despite ranking so highly, he looks unlikely to earn DEFCON points any time soon, averaging just 4.06 per game — well below the required threshold.
Possibly a surprising stat for some this season is that three goalkeepers have registered FPL assists — Areola, Pope and Sánchez, as shown in the Opta Stats Sandbox.
he Chelsea goalkeeper, in particular, stands out. Sánchez has attempted five assists, created two 'big chances' and accumulated 1.16 expected assists (xA).
However, no goalkeeper this season has come close to replicating the attacking output we saw from Ederson in his final campaign at Manchester City. He delivered four assists, backed by four 'big chances' created and 1.66 xA — exceptional numbers for a goalkeeper. For context, that was as many assists as Bernardo Silva managed (four), and more than both Haaland and Foden (three).
Bonus points can often feel unpredictable, and a few players could count themselves unlucky with how many they have received this season.
Jensen of Brentford is the clearest example. Despite accumulating 72 FPL points and 338 in the Bonus Points System (BPS), he has yet to receive a single bonus point. For context, his team-mate O. Dango has 335 BPS yet has picked up 10 bonus points.
Jensen is not alone in perhaps feeling hard done by. Tonali has managed 71 FPL points and 391 BPS but has just two bonus points to show for it, while Konsa has 95 FPL points as shown in the Opta Heatmaps tool, 461 BPS and only three bonus returns.
These cases highlight how heavily bonus allocation can be influenced by timing and match context, even when the underlying performance is strong.
When it comes to creativity, Bruno Fernandes is operating on a completely different level from the rest of the league.
He leads the way with 17 FPL assists as shown in the Opta Stats Sandbox, while the next closest players — Rice, João Pedro and Cherki — are all on nine. Fernandes has also attempted 101 assists, which is 43 more than anyone else, created 24 'big chances', nine more than second-placed Cherki, and has an xA total of 12.37 — significantly higher than Cherki’s 7.05 in second.
However, Cherki’s presence near the top of so many of these metrics is arguably just as impressive. The Manchester City midfielder has played only 1,308 minutes compared to Fernandes’ 2,437, yet still ranks second across multiple creativity stats. That level of output in limited minutes suggests huge potential if his game time increases.
Only two outfield players have played every single minute in the Premier League this season — Virgil van Dijk and Nikola Milenković.
Van Dijk has delivered 135 FPL points, averaging 4.35 per game, while Milenković has returned 96 points at 3.10 per game.
The Forest defender started the season as a popular pick, with expectations that he could dominate DEFCON. He’s delivered solidly, but perhaps hasn’t fully met expectations, with 256 defensive contributions — the 10th highest among defenders.
Set pieces seem to be more important than ever fo Fantasy Premier League returns.
Brentford have been awarded the most penalties this season with eight, converting six, with Thiago and Schade both missing one. Chelsea, meanwhile, have been perfect — scoring all seven of their penalties, with Palmer netting five and Enzo adding two in his absence.
At the other end, both Aston Villa and Spurs are yet to be awarded a single penalty this season.
From direct free-kicks, Liverpool have been particularly dangerous. Dominik Szoboszlai has scored four from 12 attempts, setting a new club record for the most direct free-kick goals in a Premier League season. Across the last 10 seasons, only James Ward-Prowse has matched that tally in a single campaign.
There’s also an interesting outsider emerging. Anton Stach of Leeds has scored three direct free-kicks from just seven attempts — an impressive conversion rate that could make him one to watch for the run-in, especially with Leeds having favourable fixtures.
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