# Dayot Upamecano leads Round 6 defender value

> France's top-ranked defender projects 3.97 xPts with elite efficiency at 5.3m.

By the evmax model · 8 July 2026 · https://evmax.ai/round/6/defenders/

Dayot Upamecano ranks first among all defenders in Round 6, projecting 3.97 xPts with a ceiling of 3.97 — his 85th-percentile sim outcome across 50,000 simulations. At 5.3m, he delivers 0.749 points per million, the highest value in the dataset and a clear edge over peers. His captain EV of 7.94 makes him a legitimate armband candidate if France's fixture environment tilts toward clean sheets.

Upamecano's floor-and-ceiling pairing reveals a safe, consistent pick rather than a volatile upside play. His ceiling matches his projection exactly (ratio of 1.0), meaning the model sees limited big-haul potential — but that safety is priced efficiently. Jules Kounde, his France teammate, projects 3.79 xPts with a 7.57 captain EV at 5.4m and 0.701 value, making him the second-ranked option. William Saliba, also French at 5.3m, sits fourth with 3.6 xPts and 0.679 value, offering a cheaper alternative if budget matters more than marginal point gain.

> Upamecano's 0.749 points per million crushes the field; no other defender clears 0.779 except Facundo Medina, who projects just 3.12 xPts.

Ownership at 4.9% keeps Upamecano contrarian relative to Cucurella (27%) and William Saliba (13%), giving late-round pivots real leverage. The France trio dominates the top tier, but Upamecano's combination of highest projection, elite efficiency, and low ownership makes him the standout pick for managers hunting defender value in Round 6.

**Bottom line:** Upamecano is the top-ranked defender with the best points-per-million ratio in the dataset. Lock him in at 5.3m and use the savings elsewhere.

**Bottom line:** Upamecano is the top-ranked defender with the best points-per-million ratio in the dataset. Lock him in at 5.3m and use the savings elsewhere.

## The data

| # | Player | Team | xPts | Price | Pts/m | Ceiling | Owned % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dayot Upamecano | France | 3.97 | 5.3 | 0.75 | 3.97 | 4.9% |
| 2 | Jules Kounde | France | 3.79 | 5.4 | 0.70 | 3.79 | 6.3% |
| 3 | Aymeric Laporte | Spain | 3.61 | 5.5 | 0.66 | 3.61 | 9.2% |
| 4 | William Saliba | France | 3.60 | 5.3 | 0.68 | 3.60 | 13.0% |
| 5 | Cucurella | Spain | 3.33 | 5.1 | 0.65 | 3.33 | 27.0% |
| 6 | Lisandro Martinez | Argentina | 3.29 | 4.6 | 0.72 | 3.29 | 7.0% |
| 7 | Pau Cubarsi | Spain | 3.17 | 5.0 | 0.64 | 3.17 | 6.1% |
| 8 | Facundo Medina | Argentina | 3.12 | 4.0 | 0.78 | 3.12 | 9.4% |
| 9 | Cristian Romero | Argentina | 3.09 | 4.9 | 0.63 | 3.09 | 5.8% |
| 10 | Ezri Konsa | England | 3.08 | 4.8 | 0.64 | 3.08 | 3.0% |
| 11 | M. Llorente | Spain | 2.99 | 5.5 | 0.54 | 2.99 | 4.5% |
| 12 | Nico O'Reilly | England | 2.96 | 4.7 | 0.63 | 2.96 | 10.8% |
| 13 | Marc Guehi | England | 2.85 | 5.1 | 0.56 | 2.85 | 6.2% |
| 14 | Nahuel Molina | Argentina | 2.61 | 4.4 | 0.59 | 2.61 | 3.3% |
| 15 | V. Livramento | England | 2.49 | 4.6 | 0.54 | 2.49 | 0.1% |

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Method: Market odds (de-vigged) → Dixon-Coles scorelines → 50k Monte-Carlo simulations, scored on the official FIFA World Cup Fantasy points table.
Data license: CC BY 4.0 (attribution: evmax, https://evmax.ai). Machine-readable JSON: https://evmax.ai/api/round/6/defenders.json