Top Picks for Gameweek 11
Every week David Munday will be discussing his top picks for the gameweek. Here he picks out three players who he thinks are the top picks for Gameweek 11.
Gameweek 11 could prove a tricky week to manage for Fantasy managers. Both Arsenal and Man City have favourable fixtures against out-of-sorts defences. In any other circumstances, heavy investment in their assets would be the order of the day.
However, Gameweek 12 haunts many of us like an upcoming tooth extraction. You know it’s going to hurt and a bit of extra sugar this week might not be the healthiest preparation. It’s not the perfect analogy I know. You could maybe swap in and out of Arsenal or City attackers (and back again for Gameweek 13) but I’m never a fan of planning future transfers.
So I’ve picked out three assets that could have a solid impact on your team this week, in the Blank Gameweek and beyond.
LEANDRO TROSSARD
He might have blanked against Spurs but it’s much more favourable opposition for Leandro Trossard (£6.8m) in Gameweek 11. Plus you’ll be investing in the best fixture of Gameweek 12. It’s Brentford up first for Brighton, fresh from shipping five goals at Newcastle last time out. The Bees are just one big chance conceded outside the division’s six worst sides over the past four matches. Working out at 2.5 per game. Meanwhile, no Premier League player has been afforded more of those over the same period. The Belgian is currently operating at a 50 per cent goal conversion rate in that time. This translates into 36 FPL points. In Blank Gameweek 12, Brighton host a Forest side that gives up 2.44 goals per game.
CALLUM WILSON
When fit, Callum Wilson (£7.3m) is something of an FPL machine. The former Bournemouth striker has produced 30 attacking returns in 42 starts for Newcastle. His recent numbers suggest that such a rate should continue. In his last four matches, Wilson has two goals and an assist and, over that same period, no Premier League player has been afforded more big chances than him. Man United is a stiffer test than Newcastle’s Blank Gameweek 12 hosting of Everton but the Red Devils are hardly watertight right now. They have two clean sheets this season and, in their last four matches, only three teams have conceded more chances through the middle than United. Then, in Blank Gameweek 12, Wilson faces an Everton defence that has conceded the second-most shots in the box over the same period.
MARC CUCURELLA
I signed Reece James on my Wildcard last week. It was the first time all season he had set foot in my team. Then he was benched. Then he got injured. Last season is back to haunt me like a tooth extrac–oh wait, I already used that one. Anyway. There’s a flag on Chelsea’s most popular defender right now and we’re all a little bit more worried about rotation than before. I completely understand if you’d rather stay away but if, like me, you like the Blues’ fixtures and have noticed some defensive improvements under Graham Potter then Marc Cucurella (£5.1m) could be the one. His rest came in the AC Milan match and he featured at left-back against Wolves. We know he’s also capable of playing in a back-three as a left-sided centre back which arguably makes him the next-most versatile defender behind James. With that in mind, he could be in line to avoid rotation more often than his teammates moving forward, especially if James is out for a little while.
