Fantasy Challenge GW12 rewards the elite passers. Our guide breaks down the best picks for landing extra bonus points in the Premier League this weekend.
This week’s Fantasy Challenge is one for the passers, with six bonus points awarded to any player who hits a 90% pass completion rate from at least 30 attempts.
Naturally, that makes defenders attractive assets, given how often they see the ball. Unsurprisingly, we’ll be loading our team up with them, opting to play 3-1-1 this week. But aside from that, it’s actually quite rare for players in other positions to hit the passing thresholds required to land bonus points, at least based on what we’ve seen so far this season.
Still, there are clear trends we can lean on.
First, it’s pretty obvious that the more possession a team has, the more chance their players have of hitting the passing volume required. On the flip side, it’s sensible to target opponents who allow the other team to have the ball. The two tables below rank Premier League sides by possession and total passes per game, and give us a nice overview of the teams to target.
We can also use out-of-possession data to inform our decisions. For example, it might be smart to avoid defenders playing against sides who press high and limit their opponent’s passing sequences at the back (like Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham).
Instead, we should target teams more likely to sit off in a low or medium block and let the opposition have the ball (like Sunderland and Burnley).
With that overview out of the way, let’s dive into our team.
Goalkeeper
Bart Verbruggen: Brighton vs Brentford (H)
The first thing to note here is that goalkeepers in general have an extremely low chance of hitting the bonus threshold this week.
Across 110 Premier League matches this season, only four goalkeepers have attempted 30+ passes while completing 90% or more of them: Guglielmo Vicario (43/46 passes, 93.5% vs Burnley), Bart Verbruggen (34/37, 91.9% vs Crystal Palace), Emiliano Martínez (31/33, 93.9% vs Brentford) and David Raya (28/31, 90.3% vs Leeds).
If we widen the filter slightly, Bart Verbruggen stands out. He’s attempted 30+ passes in a game on four occasions, the most of any goalkeeper in the league, and hit the high 80s for pass completion in all of them, including the 91.9% game above. Brighton should see plenty of the ball against Brentford, and we fancy Verbruggen to be heavily involved again.
Of course, standard FPL rules also apply, and we want to pick a goalkeeper that keeps goals out of his net. Verbruggen has been decent enough in this aspect in 2025-26, with the Dutchman one of only five goalkeepers to have played 500+ minutes and have a goals prevented value of 1.7 or more (1.78).
Defenders
As mentioned, defenders can thrive in this ruleset. Centre-backs should dominate, especially in possession-heavy teams and against opponents who sit deep.
A defender has hit a 90%+ pass completion rate from 30+ attempts on 226 separate occasions already this season, showing just how common it is.
Trevoh Chalobah: Burnley vs Chelsea (A)
Trevoh Chalobah combines the best of both worlds for us. Chelsea dominate the ball, while Burnley average the lowest possession of any side in the league.
Chalobah has hit a 90%+ completion rate on 30+ attempts in seven of his 11 appearances this season, and our pass projection for him is well clear of the threshold, at 70.4.
What’s more, Chelsea look a strong shout for a clean sheet too, with Burnley averaging the lowest expected goals per game of any team in the league.
Virgil van Dijk: Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest (H)
Liverpool have averaged the most possession of any side this season, and they should see a lot of the ball again when they host Nottingham Forest.
Although Forest sit mid-table for possession overall, that number is inflated by Ange Postecoglou’s doomed spell. In Sean Dyche’s three games in charge, they’ve averaged just 44.8% possession; the fourth-lowest rate in the league in that time.
Virgil van Dijk has attempted 30+ passes at a 90% completion rate seven times, including in each of his last four home matches. We project him for 73 passes, and despite their defensive troubles, Liverpool will not fear a Forest attack that’s scored just 10 goals this season, especially if Chris Wood misses out.
Ezri Konsa: Leeds vs Aston Villa (A)
Ezri Konsa might raise a few eyebrows as a selection but he has hit the 30+ pass, 90% combo nine times out of 11 games, more than any other defender this season.
He did leave the England camp with minor calf tightness over the international break, so his fitness is one to monitor, but if he features he looks as close to a guaranteed six bonus points as you can get.
Leeds have failed to score in their last three home league games against Villa, and only Wolves (6.7%) have a lower shot conversion rate than them (7.6%). Unai Emery’s side are in brilliant form, winning five of their last six Premier League matches, and are favourites in this contest.
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Declan Rice: Arsenal vs Tottenham (H)
It’s trickier to find midfielders who regularly hit the passing thresholds needed to score the extra six points. Declan Rice and Tijjani Reijnders lead the way among midfielders, attempting 30+ passes and completing 90%+ of them in six games each this season, more than anyone else from their cohort
With that in mind, we’ve gone with Rice here. Arsenal have scored more goals from set-pieces (excluding penalties) both overall (10) and as a percentage (50%) than any other side in the Premier League this season. Rice’s quality over dead balls is well known, and he’s always liable to grab an assist from those situations.
He leads Arsenal for overall chances created (18), and even if Gabriel Magalhães is out, there are plenty of aerial threats for him to aim at.
Forward
Erling Haaland: Newcastle vs Manchester City (A)
You’ll never guess who we’re picking up front this week…
This scoring system isn’t really built for forwards, with not a single one hitting the passing thresholds required all season.
Erling Haaland sees even less of the ball than most strikers, but we’re not picking him for his link-up play. He has 14 Premier League goals, almost double the next-highest scorer (Igor Thiago, 8) and is simply an automatic pick at present.
Opta Analyst’s Team Reveal: Gameweek 12 FPL Challenge Picks
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FPL Challenge GW12 Tips: Best Passers to Target for Bonus Points Opta Analyst.
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