Premier League Set-Piece Takers 2026/27: What Has Changed?

What has changed among the early set-piece takers?

Quick answer:

Dominik Szoboszlai has moved up Liverpool's penalty conversation after scoring at Newcastle with Alexander Isak and Alexis Mac Allister on the pitch. That makes him a confirmed taker, but it does not prove he owns every future penalty.

Vitaly Janelt has also become much harder to ignore after taking seven Brentford corners in the first three matches. Bukayo Saka's Arsenal penalty role still looks sound. Sunderland need separate notes for penalties and corners, while Chelsea's opening corner routines were too widely shared to give one player the job.

This updates our August set-piece guide. It records what has actually happened, and keeps the uncertain parts uncertain.

Source cutoff: Premier League matches completed through 12 September 2026. Corner numbers below state their own sample period; they are not complete Gameweek 4 totals.

Which updates matter most for FPL?

Sources: Liverpool's match report, Opta's Sunderland-Arsenal report, Sunderland's injury update, Brentford's pre-Gameweek 4 analysis and Fantasy Football Scout's Gameweek 1 breakdown.

Who takes Liverpool's penalties: Szoboszlai or Isak?

Szoboszlai is a confirmed taker this season. Liverpool have not established an exclusive first-choice order from the sources available so far.

The Newcastle penalty is useful because the other plausible candidates were available. Liverpool's match report and team sheet show Isak completing the match and Mac Allister coming on in the second half. Szoboszlai stepped up in stoppage time and scored.

Andoni Iraola did not name a one-man hierarchy afterwards. He discussed Szoboszlai, Isak, Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo as strong specialists. The full club transcript is clearer than trying to read a permanent order into one kick.

The practical FPL takeaway is simple: Szoboszlai's role has improved, while an Isak purchase still needs to make sense on minutes, open-play chances and fixtures. Do not price every future Liverpool penalty into either player yet.

Are Liverpool's corners creating chances?

Szoboszlai's corner against Fulham found Victor Muñoz, whose header hit the crossbar. Liverpool's match report records the chance even though the match finished 0-0.

That is the kind of moment a simple assist total misses. The delivery created a good scoring opportunity; the finish did not go in. One header against the bar does not promise an assist next week, but it tells us more about the role than the blank beside his name.

Keep watching who takes the deliveries, who attacks them and how often they lead to shots. If Szoboszlai continues to combine corners with direct free kicks and penalty involvement, that wider route to points matters.

Why should Janelt be in Brentford's corner conversation?

Janelt took seven corners in Brentford's first three league matches, tied for the most in the squad. He also played all 270 minutes, created four chances and scored twice from three shots. Brentford's Gameweek 4 analysis supplied those numbers and listed him at £5.0m at the time.

That changes the August picture, which named Mathias Jensen for corners. Janelt now belongs prominently in the discussion, though shared duties remain possible.

The goals need more caution than the minutes or corners. Two goals from three shots is an excellent return from very little shooting volume. I would not buy him expecting that finishing rate to continue. Regular minutes, some corners and more than one route to points are the more interesting combination.

For a budget midfield slot, he is worth comparing with players who offer little beyond appearance points. If you need him to start every week, keep checking the chance creation and his role in Brentford's shape.

What did the opening corner routines look like?

A club can split corners by side, personnel or routine. The opening-weekend sample already gives us a better answer than a single name beside each team.

Source: Fantasy Football Scout's Opta-based Gameweek 1 breakdown. These are opening-match observations, not season totals or a prediction that the split will continue.

Chelsea's row needs one more detail: three of the four corners were taken short. The player touching the ball first may not be the one delivering the eventual cross. Counting the first touch alone can exaggerate a player's creative responsibility.

So Chelsea's early duties should be listed as shared, not handed to Reece James by default. Arsenal's split keeps both Saka and Rice in the picture. Sunderland's row needs Granit Xhaka as the prominent name rather than Le Fée alone.

Who takes Sunderland's penalties while Diarra is out?

Le Fée took the penalty against Arsenal on 12 September, and Raya saved it. Sunderland had already confirmed Diarra's absence, so we know who stepped forward in that team. We still do not know the order when both players are available. The match report and club injury update establish the context.

That distinction matters if penalties form part of a transfer case. A temporary duty can improve a player's short-term appeal, then disappear when a teammate returns.

For now, the honest wording is: Le Fée took Sunderland's penalty against Arsenal while Diarra was unavailable; the full-strength order still needs confirmation.

Corners are a different job. Le Fée taking a September penalty does not give him ownership of every other dead ball, especially when Xhaka had four corners in the Gameweek 1 sample.

Does Saka still lead Arsenal's penalty order?

Saka converted Arsenal's late penalty at Sunderland. That supports the original call without proving the backup order for every possible line-up. Opta's report confirms the kick.

Free kicks need more detail than a single name as well. Szoboszlai's opening match included two direct-free-kick shots and three crossed free kicks in the event breakdown. One route is a shot at goal; the other usually needs a teammate to finish.

Repeated duties with the other candidates available deserve the most weight. A single attempt from an unusual angle tells us less about the next suitable opportunity. The side of the pitch, the team sheet and the routine all matter.

How confident should we be in a set-piece list?

It helps to separate three types of call:

• Observed: the player took the kick in a competitive match.
• Expected: repeated observations or a clear manager statement point to the next taker.
• Temporary or shared: another candidate was absent, duties were divided, or the sample does not establish an exclusive order.

A club can go weeks without receiving a penalty, so silence tells us very little. A missed kick raises a question; it does not automatically promote somebody else. The next penalty and any clear manager explanation matter more than guesswork.

What does this change for an FPL squad?

Szoboszlai gets the clearest upgrade in our assessment of penalty responsibility. Janelt becomes more interesting as a budget midfielder with a real share of corners. Saka's observed role still matches the August recommendation. Le Fée's penalty involvement always needs the Diarra availability note beside it.

Do not buy a Chelsea player because you assume he takes every corner. The opening distribution is too broad. Do not build Isak's projected returns around a guaranteed Liverpool penalty monopoly either.

Set pieces are best used as a tiebreaker between players with secure minutes and a sensible open-play role. They are far less useful when the player is rarely on the pitch to take them.

Our companion goalkeeper review revisits Raya, Kelleher, Tzolakis and the clean-sheet picture. The Fantasy hub has the wider squad view, while FootieGuide designs are available in the Shop.

About this review: the original FootieGuide recommendations were checked against club reports, manager comments and published event data. Every corner number is tied to its stated sample. This is not a complete season-long corner-share dataset or a confirmed penalty hierarchy for all 20 clubs.