Who are the best FPL Challenge GW29 picks? Players who complete 90 minutes and do not get substituted or receive a red card will receive an additional six points this week. We use Opta data to find the top players to target in the Premier League.
It’s a midweek round, and that means a frantic turnaround and a desperate scavenge for information for FPL managers. Don’t worry, though, we’ve got you covered.
In Gameweek 29, we wave goodbye to the Rivals event and welcome the introduction of a new three-week event that celebrates the most reliable and consistent performers in the Premier League – The Dependables.
First up is 90 Minutes, where all players who complete a full 90 minutes – that means starting the game without being substituted or sent off – will receive six additional points.
Given that many players are still recovering from an all-action weekend in which 36 goals were scored in the Premier League, and stars like Erling Haaland and Declan Rice were either unavailable or hobbled off, this feels like a mischievously timed new angle.
The full 90 minutes have to be the main focus this week; a goalkeeper who finishes on the losing side could easily outscore a forward who scores and is substituted with minutes remaining.
Let’s take a look at the top 10 points-earners in FPL this season:
Haaland will not make our team this week due to the uncertainty around the injury that kept him out of Manchester City’s victory at Leeds United on Saturday. Given that he has only completed the full match in 69% of his starts this season, we may have left him out anyway.
Gabriel Magalhães, at 95%, instead indicates the approach which is safest – central defenders. Unless you’re former Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim, making in-game changes to your central defence is rare, and we’ll be lining up with a 1-3-1-1 formation for this round with that in mind.
Goalkeeper
Gianluigi Donnarumma: Man City vs Nottingham Forest (H)
We know better than to try to predict Pep Guardiola’s team selections, but we can’t miss out on Man City’s match against Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium entirely.
The only player we can really be confident will complete the entire match is their goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, with James Trafford expected to start against Newcastle United in the FA Cup on Saturday.
City have kept a clean sheet in seven of their last 12 home games in all competitions, while Forest have lost each of their last three visits to the Etihad without scoring a goal.
Unsurprisingly, Donnarumma has completed the full match in each of his 25 starts in the Premier League to date.
Defenders:
Gabriel Magalhães: Brighton & Hove Albion vs Arsenal (A)
We mentioned him earlier and for good reason – Gabriel Magalhães is the easiest selection this week.
Among the top 10 points-earners this season in FPL, the Brazilian is the only player to complete the full 90 minutes in more than 90% of his starts.
Arsenal have the best defence in the Premier League this season, and as evidenced by Gabriel’s return of three goals and four assists, they are the most dangerous team at set pieces, too.
The combined effect is a player who averages 6.9 points per start in FPL this season, the second most of any player, after Haaland, with 7.4.
Virgil van Dijk: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Liverpool (A)
Since Gameweek 23, only Chelsea forward João Pedro (49) has earned more points in FPL than Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk (48).
Van Dijk appears to have remembered that he is practically unbeatable in the air, and the result has been three goals in the space of six games, with an assist for good measure.
Excluding penalties, John Terry (41) is now the only central defender with more goals than Van Dijk (28) in Premier League history.
This certainly won’t be a walkover for Liverpool. Wolves have scored four goals across their last two Premier League games at Molineux – a 2-2 draw with Arsenal and a 2-0 win against Aston Villa.
Nonetheless, it’s Van Dijk’s 100% record for full 90s that makes him a guaranteed pick this week – he has started and finished the match in all 28 of his appearances in the Premier League this season.
Michael Keane: Everton vs Burnley (H)
Forgive the slightly rogue shout, but our final defensive pick this week is Everton’s Michael Keane.
Everton host Burnley at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Tuesday, and despite Burnley’s recent revival, it’s an opportunity that cannot be ignored.
Among Everton players with at least five starts this season, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (5.1) is the only Toffee with a higher points per start average than Keane (4.7), surpassing central defensive partners James Tarkowski (4.3) and Jarrad Branthwaite (4.0).
Keane has gone on to complete the full match in 91% of his starts in the Premier League this season – the two times he did not were due to a red card and an injury.
The reintroduction of Branthwaite to Everton’s preferred line-up after a slew of injury problems has seen Keane dropped to the bench in recent weeks, but given the tight turnaround from Saturday’s victory against Newcastle, there’s a good chance Keane is brought back into the side against his former club, Burnley.
Remember, you can still change your FPL Challenge team after line-ups have been announced, so you can always switch Keane to Tarkowski or Branthwaite if he doesn’t start.
Midfielder
Bruno Fernandes: Newcastle vs Man Utd (A)
Since Michael Carrick’s first game in charge of Manchester United in Gameweek 22, only João Pedro (57) has returned more points in FPL than Bruno Fernandes (52).
He produced a goal and an assist for United in Sunday’s win over Crystal Palace, and among points-earning midfielders, Fernandes is one of the most reliable when it comes to starting and finishing matches.
Across the entire season, he has completed the full 90 minutes in 80% of his starts (20/25), but under Carrick alone, he has only missed a single minute of action in the Premier League, starting and finishing each of Man Utd’s last six games.
Newcastle’s defence is all over the place at the moment, and Fernandes is well placed to capitalise. The Magpies have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 11 games in all competitions, conceding multiple goals in each of their last four games at St. James’ Park.
Forward
Igor Thiago: Bournemouth vs Brentford (A)
Our final selection is Brentford’s Igor Thiago, who scored his 18th goal of the season in the Premier League at the weekend in a chaotic 4-3 win at Burnley to go within four goals of Haaland in the Golden Boot race.
The likelihood of a fifth UEFA Champions League spot for the Premier League this season means, like last year, seventh place could be good enough for a spot in European competition.
Bournemouth (10th) and Brentford (7th) will both be keenly aware of this, and it should make for a cracking game on Tuesday.
Thiago has completed the full match in 74% of his starts this season, which, while still feeling a tad risky, is nonetheless a strong figure among forwards.
He has, though, started and finished each of Brentford’s last seven Premier League matches, and given the aforementioned importance of this match, you would expect him to do so again here.
GW29 Honourable Mentions
James Garner has been one of the league’s standout players this season, and he is knocking on the door for an England call-up. Capable of earning points from set plays and defensive actions, he has only been substituted in one of his 28 starts in 2025-26.
If you dare risk ‘Pep Roulette’, Antoine Semenyo is a strong option among Man City’s attacking contingent, starting and finishing five of his seven games for his new club in the Premier League.
Jarrod Bowen is the safest pick among the forwards if you’re hunting those six additional points. The West Ham captain has played the full 90 minutes in 25 of his 28 starts in the Premier League this season.
Opta Analyst’s Team Reveal: Gameweek 29 FPL Challenge Picks
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FPL Challenge GW29 Picks: Six Points for a Full 90 Minutes Opta Analyst.
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