Another Erling Haaland blank and another low scoring gameweek may have left some Fantasy Premier League managers pining for the next international break.
The average score in Gameweek 10 was just 39 points and already people are making drastic moves ahead of this weekend, with Haaland currently leading the way as the most sold player ahead of Saturday’s lunchtime deadline.
We never thought we’d say this but offloading Haaland may not be the worst idea. The Norwegian has returned just 14 points in his last five appearances – a total that 18 forwards in FPL can beat – and has a tricky run of fixtures with a trip to Brighton followed by a home game against City’s bogey team Spurs and a visit to Anfield.
The benefit to binning Haaland is that it frees up considerable cash in your FPL wallet, which allows you to build a stronger overall squad. Of course, he could make us all look very silly indeed by rattling in a hat-trick at the Amex, but sometimes in FPL you have to roll the dice.
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The Premier League have treated us all to a mouth-watering doubleheader on Saturday night with Brighton hosting Haaland’s City and Liverpool playing Aston Villa. Sunday’s schedule is equally appetising with Manchester United taking on Leicester, high-flying Nottingham Forest facing Newcastle and free-scoring Spurs entertaining Ipswich.
The gameweek ends with a juicy London derby too between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
The Gameweek 10 deadline is at 1.30pm on Saturday 9 November.
This is an extract of i‘s Fantasy Premier League tips. Sign up here to receive the newsletter every week.
Gameweek 11 fixtures
Saturday 9 November
*3pm unless otherwise stated
- Brentford vs Bournemouth
- Crystal Palace vs Fulham
- West Ham vs Everton
- Wolves vs Southampton
- Brighton vs Man City (5.30pm)
- Liverpool vs Aston Villa (8pm)
Sunday 10 November
*2pm unless otherwise stated
- Man Utd vs Leicester
- Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle
- Tottenham vs Ipswich
- Chelsea vs Arsenal (4.30pm)
Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd)
Bruno Fernandes had made a low-key start to the season, producing just one goal (from the penalty spot) and two assists from his opening 10 matches.
However, United have a promising short-term schedule against Leicester (h), Ipswich (a) and Everton (h) in their next three and will soon be under new management with Fernandes’ Portuguese compatriot Ruben Amorin taking charge later this month.
Admittedly the United skipper’s data isn’t great. Although he ranks fourth among midfielders for shots (with 32 in 10 games) he has only hit the target with six of them. On the flipside, he has been unfortunate to not register more assists having earned only two despite creating eight big chances.
It’s a punt but one that could pay off nicely. Amorim’s appointment could be just the spark that ignites Fernandes’ season.
Price: £8.2m Points: 33 Gameweek 11 fixture: Leicester (h)
Matheus Cunha (Wolves)
Matheus Cunha retains his place in i‘s picks this week after providing an assist in Gameweek 10.
The Brazilian’s creativity sets him apart from every other forward in the division. Cunha has created at least seven more chances than any of his positional rivals and twice as many “big chances” – defined by Opta as a situation when a teammate is reasonably expected to score – with eight.
Only Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer can better Cunha’s big chance output across the entire game.
His shot numbers are also right up there too. Haaland is the only forward to have attempted more (with 49) to Cunha’s 29. It is evident both from the data and the eye test that Cunha is central to Wolves’ attack, simultaneously their most likely goal scorer and goal provider.
Price: £6.6m Points: 47 Gameweek 11 fixture: Southampton (h)
Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth)
Considering they have beaten Arsenal and Manchester City in the last three gameweeks, it is probably time that we all started taking Bournemouth assets more seriously.
Only two of their players are owned by more than one per cent of FPL managers at the time of writing: Antoine Semenyo, who is their leading points scorer and an admittedly excellent low-cost option in midfield, and Daniel Jebbison, a £4.5m forward currently on loan at Watford in the Championship.
Milos Kerkez’s popularity could soon surge after a sensational display against Manchester City in which he set up both goals in a 2-1 win. The young Hungarian loves to get forward and could produce more attacking points in the coming weeks given Bournemouth’s promising fixtures.
Price: £4.4m Points: 29 Gameweek 11 fixture: Brentford (a)
Dominic Solanke (Spurs)
No, we’re not chasing last week’s points, honest. Dominic Solanke was sold en masse by FPL managers ahead of Gameweek 10 (including by yours truly) and punished the doubters emphatically by delivering a 16-point haul – the biggest individual score of the gameweek – as Spurs monstered Aston Villa.
For the first time since joining Spurs from Bournemouth, Solanke provided a consistent penalty box threat and looked as though he was on the same wavelength as his fellow attackers.
A quarter of Solanke’s shots and shots on target across the season came last weekend on his eighth league appearance.
The form of Spurs’s next opponents also boosts Solanke’s appeal. Ipswich have found the Premier League tough going so far with Jordan Ayew’s 94th-minute goal for Leicester last Saturday ensuring they remain winless after their first 10 matches.
Only Wolves have conceded more goals (with 27) than the Tractor Boys (21) so far which bodes well for Solanke and the rest of their attackers.
Price: £7.6m Points: 41 Gameweek 11 fixture: Ipswich (h)
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham)
West Ham haven’t started the season particularly well, but their home form has been better than their away form of late. They have won back-to-back games against Ipswich and Manchester United ahead of this weekend’s meeting with Everton in east London.
Jarrod Bowen has been integral to those recent victories at the London Stadium. The England international scored and provided an assist in the 4-1 win over Ipswich and then followed that up by netting a dramatic added time penalty to down United.
Although Bowen ranks second among West Ham players for shots (behind Mohammed Kudus who has taken six more) he is comfortably their most creative asset having supplied 23 chances, at least 14 more than any other Hammer. That dual-threat makes him their standout pick.
Bowen can continue his purple patch at home against the Toffees, who have conceded nine goals in their first five away games.
Price: £7.5m Points: 47 Gameweek 11 fixture: Everton (h)
