The all-round style of play of Kieran Trippier (£6.0m) is set to help the Newcastle United right-back break the record for the most bonus points collected in a single Fantasy Premier League campaign.
Trippier has been awarded 31 bonus points across Newcastle's 20 matches and is closing in on the best-ever score of 54, set by Cesc Fabregas in 2006/07.
How are bonus points collected?
Bonus points in every match are determined by the Bonus Points System (BPS), which uses a range of statistics to create a BPS score for each player.
A breakdown of the BPS in Newcastle's recent goalless draw at Crystal Palace shows why Trippier surpassed his defensive team-mates to secure the maximum bonus.
The Magpies' back four each earned 12 points in the BPS for a clean sheet and a further six BPS for playing over 60 minutes.
BPS scores for positive actions v Palace
| Trippier | Burn | Schar | Botman | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean sheet | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| 60+ mins | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Key passes | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Big chances created | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pass completion | 0 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Dribbles | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Open-play crosses | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Recoveries | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| CBI* | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Total | 42 | 29 | 31 | 27 |
*Clearances, blocks and interceptions
Trippier's creativity and delivery were a significant factor in the Selhurst Park match. He provided eight key passes and five successful open-play crosses, with each action earning him one point in the BPS.
He also collected a further six BPS for creating two big chances in the goalless draw.
Combined with his defensive display, Trippier scored 42 points for his positive actions in the BPS.
BPS scores for negative actions v Palace
| Trippier | Burn | Schar | Botman | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offside | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yellow card | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tackled | -2 | -1 | -2 | 0 |
| Fouls conceded | -2 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| Shots off target | 0 | 0 | -2 | -1 |
| Total | -8 | -1 | -4 | -2 |
Trippier lost eight BPS points for a number of negative actions in the Gameweek 21 match. A yellow card deducted three points from his tally, while he lost a further two points for being tackled and also for conceding fouls.
Total BPS scores v Palace
| Trippier | Burn | Schar | Botman | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive BPS | 42 | 29 | 31 | 27 |
| Negative BPS | -8 | -1 | -4 | -2 |
| Total BPs | 34 | 28 | 27 | 25 |
Nonetheless, the right-back still had a BPS total score of 34, much more than any team-mate against Palace.
Trippier's Gameweek 21 display took him onto 589 BPS for the season, 200+ more than any other Newcastle defender.
His creativity, particularly supplying big chances to team-mates, as well as his crossing, gives him a huge advantage over the rest of the Magpies back four in the BPS.
Combined with his defensive contribution, it makes Trippier Fantasy gold whenever Newcastle keep a clean sheet.
Other defenders with high BPS
Manchester United's Diogo Dalot (£4.7m) and Nottingham Forest's Serge Aurier (£4.5m) are similar to Trippier when it comes to collecting bonus points.
Dalot is the third top-scoring defender for bonus this season, despite managing only one assist and only playing 21 minutes since Gameweek 16.
He has earned three bonus points in four of the five matches he has kept a clean sheet.
Aurier has helped Forest to keep five clean sheets since securing a starting role in Gameweek 12.
That total is bettered only by the eight of Newcastle, ranking joint-second along with Man Utd and Arsenal.
Aurier has been awarded at least one bonus point in four of those five encounters.
How to identify BPS-high defenders
You can see which defenders do well in the BPS and those who don't by going to the FPL stats page, filtering by defenders and sorting by BPS or bonus points.
Also in this series
Part 1: Bargain Kepa outperforming Pope
Part 2: Trippier on course for record-breaking campaign
Part 3: James and Chilwell can shake up defences
Part 5: Time for a five-man midfield?
Part 6: Ferguson can unlock Kane and Haaland combo
Part 7: Mitoma the go-to Almiron replacement