Set pieces are an incredibly important part of football, with between 25% and 33% of goals scored coming from a set piece. They are equally important in Fantrax EPL, and in these articles we will highlight the trends in set pieces that will lead to player value fluctuation.
Be sure to check out our other Inner Circle features, including the Fixture Difficulty Tracker and Weekly Projections.
The graph above shows the top 25 players for set piece Fantrax points last season. A remarkable 58% of James Ward-Prowse's FPts came from set pieces.
Check out @DraftLad's article on set pieces for more insight and our set piece tracker.
Gameweek 2 Set Piece Takers
Liverpool vs Burnley
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Tsimikas continued to split set piece duties, with Trent taking the 2 free kicks of the game. Burnley had an interesting change up of duties. The normal set piece takers Ashley Westwood and Dwight McNeil took none at all. Westwood was on the bench but McNeil did play and still lost out to Josh Brownhill who took 4 corners. Likely a case of Brownhill being the backup right footed set piece taker in Westwood's absence. McNeil is left-footed and was likely just unlucky to take 0 this game. Expect the setup to go back to normal once Westwood comes back into the lineup.
Aston Villa vs Newcastle
In a change from last game, John McGinn took a couple of corners for Villa, with Buendia still taking 1. Buendia led the way in free kicks, but McGinn and Ashley Young also got 1. Bailey did not feature in the match. Interestingly, we learned that Anwar El Ghazi is still Villa's primary penalty taker over Danny Ings, as El Ghazi took and scored one this game (with Ings on the pitch). Matt Ritchie continued to dominate set pieces, taking 5 corners and 1 free kick, but it is important to note that neither Shelvey and Fraser started.
Crystal Palace vs Brentford
Conor Gallagher took all of Palace's corners and free kicks in this one, however last game's takers Riedewald and Rak-Sakyi both were absent from the XI. Milivojevic also still absent. Canos split corners and free kicks evenly with Mbeuemo in this one, with Ghoddos also subbing on and taking one free kick. Jensen still missing from XI.
Leeds vs Everton
Differently from GW1, Stuart Dallas took some free kicks and corners for Leeds, leaving Raphinha with fewer, but still the majority of corners. Klich also had 1 corner. Interestingly, Kalvin Phillips returned to the side but took 0 set pieces. Lucas Digne had a monopoly on set pieces in this one, with Andros Townsend only coming on in the 75th minute. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is officially Everton's primary penalty kick taker as he confirmed in the press after scoring 1 in the game.
Manchester City vs Norwich
Gundogan and Mahrez were the primary set piece takers with Cancelo and Bernardo Silva each getting 1 corner (although Silva's was just a short corner). No KDB in the XI this week though. Gilmour took all of Norwich's sets, but that was only 1 corner and 1 free kick vs City. Dowell still not in the starting XI.
Brighton vs Watford
Gross took all of Brighton's corners in this one, unlike last week where Solly March chipped in a few. No free kicks for Brighton though. Cleverley took both of Watford's corners and Imran Louza took their one free kick in his starting debut.
Southampton vs Manchester United
Ward-Prowse took all free kicks and corners for Southampton, with the exception of 1 short corner taken by Perraud. Mason Greenwood continued to take a portion of the corners(4) for United this week, with Bruno and Shaw also getting a few. Bruno and Shaw also split free kicks this week, with Bruno taking the only direct free kick shot.
Wolves vs Tottenham
Neves, Moutinho, and Trincao split corners fairly evenly in this one, with Neves and Trincao each taking one free kick as well. Son took both of Spurs free kicks, but Lo Celso, even in 23 minutes off the bench outpaced him for corners in this one. Important to note that when/if Lo Celso starts, Son's production could take a hit due to loss of some set pieces. We also learned that Dele Alli is the chosen penalty taker over Son with both on the field. Kane will almost definitely still be their first option when/if he plays however.
Arsenal vs Chelsea
Pepe took all 9 of Arsenal's corners, from both the left and right sides. Arsenal did not have any free kicks in the match. Interesting to see that Saka took 0 corners. We will see what happens when Odegaard is in the XI. Alonso, Mount, and James split corners evenly for Chelsea and the team, like Arsenal, did not have any free kicks to take.
West Ham vs Leicester
Bowen took the majority of corners in this one (9 in total) with Cresswell and Coufal each crossing in 1 as well. Bowen and Cresswell each took 1 free kick a piece as well. With Leicester down to 10 men after 40 minutes played, they had 0 set pieces in this match!
Things to Watch Out For From This Week
Will Odegaard take some set pieces off of Pepe and potentially Saka when he starts?
Will McGinn continue to be involved in Villa's set pieces?
Will Dallas continue to be involved in Leeds' set pieces?
Will Kalvin Phillips regain any set pieces, and thus his fantasy floor?
Any chance Brownhill stays on corners when Westwood returns?
Things to Watch Out For From Last Week
Will Pepe keep set pieces when Saka returns? Yes Pepe kept corners, still unknown for free kicks
Who will be taking Aston Villa free kicks? Some combination of Buendia, McGinn, Bailey, and Young
Can Canos keep any set pieces when Jensen returns? Still to be determined
Who will take Crystal Palace's set pieces when they are at full strength? Still to be determined, but Gallagher taking some at the moment
Will Antonio keep taking penalty kicks for West Ham? Still to be determined
Will Dowell take set pieces if he starts for Norwich? Still to be determined
Bruno (23%) and Maddison (26%) were reliant on set pieces for a large proportion of their FPts last season. Will their average Points per Start drop if they continue to go without? Still to be determined
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