Fouls won (drawn) — the market for players who get fouled
Fouls won — the free kicks a player earns — is the mirror of fouls committed. Dribblers and hold-up forwards win fouls at high rates the market often lags.
How SharpXI models it
We model the player's recency-weighted fouls-won rate with shrinkage and minutes scaling, adjusted by how often the opposition commits fouls, through a Negative Binomial for P(fouls won ≥ line). Fouls won are quoted one side only, so the margin cannot be removed from the price and stays in the comparison.
Go deeper: How we model fouls won
Where the value tends to sit
A skilful dribbler against a foul-prone defence is the classic fouls-won edge — the same match-up that drives fouls committed, seen from the other side.
Premier League — how this market behaves
Across 1,245 graded Premier League predictions from the 26/27 season, a player recorded 1+ foul won in 51.2% of appearances. SharpXI's model beat that base rate by 17.2% here, against Ligue 1 16.0%, La Liga 15.7%, UEFA Champions League 15.6%, UEFA Nations League 14.6%, Bundesliga 14.4%, UEFA Europa League 14.1%, Serie A 13.9%, Championship 12.1% and EFL Cup 9.6% — the league where the model reads fouls won best
Premier League leaders this season
In the 26/27 Premier League season, Granit Xhaka (Sunderland) leads for fouls won at 2.00 per 90, ahead of Neco Williams (1.80) and Daniel Ballard (1.60). Rates are per 90 minutes, minimum 450 played, from completed matches.
Per-90 rates across the league (26/27 season, minimum 450 minutes) — the players whose underlying numbers drive this market.
| Player | Team | Per 90 | 1+ hit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granit Xhaka | Sunderland | 2.00 | 100% |
| Neco Williams | Nottingham Forest | 1.80 | 100% |
| Daniel Ballard | Sunderland | 1.60 | 100% |
| James Tarkowski | Everton | 1.60 | 60% |
| Morgan Gibbs-White | Nottingham Forest | 1.60 | 80% |
| Calvin Bassey | Fulham | 1.40 | 100% |
| Antoine Semenyo | Man City | 1.20 | 80% |
| James Justin | Leeds | 1.20 | 80% |
| Bryan Mbeumo | Man Utd | 1.00 | 80% |
| Erling Haaland | Man City | 1.00 | 80% |
| Gabriel Magalhães | Arsenal | 1.00 | 60% |
| Jan Paul van Hecke | Tottenham | 1.00 | 60% |
Frequently asked
What's the difference between fouls won and fouls committed?
Fouls won are the free kicks a player earns by being fouled; fouls committed are the ones they concede. They're separate markets with separate models.
Which players win the most fouls?
Typically low-centre-of-gravity dribblers and forwards who hold the ball up. The SharpXI market page lists the current Premier League leaders.
SharpXI is a statistical tool, not a betting operator, and no model guarantees a result. The honest scoreboard is closing-line value over a large sample. 18+ — please gamble responsibly.