With Gameweek 11 kicking off a busy schedule, the reliability of starts and minutes becomes an increasingly important player quality in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Taking domestic cups and European competitions into consideration, a lot of football takes place between now and 2027.
So, who are the top-flight’s likely ‘90-minute men’? Let’s take a look.
WHEN ARE THE FPL DEADLINES?
- Gameweek 11: Saturday 21 November, 11:00 GMT
- Gameweek 12: Friday 27 November, 18:30 GMT
- Gameweek 13: Tuesday 1 December, 18:30 GMT
- Gameweek 14: Saturday 5 December, 11:00 GMT
- Gameweek 15: Saturday 12 December, 13:30 GMT
- Gameweek 16: Saturday 19 December, 11:00 GMT
- Gameweek 17: Saturday 26 December, 11:00 GMT
- Gameweek 18: Tuesday 29 December, 18:00 GMT
- Gameweek 19: Friday 1 January, 18:30 GMT
- Gameweek 20: Tuesday 5 January, 18:00 GMT
As we can see, there are three Tuesday deadlines (Gameweeks 13, 18 and 20) before the FA Cup third round break.
European action happens between Gameweeks 11 and 12, then in the middle of Gameweeks 14 and 15. Furthermore, EFL Cup quarter-finals are the midweek after…
Image from Legomane
Given the quick turnaround times between matches, the risk of squad rotation hugely increases.
Based on evidence from this season and last, the following players should be the most nailed-on for starts.
DEFENDERS
As first-choice goalkeepers are generally unlikely to get rotated, let’s move on to notable defenders.
Gabriel Magalhaes (£8.1m), for example, has played every minute for Arsenal in the league, despite no Champions League rests. It probably would have been the same last season, had he not been injured for a chunk of November and December games. His game time should be more secure than Riccardo Calafiori (£5.9m) and Ezri Konsa (£4.8m).
Brighton and Hove Albion’s Luka Vuskovic (£5.3m) is probably in the same boat, whereas Maxim De Cuyper (£5.5m) will face renewed competition after the international break.
Others to have completed 90 minutes in every outing include Antonio Silva (£5.1m), Tarik Muharemovic (£5.1m) and James Tarkowski (£6.2m). The latter two are without European distractions, although Silva, like Vuskovic, has had his continental minutes managed so far.
Jan Paul van Hecke (£5.1m) is an ever-present and certainly feels first-choice.
MIDFIELDERS
Morgan Gibbs-White (£7.8m)
Having disappointed in FPL for weeks, Gibbs-White finally delivered on his creative promise with a Gameweek 10 assist. That probably isn’t enough to halt sales, but him being one of the most assured starters might be.
When fit, the Englishman has played every minute of Nottingham Forest’s league matches and, last season, he started every match between Gameweeks 11-19, only once coming off before the 85th minute.
Forest’s fixtures – absent of any European or domestic cup games – look mixed on paper. But last weekend’s win over Manchester City might boost club confidence, making Gibbs-White a reliable option. At least for minutes.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£6.7m)
At Everton, Dewsbury-Hall has played all but five minutes of Premier League action.
Given his importance to the Toffees’ attack, expect such game time to remain similarly high over the upcoming fixtures, with an EFL Cup fifth-round trip to Fleetwood Town being the only non-FPL fixture to worry about.
Last term, Dewsbury-Hall was also ‘set and forget’, bagging three goals and two assists between Gameweeks 11 and 15. Then a mid-December hamstring injury kept him away from festive activities.
Bruno Fernandes (£11.6m)
Largely banished from our FPL thoughts due to his and Manchester United’s horrific form, Fernandes finally got back amongst the attacking returns by scoring and assisting in Gameweek 10.
Despite the struggles, his only absence (Gameweek 8) was due to a falling out with recently dismissed head coach Michael Carrick. Every other match saw Fernandes complete 90 minutes.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, he should keep his integral spot in the XI. Who knows, perhaps a ‘new manager bounce’ could help him rediscover some of his 2025/26 form.
Speaking of last season, Fernandes joined Dewsbury-Hall in having a blistering run of winter form. Eight attacking returns from seven starts, temporarily derailed by a hamstring injury.
Otherwise, he was basically ever-present – albeit without Champions League football to juggle. The Red Devils must soon face Sporting CP and RB Leipzig.
Others
Teammate Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m) had played every league minute until last weekend’s 82nd-minute removal against Aston Villa.
