Who are the best FPL Challenge GW20 picks? Clean sheets will be worth double points this week, inclusive of goalkeepers, defenders and midfielders. We use Opta data to find the top players to target in the Premier League.
“New year, new me” is a phrase you’ll be hearing a lot this week, but does it resonate at all in the football world?
Calendar years probably don’t hold the same aura for professional footballers – while we get four seasons, they get one, and it starts in August and ends in May.
Hopefully they buy into the concept for this week’s FPL Challenge theme, Clean Start, where players are awarded double points for keeping a clean sheet.
Goalkeepers and defenders will get eight points if they play at least 60 minutes without conceding a goal, while midfielders will get two points.
With this in mind, we are setting up with a 1-3-1-1 formation to maximise our defensive coverage.
Goalkeeper
Guglielmo Vicario: Tottenham Hotspur vs Sunderland (H)
Spurs have been a tough watch at times this season, and their goalless draw away to Brentford on New Year’s Day may go down as one of the worst games of the season.
Nonetheless, it was their second consecutive Premier League game with a clean sheet, a feat they hadn’t achieved since their opening two games of the season against Burnley and Manchester City, and that’s enough to select Guglielmo Vicario as our goalkeeper.
Thomas Frank’s side rank sixth in the Premier League this season for expected goals conceded, with 25.3, while in home games alone their ranking improves one place to fifth (9.7).
Their opponents this week, Sunderland, are enjoying a wonderful campaign back in the top-flight, but don’t let that scare you – they have scored just four goals away from home in the Premier League this season, the joint-fewest of any side, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Defenders
James Tarkowski: Everton vs Brentford (H)
Everton have been in remarkable defensive form over the last two months, keeping six clean sheets across nine Premier League games, and an Everton defender is therefore an absolute must this week.
Their opponents, Brentford, meanwhile, have failed to score in three of their last five away games in the Premier League. Their three goals in this period were a penalty against Crystal Palace, and a brace from Keane Lewis-Potter against bottom-of-the-league Wolves. They also drew a blank at home to Spurs on Thursday.
Michael Keane (5.4) averages more points per start than James Tarkowski (4.9) in FPL this season, but he is suffering with a muscle injury at the moment, so we’re picking Tarkowski.
Matty Cash: Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest (H)
Aston Villa’s club-record run of 11 consecutive victories in all competitions came to an end last time out with a chastening 4-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium against league leaders Arsenal.
It’s hard to know exactly how teams will react to such runs coming to an end, but Villa have been afforded a somewhat kind fixture at home to Nottingham Forest this week as they attempt to prove the defeat at Arsenal was simply a blip.
This is not to say Forest are hopeless by any stretch, but the truth of the matter is they have lost each of their last three league games, they rank bottom for expected goals in away games (6.3), and they have failed to score in their last two matches on the road, as well as at home to Everton last time out.
Matty Cash, who has three goals to his name this season from right-back, missed the defeat at Arsenal through suspension, so you would expect him to be a little fresher than most players on the pitch in this game as a result.
Jan Paul van Hecke: Brighton & Hove Albion vs Burnley (H)
Wolves have scored 11 goals this season in the Premier League, seven fewer than any other side, and you may therefore be expecting us to select a defender from whomever faces them this week.
That would indeed be the case if not for the fact their opponents, West Ham, have not kept a clean sheet since August, against Nottingham Forest.
We are therefore electing to pick a defender who is facing Burnley, the second-worst team in the top flight this season, have gone for Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke.
Van Hecke averages 3.8 points per start in FPL this season, largely because he has scored three goals, including a brace against Aston Villa at the start of December.
Burnley have allowed 10.4 expected goals from set plays this season, the most of any team in the Premier League. Don’t be surprised to see Van Hecke cause them problems.
Midfielder
Bukayo Saka: Arsenal vs Bournemouth (A)
Bukayo Saka has been excellent for Arsenal this season, but it would not be a surprise to hear he was a tad disappointed with his goal and assist return in the Premier League.
With four goals and two assists in 17 appearances, Saka is performing below his usual standards in this regard. He averaged 0.83 goal involvements per 90 minutes in the Premier League last season, but that rate has dropped significantly to 0.41 per 90 minutes this campaign.
In FPL, though, the story is slightly different; “Fantasy Assists” are more generously awarded than regular assists, and Saka has four of those in 2025-26, bringing his total to a more respectable 10 combined goals and assists in 17 games.
Indeed, in FPL, Saka has only failed to score or assist in one of his last seven appearances – away to Everton last month.
There is a dearth of reliable midfield options in FPL at the moment, but Saka offers a steady supply of points.
Forward
Erling Haaland: Chelsea vs Manchester City (A)
There are times when it feels like Erling Haaland may never stop scoring, and there are much rarer periods when it looks like he might be human after all.
We are experiencing the latter right now – Haaland has only found the net in three of his last eight Premier League games, failing to score in his last two, against Nottingham Forest and Sunderland.
Back him to put an end to that run against a managerless Chelsea side this week when the Norwegian returns to the Etihad Stadium, though, where he has scored 11 goals in nine league games this season, including five braces.
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David Raya has the most clean sheets of any goalkeeper this season (nine), and he is the safest pick if you are electing not to use an Arsenal attacker against Bournemouth.
Matheus Nunes has collected more points than any other defender in FPL over the last six gameweeks, including an 11-point return against Sunderland last time out.
Jarrod Bowen continues to fly under the radar with a respectable scoring rate, and the West Ham captain heads to Wolves with three goals in his last five league games.
Opta Analyst’s Team Reveal: Gameweek 20 FPL Challenge Picks
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FPL Challenge GW20 Picks: Double Points for Clean Sheets Opta Analyst.
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