Best Defensive Midfielders in FC 27

We score every FC 27 Ultimate Team card in every role it can play. These are all 4,785 Defensive Midfielders, ranked by Meta Score with their best chemistry style. Beckenbauer leads with a Meta Score of 95.4 and costs about 2.1M coins. Cheaper: Formiga scores 94.4 for about 2.9M coins.

Updated October 8, 2026

Top picks

Franz Beckenbauer card — Best overall
The highest Meta Score

Formiga card — Best value
Almost as good, for fewer coins

Lothar Matthäus card — Hidden gem
Plays far above its OVR

Defensive Midfielders ranking

Top 30 of 4,785

1
CDM95.42.1M
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
2
CDM94.84.4M
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
3
CDM94.42.9M
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
4
CDM93.17.3M
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
5
CDM90.82.3M
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Anchor
6
CDM90.7232K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
7
CDM90.5190K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
8
CDM90.41.8M
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
9
CDM90.42.1M
Holding · Shadow
10
CDM90.1293K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
11
CDM89.6769K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Anchor
12
CDM89.5162K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
13
CDM89.5875K
Holding · Shadow
14
CDM89.091K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
15
CDM89.0500K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
16
CDM88.92.6M
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
17
CDM88.8725K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
18
CDM88.7419K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
19
CDM88.7565K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
20
CDM88.71.4M
Holding · Shadow
21
CDM88.690.5K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
22
CDM88.6500K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
23
CDM88.61M
Holding · Shadow
24
CDM88.5400K
Holding · Shadow
25
CDM88.415K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
26
CDM88.2380K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
27
CDM88.1258K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
28
CDM88.059.5K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
29
CDM88.0384K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow
30
CDM88.0505K
Deep-Lying Playmaker · Shadow

Defensive Midfielders at a glance

Cards ranked: 4,785
Avg. Meta Score, top 10: 92.1
Median price, top 10: 2.1M
Most common chem style: Shadow
Most common PlayStyle+: Pinged Pass

Defensive Midfielders roles

Every card is scored in each of these roles, and the ranking above uses its best one. Open a role to see who suits it best.

Best Holding (CDM)

A pivotal role in modern football, this defence-minded midfielder focuses on guarding their backline during attacks, and covering off against counter-attacks, with limited attacking support.

Best Deep-Lying Playmaker (CDM)

The key cog to building up play from the back, this defensively positioned midfielder will often be the catalyst for attacks.

Best Wide Half (CDM)

A defensive midfielder charged with marking and covering the sides of the pitch when needed.

Best Centre Half (CDM)

A defensive midfielder that will drop between the centre-backs while their team is in possession to offer protection against the counterattack.

Best Box Crasher (CDM)

A defensive midfielder who can get forward to join the attack, making trailing runs into the box, if the opportunity arises.

How we rank Defensive Midfielders

Meta Score rates a card in a specific role rather than overall. It weighs the attributes that role needs, PlayStyles and PlayStyles+, AcceleRATE, skill moves, weak foot, height and Role+ / Role++, and tests every chemistry style at full chemistry to find the best one. OVR only averages attributes, so a lower-rated card often plays better in the right role.

Prices are console Transfer Market prices. Cards you can't buy, like SBC and objective rewards, are included on this page and marked in the price column.

What is Meta Score?

Defensive Midfielders for every budget

Cheapest players by rating All players by Meta Score

FAQ

Who are the best Defensive Midfielders in FC 27?

By Meta Score, the top three are Beckenbauer (95.4), Matthäus (94.8) and Formiga (94.4).

What is the cheapest option among the top 10 Defensive Midfielders?

Patri Guijarro costs about 190k coins and has a Meta Score of 90.5, 4.9 points behind the best.

Which chemistry style is best for Defensive Midfielders?

Shadow is the best chemistry style for 9 of the top 10. The best style depends on the card, so every row in the ranking shows the one that gets the most out of it.

Why isn't this list sorted by OVR?

OVR averages attributes and ignores PlayStyles, AcceleRATE, skill moves, weak foot and height. Meta Score weighs what the role needs, which is why Matthäus (OVR 90) reaches a Meta Score of 94.8.

How often is this list updated?

Prices refresh throughout the day and the ranking is rebuilt at least every 30 minutes. A card's Meta Score changes when the card is upgraded or the scoring is retuned.

Are these console or PC prices?

Console prices by default. Switch to PC above the ranking to see PC prices; on budget pages the list is also rebuilt from PC prices.