A few slightly early substitutions stop Morgan Rogers (£8.2m) from being at Gibbs-White and Dewsbury-Hall’s level, but he’s still pretty close to that status at Chelsea. Rogers has started and reached the 81st minute on every occasion, completing the full 90 in seven of 10 outings. He looks to be an integral part of the Blues’ new-look attack, which reflects the huge summer transfer fee.
Cole Palmer (£9.8m) is the same, having been subbed off just three times and never before the 79th minute. Both men only have Premier League duties until the end of the year, given Chelsea’s early EFL exit and lack of European football.
Elsewhere, Ethan Ampadu (£5.3m) is the sole FPL midfielder to play every minute of all 10 Gameweeks. He’s a reliable source of defensive contributions (DefCon), adding a very occasional attacking return, like Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton (£5.3m).
Pascal Gross‘ (£6.3m) only league removal came after 70 minutes when Brighton were 4-0 up. Whether the 35-year-old playmaker continues his streak of starts throughout the festive period remains to be seen, but the signs so far are good.
Meanwhile, the form of Harvey Barnes (£6.1m) – and Newcastle United as a whole – has tailed off recently. Yet the winger has completed all but one match and isn’t taking part in any other competition.
Noise may be made about Marcus Tavernier (£6.7m), given he continues to start and be heavily involved, but the Bournemouth star has only made it to 90 minutes in four encounters. Indeed, his midfield colleague Rayan (£6.3m) has played more often.
FORWARDS
Thierno Barry (£5.7m)
Up front, we begin with one of the Premier League’s most in-form strikers. The Everton frontman already has six goals and an assist to his name, plus a further four goals and two assists in the EFL Cup, in which he’s started all three games but gets early rests.
Between Gameweeks 15 and 16, he may have to at least begin against League Two’s Fleetwood, given he is the Toffees’ sole recognised senior striker.
Barry has started every match, lasting 90 minutes in six of 10 league outings. Three of the four substitutions came in games surrounding the cup, with the Frenchman usually already on the score sheet at that point.
Last season, even when Beto was around, Barry started all but once between Gameweeks 11 and 19, scoring twice.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m)
Another nailed-on non-European striker, Leeds United’s lack of EFL Cup involvement means his only midweek matches are in Gameweeks 13 and 18, away to Man City and Hull City.
Yes, Daniel Farke could choose to field someone like Lukas Nmecha (£5.3m) if he really feels Calvert-Lewin needs a break, but the Englishman is undisputedly their first-choice forward.
His form is disappointing, racking up just one goal in the last six outings, but the penalty-taker completed 90 minutes in five of those plus 84 in the other.
In a glass-half-empty or half-full situation, Leeds are about to alternate trickier away trips – although the defences of Chelsea and Man City have seen better days – with promising home games versus Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Fulham.
Erling Haaland (£15.8m)
There’s a slight question mark about Haaland’s game time, as Man City’s frontman has three extra matches on top of his league allotment.
However, while Enzo Maresca could opt to rest his star forward, he’s unlikely to ask anyone else to lead the line, as it risks their gap behind Arsenal growing even bigger.
Even last season, when Omar Marmoush (£7.0m) was mostly around before the African Cup of Nations, Haaland started every time and was subbed in regulation time just once, bagging six goals and three assists.
With Antoine Semenyo (£8.2m) injured, there aren’t any semi-natural alternatives around, so it’ll probably be a similar situation this year.
Others
Well, Ollie McBurnie (£5.5m) has played 90 minutes in eight of Hull’s 10 games, trailing only Haaland for minutes amongst FPL forwards. Prior to blanking at Arsenal, he delivered two goals and an assist across two matches, but beware of the Tigers’ fixtures, faltering form and McBurnie being close to a suspension.
He’s followed in the minutes leaderboard by Calvert-Lewin and Barry, then Evanilson (£6.5m). In fantastic form, he presents a totally viable FPL option but, like teammate Tavernier, has a busy period ahead.
The same probably goes for Alexander Isak (£9.3m), whose goal-scoring abilities are proving vital for Liverpool, but has an injury record that demands being used with caution by Andoni Iraola.
Even the similarly in-form Nicolas Jackson (£7.1m) has Brian Madjo (£5.3m) to contend with, which is why he’s played 90 league minutes just three times. Admittedly, these all happened in the last five Gameweeks.
