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Who are the best FPL Challenge GW36 picks? Players will be awarded 10 points for each goal they assist this week. We use Opta data to find the top players to target in the Premier League.
While Gameweek 35 of FPL Challenge centred around goalscorers, Gameweek 36 shifts the focus to those who create the goals: the assisters.
Players are usually awarded three points for an assist in FPL, but this week’s theme, The Playmaker, bumps that return up to 10 points.
It’s worth noting that assists work a little differently in FPL, with ‘Fantasy Assists’ awarded on top of regular assists.
Fantasy assists can be awarded for myriad reasons – be it for winning a penalty that is converted, likewise a free-kick, or even for a shot that rebounds to the eventual scorer.
With that in mind, who are the top assist providers in the Premier League in 2025-26 when combining regular assists with fantasy assists?
The most notable jump up the rankings in comparison to the typical leaderboard for assists is Bukayo Saka, who actually has more fantasy assists (5) than regular assists (4), combining for nine in total in FPL.
Of the 12 players with eight or more FPL assists, nine are registered as midfielders in FPL, so we’ll be lining up in a 1-1-3-1 formation to maximise our coverage for that position.
There is also the added complication of GW36 being a mini double gameweek, with Manchester City and Crystal Palace both having two fixtures.
Goalkeeper
Dean Henderson: Crystal Palace vs Everton (H) and Manchester City (A)
Crystal Palace’s league form has dropped off a cliff of late, and that’s for an obvious reason: they know they are safe from relegation and have instead shifted focus almost entirely to the UEFA Conference League, rotating many of their top players.
Nonetheless, we can’t turn down the opportunity to pick a player with two games in one week, and we are therefore using our Palace pick on Dean Henderson, the player least likely to be rotated for the Eagles.
Only David Raya (17) and Gianluigi Donnarumma (13) have kept more clean sheets than Henderson (11) in the Premier League this season, so we know he’s more than capable of picking up points when Oliver Glasner’s side are at full tilt.
Defender
Pedro Porro: Tottenham Hotspur vs Leeds United (H)
Our choice of defender is perhaps our toughest selection this week. That’s because Matheus Nunes – who leads all FPL defenders for assists this season (eight) – plays for a Manchester City team full of attacking talent, and we would prefer to keep our options open further up the pitch.
Instead, we’ll take a punt on Pedro Porro, who has been in decent form for Spurs under Roberto De Zerbi, despite not yet assisting a goal under the Italian.
Spurs have won consecutive league games for the first time since their opening two games of the season, and they have faced only three on-target shots in the process.
Next up is a home match against a Leeds side who have just a 0.16% chance of being relegated, according to the Opta supercomputer.
Porro has only assisted three goals in FPL this season, but he set up six last season and eight the year before. We know he has the potential.
Midfielders
Bruno Fernandes: Manchester United vs Sunderland (A)
Our first selection in midfield is, of course, Bruno Fernandes.
Fernandes thought he had equalled the Premier League’s single-season assist record last week when his header across goal resulted in Benjamin Sesko putting Man Utd two goals ahead against Liverpool. But due to a touch from Liverpool goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, he was not awarded an official assist, instead having to settle for a fantasy assist.
That means, if he is to surpass Thierry Henry (2002-03) and Kevin De Bruyne (2019-20), both of whom set up 20 goals in their respective seasons, the Man Utd captain has three games remaining to find two more assists.
A match-up with Sunderland, who have conceded 10 goals in their last three games, offers hope that Fernandes can place his name in the record books after an incredible season.
Rayan Cherki: Manchester City vs Brentford (H) and Crystal Palace (H)
Another player having an incredible season, albeit to slightly less fanfare, is Rayan Cherki.
While Fernandes is assisting a goal every 147 minutes on average this season, Cherki is right behind him (150 mins).
Astonishingly, those returns rank fourth and fifth all-time in the Premier League for players with at least 15 starts in a single campaign.
Cherki (0.44) actually surpasses Fernandes (0.36) for expected assists per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, and he deserves credit for achieving such an output in his maiden campaign in the competition. He is still just 22 years of age.
Cherki will captain our team this week.
Bukayo Saka: Arsenal vs West Ham United (A)
Our Arsenal selections in this column have typically been reserved for David Raya and Gabriel Magalhães, but with Bukayo Saka making a phased return from injury, Arsenal’s “Starboy” comes into our team this week.
In the space of 10 days, Saka played nine minutes, then 22 minutes, then 45, and then 58. He will now benefit from a five-day gap between his last match, against Atlético Madrid, and Arsenal’s clash with West Ham.
Saka scored and assisted before half-time in his last league match and then scored again in midweek – he has been a breath of fresh air at just the right time for Arsenal’s stumbling attack.
Despite recurrent injury issues, only three players have registered more assists than Saka (9) in FPL this season.
Forward
Jarrod Bowen: West Ham United vs Arsenal (H)
One of those players is Jarrod Bowen, who has assisted 12 goals in FPL this season, the most of any forward.
West Ham host Arsenal this weekend in a match that will have major implications at both ends of the Premier League table.
Clearly this isn’t an easy game for the Hammers, but captain Bowen has a habit of stepping up to the plate.
His assist returns have gone a little under the radar – since Gameweek 23, only Fernandes (10) has assisted more goals than Bowen (nine).
Remarkably, Bowen has assisted five goals across his last two games at London Stadium in FPL, setting up three against Wolves and then two more against Everton.
GW36 Honourable Mentions
Jérémy Doku is a perfectly worthy selection instead of Cherki. Doku has four goals and two assists across his last five games in all competitions and leads the league for chances created in open play per 90 minutes (2.9).
Yankuba Minteh trails only Cherki and Fernandes for expected assists output in our Premier League Player Stat Predictions this week, with 0.29.
João Pedro is the best forward option for those who would prefer not to pick Bowen against Arsenal. He ranks second among forwards for assists in FPL this season, with nine.
Opta Analyst’s Team Reveal: Gameweek 36 FPL Challenge Picks
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