DEFCON Analysis: Top Defenders for DCs, Best Opponents + More

The new defensive contribution system that FPL has implemented in the 2025-26 season is one of the most hotly debated topics this season, and it has affected the way managers select their teams. What was once a very attack-minded game has now been altered to offer more variety to its players and a chance to rethink the way they approach their team selection, with assets now bringing in points defensively as well.

In this article, we present to you an in-depth analysis of the new DEFCON system, the top defenders for DEFCON, comparing DEFCON center-backs with attacking full-backs & budget midfielders, and more.

Link to all our FPL GW8 blogs including scout picks, players to target, buy, hold, sell analysis, differentials, captaincy metrics, best forwards, and more. Completely free to access as well!

What is DEFCON and how does it work?

This season, outfield players are awarded additional fantasy points for their defensive contributions – these include clearances, blocks, interceptions, and tackles (CBIT).

For defenders, a player must accumulate at least 10 CBIT in a match to be awarded 2 DEFCON points.

However, for midfielders and forwards, recoveries are included in the calculation for DEFCON points, so CBIRT is the stat that determines their DEFCON points. Since recoveries have been added to count towards DEFCON points for them, midfielders and forwards have to accumulate 12 CBIRT to be awarded 2 DEFCON points.

It should be noted that 2 points is the maximum that will be awarded to players for DEFCON, which means even if a player accumulates more than 20 or 24 defensive contributions in a game, they will only be awarded 2 points (although high DEFCON could lead to additional bonus points). Players can only earn 0 or 2 points through DEFCON.

Players will essentially be awarded points not only for their attacking threat but for their defensive actions as well.

Further Read: FPL Gameweek 8 Transfer Tips: Two Players to Buy, Hold & Sell

Top Defenders for DEFCON so far (based on CBIT)

No.	Player	Price	CBIT – Total	CBIT per 90	DC Points
1	Senesi	£5.0	86	12.52	12
2	Tarkowski	£5.5	80	11.43	12
3	Andersen	£4.5	79	11.29	12
4	Van Dijk	£6.1	75	10.71	6
5	Richards	£4.5	74	10.57	8
6	Lacroix	£5.1	70	10	8
7	Keane	£4.5	69	10.26	8
8	Esteve	£4	67	9.69	6
9	Alderete	£4.1	65	10.12	8
10	Gabriel	£6.3	63	9	6

• Senesi tops the charts with 86 CBIT in his first 7 games, averaging 12.52 CBIT per game and earning 12 DC points in total. He is clearly the most effective DEFCON defender in FPL today.
• Tarkowski and Andersen follow Senesi with the highest DC points. Andersen, however, offers a greater bang for your buck at just 4.5m.

• Van Dijk is 4th in the CBIT rankings, but he has earned just 6 DEFCON points, which shows why it is important to choose players who have a high threshold hit percentage (covered in next section) in order to earn the most points through DEFCON. Basically, defenders who can offer more than 10 CBIT consistently will score more DEFCON points as opposed to defenders who offer high levels of CBIT in some games but lower than 10 CBIT in other matches.
• Richards and Keane offer great output as well, and a CBIT per 90 greater than 10. At 4.5m, they are good options to consider. Although Fulham’s Andersen has scored more, Richards and Keane may be better alternatives, with 6th-placed Crystal Palace and 8th-placed Everton in better form than 14th-placed Fulham.
• Esteve and Alderete are the cheapest options amongst the DEFCON earners, proving that they would be excellent options for your bench and can be subbed in based on the favorability of their fixtures.

Further Read: Premier League Players who will miss PL due to AFCON 2025

Threshold hit % for Defenders

Threshold hit % refers to the percentage of games in which a player has achieved the threshold for DEFCON points. It represents how successful a player has been in terms of DEFCON based on the number of games he has played.

In this table, DEFCON Success % is calculated as the number of games in which DEFCON points were earned divided by the number of starts made by the player.

No.	Player	Price	DEFCON Success %
1	Senesi	£5.0	86%
2	Tarkowski	£5.5	86%
3	Andersen	£4.5	86%
4	Mukiele	£4.0	80%
5	Alderete	£4.1	67%
6	Mavropanos	£4.4	60%
7	Agbadou	£4.4	60%
8	Lacroix	£5.1	57%
9	Richards	£4.5	57%
10	Keane	£4.5	57%

• Senesi, Tarkowski, and Andersen sit atop the Threshold hit % standings as well, demonstrating why they are the best defenders from a DEFCON perspective.
• As mentioned above, Van Dijk does not make the list with a 57% DEFCON success rate. So managers need to be careful when analysing which players offer the most DEFCON points, keeping in mind that their CBIT numbers for each game are what really matter, not their total DEFCON stats.
• Mukiele is 4th with an 80% success rate, having played 5 games for Sunderland so far this season.

