Which FPL players win the most fouls?
One of the smaller changes in FPL for 2024/25 is that players will now get a BPS reward whenever they win fouls.
As well as the ability to accumulate five free transfers, get more points for goal-scoring keepers and the addition of Mystery Chip, FPL authorities have tweaked the Bonus Points System (BPS).
This utilises a range of statistics to determine which three individuals (at least) will be awarded up to three bonus points in each match.
Instead of gaining 15 BPS for saving a penalty, goalkeepers will now get nine of them. And defensive assets will lose four each time they concede. However, BPS can start be gained for goalline clearances (three), a shot on target (two) and winning a foul (one).
So let’s see which players are the best at luring opponents into committing an offence.
FPL PLAYERS WHO WIN FOULS
Newcastle’s all-action midfielder Bruno Guimaraes (£6.5m) leads the way, drawing 108 fouls in the 2023/24 campaign. With seven goals and nine assists, he’s been given another slight price rise – you’d expect the Magpies to have a better season now that injuries and fixtures have tidied up.
His team-mate Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) is currently in over 35% of Gameweek 1 drafts and ranks highly here. In fact, no individual won more penalties than his half-dozen.
Well-owned assets Bukayo Saka (£10.0m), Phil Foden (£9.5m) and Joao Pedro (£5.5m) hover around the most fouled and – curiously – so does Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa (£4.5m). After these 64 occurrences, the next-best in his position is Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.5m), with 53.
MINUTES PER FOUL WON
When calculating the rate of such incidents, Jack Grealish (£6.5m) is number one. He was felled once every 24.61 minutes. Then again, he barely reached 1,000 minutes over the whole season.
So let’s compile a top five for players who won at least 30 fouls and played at least 50% of Premier League minutes.
| FOULS WON | TOTAL MINS | MINS PER FOUL WON | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Ayew | 94 | 2,543 | 27.053 |
| James Maddison | 74 | 2,136 | 28.865 |
| Bruno Guimaraes | 108 | 3,263 | 30.213 |
| Tahith Chong | 64 | 1,985 | 31.016 |
| Mohammed Kudus | 75 | 2,484 | 33.120 |
Here, Jordan Ayew (£5.5m) looks to have BPS potential, although it could depend on how many attackers Crystal Palace bring in to replace Michael Olise.
Tahith Chong was relegated to the Championship, so it’s worth mentioning West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m). By far, he was last season’s best for attempting take-ons (221) and being successful with them (124). Therefore it makes sense that he’ll keep attracting a lot of fouls.
