An early look ahead to Gameweek 11
| Friday | 8:00pm | Southampton v Aston Villa | ||||
| Saturday | 12:30pm | Man United v Man City | ||||
| Saturday | 3:00pm | Brentford v Norwich | Chelsea v Burnley | Crystal Palace v Wolves | ||
| Saturday | 5:30pm | Brighton v Newcastle | ||||
| Sunday | 2:00pm | Arsenal v Watford | Everton v Tottenham | Leeds v Leicester | ||
| Sunday | 4:30pm | West Ham v Liverpool |
Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadline is 18:30 on Friday 5 November
STRONG FIXTURE
CHELSEA
Kai Havertz has played a very minor role in the ten Chelsea goals since Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner got hurt, only assisting the penalty at Newcastle. His FPL managers will hope he’s saving the best for last, with Burnley (H) preceding an international break that will aid the duo’s recovery. A brace from wing-back Reece James could’ve been a hat-trick, had Jorginho not been firm about taking the spot kick. Chelsea defenders have now scored a remarkable 12 goals this season – far ahead of Burnley and West Ham’s three – which, combined with a resoluteness that has only led to three goals conceded, could make James or Ben Chilwell a serious captaincy choice for the weekend.
Mason Mount was the most-bought player heading into Gameweek 10 so, naturally, he missed out due to illness. Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso made the bench but weren’t needed by Thomas Tuchel.
BRENTFORD
The FPL community has been very vocal about putting faith in Brentford duo Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo but this could turn very quickly, depending on how their home game with Norwich goes. There is only one return between them during the past four gameweeks (although recently-injured Mbeumo wasn’t risked during Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Burnley), as Toney’s unspectacular tally of ten shots is topped by midfield team mate Christian Norgaard.
However, their fixture against the league’s worst defence is a spectacular chance for both Toney and Mbeumo to reward owners. At the back, the knee injury suffered by goalkeeper David Raya is a blow. Before the Burnley defeat, Brentford’s defence was the third-best for shots conceded and second-best for expected goals conceded (xGC) – even better than Chelsea’s – but the defeat at Burnley was concerning. Three goals conceded and a further disallowed, managers with Pontus Jansson and Ethan Pinnock will expect a return to form when facing the team with fewest shots on target.
ARSENAL
Another impressive win for the Gunners took them to seven league games unbeaten, where even the draw against Crystal Palace doesn’t look too bad considering the Eagles’ victory at Man City. Four clean sheets have been kept in this run, boosting the appeal of Aaron Ramsdale and Ben White.
There is a midfield bargain in Emile Smith Rowe, the returner of two goals, an assist and 22 points during these last two gameweeks. Arsenal’s hosting of newly-promoted Watford is a great opportunity for Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to add to their combined six goals and four assists from the last three home matches.
INJURIES / BANS
Here is a round-up of the injuries we know of, alongside those serving or nearing a suspension.
TRANSFERS SO FAR
As of Monday afternoon, these are the most transferred in and out players of the week.
These tend to remain very similar by deadline, unless a major injury or return develops.
With James and Chilwell scoring six goals between them during the last four gameweeks, it’s no surprise to see over 400,000 managers already purchase them within 48 hours of the Newcastle win. The aforementioned Arsenal duo of Smith Rowe and Ramsdale are joined by Conor Gallagher, a man who lost enough owners last week to drop 0.1m in price but whose shock 13-point haul at Man City re-establishes him as a strong option for Wolves (H), Burnley (a) and Aston Villa (H).
The lack of Azpilicueta, Alonso and the injured Mateo Kovacic has seen the trio shed owners, with Raya out for four-to-five months. Ismaila Sarr has four successive blanks and is about to enter a challenging run of fixtures.