• It should be noted that the 27-year-old was signed by Sunderland this summer after the opening weekend, and he began starting fixtures only from GW3 onwards, having missed GW2 due to fitness issues. While he was omitted from the previous CBIT list, he should offer some great DEFCON returns in the coming gameweeks.
• Alderete has seen a significant rise from 9th place in the previous list to 5th in the current one, indicating that the Sunderland defender has been more successful through DEFCON per start this season.

• Mavropanos and Agbadou have each made 5 Premier League starts this term, meaning they have earned DEFCON points in 3 of those fixtures.
• Although Lacroix and Richards have higher DEFCON points in total, they have missed out on points in 3 of their 7 fixtures this season. However, Crystal Palace have been quite solid defensively this season, so the duo should earn more points through DEFCON in the near future.

---

---

Best opponents for DEFCON

In this section, we will take a look at the list of teams against which players have the highest DEFCON point-scoring potential if they face that particular team. It will be based on the 10+ DEFCON point hit rate against these teams, similar to the DEFCON success rate stat we covered in the previous section.

While we analyse the best options in GW8, it would be wise to keep these opponents in mind in the coming gameweeks and make your team selection based on those fixtures and whether you have players in the required positions to best utilize their DEFCON potential.

Best Opponents (and the position to play against them) (via Tom Hadley FPL on X – Definitely drop him a follow, he’s the best when it comes to DEFCON analysis):

No.	Opponent & Position	10+ Hit Rate (against)	CBIT per game (against)	Next Fixture
1	CB vs Liverpool	64%	10.9	MUN(H)
2	CB vs Aston Villa	63%	9.9	TOT(A)
3	CB vs Arsenal	60%	10.8	FUL(A)
4	CB vs Bournemouth	59%	11.2	CRY(A)
5	CB vs Crystal Palace	57%	9.4	BOU(H)
6	CB vs Everton	56%	9.1	MCI(A)
7	CB vs Brentford	47%	9.1	WHU(A)
8	CB vs Newcastle	44%	8.8	BHA(A)
9	CB vs Man United	40%	9.1	LIV(A)
10	LB vs Liverpool	29%	9.1	MUN(H)

• It seems overwhelmingly clear that CB is the best position to target from a DEFCON perspective, based on this list, with LB making it in only the last spot here. LB vs Liverpool is the least likely option to score DEFCON points in this list, with a 10+ hit rate (against) of just 29%.
• CB vs Liverpool is the best option to earn DEFCON points, and the Reds face Manchester United next. De Ligt is the only United defender with DEFCON points this season, having earned 6 points so far. So De Ligt could be a good option to earn DEFCON points in GW8. However, United are in turbulent form while Liverpool are not, and it’s a massive fixture for Ruben Amorim’s side, so beware of potentially losing points through conceded goals if you pick De Ligt.
• Next on the list is Aston Villa, who face Tottenham in GW8. However, Spurs’ highest DC point-scoring defender is Romero (4 DC points) with a threshold hit % of just 29%. While there is great potential for some DEFCON points, Spurs’ defenders have barely earned these points.

• Fulham’s Joachim Andersen has a high chance of scoring some DEFCON points against Arsenal, who have a 60% 10+ hit rate (against). But the league leaders have been in great form, so he could easily lose points by conceding goals.
• Bournemouth and Palace come in at 4 and 5, respectively, in this list, and they face each other next. Players like Senesi, Richards, and Lacroix could likely score DEFCON points this gameweek. Additionally, both teams have been in great form this season, so a goalless draw could also be on the cards, which would mean major points for these defenders. If you have defenders from both teams, you can consider playing them both. Senesi is expected to guarantee 2 DC points, given his 86% DC success rate so far.
• Gvardiol or Ruben Dias are two great options to consider as well for DEFCON points in GW8. Although the pair have only scored 2 DC points each this season so far, Everton has a 56% 10+ hit rate (against) and a fairly decent CBIT per game (against) at 9.1. So it’s quite possible Gvardiol or Dias earned their next pair of DEFCON points in GW8.
• Brentford, Newcastle, and Man United all have 10+ hit rate (against) percentages that are less than 50%. So be prudent while selecting defenders who face these teams, especially Newcastle, who have an 8.8 CBIT per game (against).

