Need some last minute advice and transfer tips ahead of gameweek 11? We’ve got you covered.
Time to sell City assets?
Haaland is obviously the big talking point here – his 1 goal in 5 games is not enough for a £15m player. Especially not when all the other premiums (except Son who has been injured) have outscored him over that period and Salah has bossed it.
He’s already been sold a lot and I’m sure more are planning it. My main issue with it is that the form will turn and he may even start catching up for lost time. Practically every week he’s the most likely player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League.
Image source: apnews.com
Saying that, his form has been poor and despite City getting results, mostly, the team doesn’t look right. Injuries have played their part and that will likely ease soon, in particular the return of De Bruyne could really help Haaland’s output.
Elsewhere in the team, a lot of FPL managers have Rico Lewis or Gvardiol. Gvardiol has provided a lot of attacking returns but ironically may have played into City’s vulnerability at the back, being so attacking and without Rodri City are vulnerable to fast counter attacks (see Sporting’s goals against them in the week).
To counter that, Pep may play Kyle Walker more which will hurt Lewis’ game time. This means the only obvious hold is Gvardiol but the likes of Gabriel or Van Dijk is probably now a better bet for that price range. They are nailed on starters, the defences are better and fixtures are much of a muchness.
We’ve seen it before though, early season blips which turn into collossal win runs to claim the title. This is Pep’s City and while they look more vulnerable than previous seasons, it is far from the end of City players as FPL assets.
My advice, sure move away from City players over the next few weeks but don’t be shocked if there’s an uptick in their performances soon. Be prepared for the scramble to get Haaland back.
Liverpool > Arsenal?
Its certainly seems that Liverpool is the way to go right now. Those who have kept faith with Salah from the start are laughing and many, including myself view him as the current best FPL player.
But I ask, beyond Salah, who else are you picking from Liverpool?
Image source: BBC Sport
Trent is expensive and hasn’t had the attacking output required for the price. Diaz looked great a few weeks ago but is losing minutes to Darwin and Gakpo. All 3 are a selection headache. Robertson, once nailed on for left-back seems to be being pushed out by Tsimikas.
Virgil Van Dijk seems good value compared to Trent but isn’t cheap by any stretch.
It’s also worth noting Liverpool are not running away with it. It’s a few points and it’s a long season. Liverpool will hit some poorer form at some point and Salah will blank when other premiums haul, it’s the way of things.
Back Salah, and maybe VVD right now but beyond those 2 and into the future is anyone’s guess. The narrative will likely switch.
Arsenal meanwhile have had a bad few weeks. The injury to Odegaard has hit harder than expected but the lack of cover for him has proved costly. Not end of their title challenge costly but there’s a way to get back into it. The next few weeks are crucial – too many dropped points and the mountain will be too big to climb.
Image source: independent.co.uk
Odegaard is on his way back so Saka and co are likely to benefit. Their defence is still strong and have been more unlucky in missing out on clean sheets whereas Man City have looked genuinely vulnerable defensively.
There’s room for a combination of Liverpool and Arsenal and I think it’s the smartest move longer term.
Should we be buying Man United players and if so, which ones?
There’s a lot of positivity about the new manager, especially after his Sporting side thumped Man City 4-1 in Europe this week.
Sorry, to be fair to City it could have been different had City been more clinical in the first half but Sporting capitalised well on the weakness of City – fast breaks.
This doesn’t mean in a week or so, Man United will be Sporting. They are different players and haven’t played the style of formation before so there’s a lot of unknowns.
Speaking of which, we don’t know who will feature – will Garnacho, Rashford and Amad find themselves in the starting line up? Will Bruno finally be utilised to his strengths? Will Hojlund turn into Gyökeres?
Image source: theguardian
The tricky bit is that United look a bit better now Ten Hag has left and the have 3 nice fixtures so this is the time but we just don’t know who to pick and if they are actually a good bet now.
If you’re mad, and still have Bruno Fernandes then absolutely hold him. If you’re looking for a punt maybe Hojlund or Garnacho given their price.
In defence, Dalot may get some joy in a wing back position but he’s likely to be played left-wing back which means crossing with his weaker foot, lessening his effectiveness.
You see the dilemma now? I think it could pay off to gamble but it’s exactly that, a gamble, so don’t be too upset if it doesn’t pay off!
Have Spurs been overlooked?
From an attacking standpoint, Spurs have been really good. They’ve scored 4 goals 3 times already and have failed to score in just 2 of the opening 10 games. However, the issue is who is going to score.
Take last week, Solanke had a quiet 60 minutes then banged in 2 goals. His first such haul since joining Spurs in the summer. A couple of weeks before it was Son hauling and Johnson has been ticking along nicely.
Then there’s Kulusevski who seems to chime up time to time.
This week at home to Ipswich isn’t a bad time to have Spurs players but it’s hard to know who to target. I’d say Son coming back from injury dampens his likely impact and Solanke’s form this year doesn’t give me much confidence of a big number (although not impossible obviously).
Johnson is probably the pick based on price – he doesn’t block you from some other premiums like Salah, Saka and Palmer who should definitely be in your thoughts going forward.
Image source: transfermarkt.com
Porro is probably my best long term pick in defence…for £5.5m or under. His attacking threat remains given Spurs’ style and his positioning but don’t expect any clean sheets.
Our transfer targets
In defence Rayan Aït-Nouri continues to have great fixtures and is a good long term pick.
I’ve mentioned Gabriel, VVD and Gvardiol as the premium options and Porro if your budget can’t stretch that far.
Mid price and cheaper options are Lewis Hall of Newcastle. His gametime has really upped lately and the fixtures are turning for the Toon.
Anderson of Fulham could be another great cheaper option, we can all see that Crystal Palace are missing him! Fixtures aren’t great for Fulham but the price is good for a secure starter in a decent team.
Bournemouth look like more of a force this year and Kerkez offers a lot going forward.
Rico Lewis has been a great cheap option until now but I think the defensive solidity offered by Kyle Walker in the next 3 tough fixtures could really limit his gametime and it might be time to sell or at least bench him.
Into Midfield Palmer is a must from week 12 onwards. The fixtures are too good. Let’s just see if he shakes off his injury from last week though.
Mbeumo is still pick of the bunch for price to points so is one of the only must haves in the game right now in my opinion.
Semenyo is one of the best cheap options, who many will already have, and is both an enabler for more expensive options given his price and a solid pick himself. Like all those in his price range, he’ll need rotating a bit for his tougher fixtures but that’s to be expected.
Image source: offalyindependent.ie
Gordon could start to come into our thinking soon but I’d hold off for now. His price at £7.2m is a little expensive for most team’s set up. I think he’s hard to fit in as most will have some combination of premium players like Salah, Haaland, Saka and co which would block this kind of spend. Given Gordon hasn’t been as brilliant this year, it’s probably not time to jump on him yet.
Forwards
Cunha is again in my thinking given the fixtures. Or the cheaper Strand Larsen if you can’t afford him.
I wouldn’t buy Chris Wood now given the fixtures get harder for Forest but I also wouldn’t sell him if I had him.
Raul Jimenez has sadly cooled off so I think he drops down the budget striker pecking order. Wissa has bumped up but it’s Danny Wellbeck I’d be looking at…next week though given this week’s tough game against Man City. I think he’ll keep his place given is form despite competition from Pedro and Ferguson.
Image source: theguardian
Liam Delap of Ipswich gets a mention because their fixtures are solid but it’s hard to see where he would fit in given the wealth of other cheap options available.
Get your thoughts over to us, tell us what you plan to do and any questions you want answering to @FPLwithStu on X.
