Premier League Penalty and Set-Piece Takers for 2026/27

Quick answer

The clearest current penalty roles belong to Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Erling Haaland, Bruno Fernandes, Igor Thiago, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Alexander Isak, Chris Wood and Dominic Solanke. Several other clubs have contested or injury-affected orders, so use the official FPL list as a live pecking order rather than a promise that a named player will take the next kick.

Set pieces matter because they add repeatable routes to goals and assists. They are still a tiebreaker. A penalty taker who might not start is less useful than a secure player producing chances from open play.

Club-by-club penalty and set-piece table

The ordering above follows the current official list. Slash-separated names indicate a role that needs stronger match evidence; semicolons show the listed succession order. A player can remain first in the data while injured, benched or replaced during a match.

The penalty takers you can price into a decision

Saka, Palmer, Haaland and Fernandes combine first-place penalty status with established starting roles and premium-level open-play involvement. Their duties strengthen an existing case; they do not create it.

Thiago, Mateta, Isak, Wood and Solanke also sit first in their club's current order. These are useful separators when two forwards have similar prices, fixtures and expected minutes.

Liverpool's hierarchy currently places Isak ahead of Dominik Szoboszlai. Manchester City list Haaland well clear of Omar Marmoush and Antoine Semenyo. Manchester United list Fernandes first across penalties, direct free-kicks and corners, with Bryan Mbeumo second in each order.

That concentration is valuable. It also depends on minutes: a player cannot take a late penalty after being substituted.

The contested penalty groups

Aston Villa currently place Emiliano Buendía ahead of Ollie Watkins. Fulham list Antonee Robinson ahead of Alex Iwobi. Newcastle place Nick Woltemade ahead of William Osula. Those orders are official data, but they are not yet strong enough for FootieGuide to call the role secure.

Bournemouth's Junior Kroupi is listed first but is unavailable with a foot injury and no stated return date. Justin Kluivert and Marcus Tavernier therefore matter more in the immediate decision. Everton's main dead-ball taker James Garner is currently expected back on 22 August, after the GW1 deadline.

Dead-ball monopolies add assist routes

Fernandes has the cleanest three-way monopoly in the current data. Szoboszlai, Rice, James, Cherki, Gibbs-White and Pedro Porro also combine direct or indirect duties with established creative roles.

The value is not simply the number of corners taken. Delivery quality, aerial targets, starting security and whether the taker shares left- and right-sided corners all affect the return. A nominal first-place order can still produce only half the team's corners.

For promoted teams, Ryan Giles leads both Hull dead-ball lists but competes with Matt Targett at left-back. Marcelino Núñez leads the Ipswich direct and indirect lists, with Leif Davis second. Coventry split duties among Jack Rudoni, Matt Grimes and Victor Torp; Rudoni is currently at 75 per cent because of a shoulder injury.

How to use the table in an FPL draft

1. Check minutes first. Remove any taker who is unlikely to start or complete enough of the match.
2. Separate penalties from corners. Penalties are high-value shots; corners mainly add an assist route.
3. Use fixtures next. A secure taker on a strong attack with a good run is more compelling than a duty-holder on a weak or heavily rotated side.
4. Watch substitutions. The next player in the order matters when the first choice often leaves early.
5. Refresh after evidence. The first competitive penalty or repeated corner pattern can overturn this table.

Combine the role layer with the GW1–6 fixture guide, the midfielder guide, the forward guide, and current availability in the Fantasy hub.

Strongest counterargument and uncertainty

The strongest counterargument is that pre-season set-piece lists are backward-looking and can become stale after one transfer, tactical change or substitution. That is correct. The official list is useful because it provides a consistent league-wide baseline, not because it predicts every future kick.

FootieGuide therefore assigns high confidence only where the order, starting role and recent responsibility point in the same direction. The overall table has medium confidence and should be treated as an updateable reference, not a permanent ranking.

Sources and evidence boundary

The official pecking orders, prices, injuries and GW1 deadline were retrieved on 14 August 2026 from the Fantasy Premier League bootstrap data. The Premier League explains how managers can use its Set Piece Takers section, while its pre-season FPL guide warns that new managers can change tactics, lineups and set-piece roles. Listed orders and availability are official facts. Role-security labels and confidence tiers are FootieGuide editorial inference. No FootieGuide expected-points or lineup model is used. Refresh after any transfer, injury update, manager statement, penalty, repeated corner pattern or deadline.