Further Read: FPL Gameweek 8 Wildcard – Position Wise Players to Target

Comparing DEFCON Defenders vs Attacking Full-Backs/Budget Midfielders

The DEFCON system has left us with some important questions, one being whether it is more beneficial to have high DEFCON center-backs or invest in attacking full-backs/budget midfielders who’ll get points through goal involvement. In this section, we will analyse the pros and cons of selecting a center-back vs a full-back/midfielder in FPL this season, and the point-scoring potential of each position.

In earlier seasons, the standard playbook involved selecting as many attacking full-backs and center-backs known for scoring headers in order to earn points through goals and assists. However, with the new DEFCON system, managers now have the chance to earn points consistently with CBs who will reliably reach the DEFCON threshold on a regular basis.

Let’s compare the point-scoring potential of Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix versus his right-back teammate Daniel Munoz.

Points from	Lacroix	Munoz
Total	37 points	36 points
DEFCON	8 points	4 points
G/A	3 points(1 Assist)	9 points(1 Goal, 1 Assist)

As you can see in the table above, Lacroix and Munoz are quite evenly matched when it comes to total points, with more of Lacroix’s points coming from DEFCON, whereas Munoz has earned more through goal involvements.

This shows that CBs are more reliable for scoring points now, as compared to previous seasons, and they offer a steady 2 points through DEFCON every game, as they are likely to make defensive contributions every game.

Now, let’s take a look at a budget midfielder versus a DEFCON defender’s scoring potential.

In this case, we can compare a budget midfielder like Man City’s Reijnders and Crystal Palace center-back Chris Richards.

Reijnders is priced at £5.8m and has earned 31 points so far this season.
Richards is priced at £4.5m and has earned 33 points so far this season.

Both Reijnders and Richards have earned similar points this season, despite the former being a midfielder and the latter a center-half.

In previous campaigns, selecting budget midfielders like Reijnders was a far better decision than opting for a center-back like Richards because these budget midfielders offered more opportunities for goals and assists, and thereby more points, as opposed to center-backs, who relied on clean sheets and the occasional goal via header to score points.

Now, it is a more comprehensive system, with center-backs having much more to offer.

Further Read: FPL GW8 Wildcard Team – Tips, Players to Target and Best Drafts

Is playing 4/5 at the back the way forward?

After our analysis in the previous section, it seems pretty clear that defenders have a bigger role to play in FPL this season, requiring us to change the way we approach our team formations as well.

3 at the back used to be the go-to formation for all managers, with 5 midfielders or 3 forwards being the best way to score points – a very attack-minded system. However, now that defenders can offer a steady and reliable way to score points through DEFCON, 4-4-2/4-3-3 seems like the most optimal choice, giving us a balance between defense and attack to get the best of both worlds.

5 at the back might be overkill, but at times could be a great alternative, depending on the favorability of your defenders’ fixtures and if some of your midfielders/forwards have a more difficult gameweek.

Further Reads from ALLABOUTFPL Ahead of FPL GW8

FPL GW8 Ultimate Guide: Tips, Differentials, Captaincy & More
Top FPL Gameweek 8 Captain Picks Based on Analysis & Metrics
Premier League Players who will miss PL due to AFCON 2025
FPL GW8 Predicted Lineups, Injuries, & Press Conference Updates
FPL GW8 Scout Picks Based on Stats, Analysis and Matchups
DEFCON Analysis: Top Defenders for DCs, Best Opponents + More
FPL Gameweek 8 Transfer Tips: Two Players to Buy, Hold & Sell
FPL Gameweek 8 Wildcard – Position Wise Players to Target
FPL GW8 Wildcard Team – Tips, Players to Target and Best Drafts

Link to all our FPL GW8 blogs, including buy, hold, sell analysis, differentials, captaincy metrics, transfer targets, and more. Completely free to access as well!

Thanks for reading the ‘Defenders DEFCON Analysis’ blog. Keep checking allaboutfpl.com for regular blogs and updates. Also, follow our 250,000+ community on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, and Twitter to stay updated on regular Posts and FPL updates.

What’s next from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL Gameweek 8 of the 2025/26 FPL Season?

We’ll be covering differential picks, transfer targets, Buy, Hold, Sell analysis, Scout picks, Gameweek preview, Captaincy metrics, FPL GW8 tips, and more. Keep checking allaboutfpl.com for all our blogs. We’ll also be posting regularly about the same on our social media accounts, so follow us on Twitter, Threads, Instagram, Facebook, and keep our notifications ON.

Our content is always free, and if you like our content, do drop a comment, follow, subscribe, and support us. Your love is what keeps us going:)

FPL GW8 FPL Deadline Countdown

Login and set your team for FPL GW8 now!