Fantasy Premier League Tips – Gameweek 11 Preview

It feels like FPL is getting a bit tougher at the moment. I don’t really like my team and would love a wildcard right now, but I’ve committed to a plan of wildcarding in Gameweek 13. I’m still in the top 400k and my main mini league opponent is only 7 points ahead, so I’m still in the game. But I don’t feel great about the team or, more importantly, the decisions I’ve made.

Talking Points

Here are the main things on my mind heading into Gameweek 11.

FPL Troll Reece James

Reece James is my main source of ire, and I suspect it’s the same for many FPL owners.

I’ve spent 8 points hitting James in and out already, and lost even more besides in terms of net score as he has failed to deliver. Now he’s injured, and it might be serious. I need my transfers to move Arsenal and City assets out for Gameweek 12, and I can’t see an obvious replacement for him, so I’m probably holding him for now. But, I’m feeling a sense of déjà vu. If this is your first season, then let me tell you that James trolled us all last year too.

Erl-injury?

Guardiola did not bring Erling Haaland on during City’s 0-0 draw with Copenhagen on Tuesday night, as the player “didn’t recover well” following last weekend’s win over Southampton. He’s staying in my team and probably remains my captain, but it’s nerve-wracking.

Wildcard/Blank Watch

As I said above, I cannot wait to wildcard. I already feel like it was a mistake not to wildcard in Gameweek 8, so I’m eager to gain back ground.

That said, with only 4 weeks between Gameweek 13 and the mid-season break, and the free wildcard due to the World Cup, I will look to aggressively target fixtures from GW 13-16. On top of that, I’ll make sure I have 3 Arsenal players and 3 City players, as they are just the best assets right now. Beyond that, my thinking is not that advanced.

The second premium question is weighing on my mind. It’s a toss up between Kane and De Bruyne right now but someone else is coming back into my thinking…

Magic Mo

With a hat trick in six minutes in the Champions League, Mo Salah is back in my thoughts. That’s fewer minutes than days it took Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng to cause a financial meltdown. Okay, it was against Rangers, but still.

The trouble is, the whole of Liverpool’s squad seems to be all over the place; Diaz and Trent are injured; and, we don’t know who the other front two with Mo are.

Best Five-Week Fixture Runs

Palace, Wolves and Brentford top our fixture ticker. Check out our review of their most recent matchups here.

The options at Palace are pretty limited to Zaha or a defender. Similarly at Wolves it’s defenders or nothing. And in contrast, Brentford’s only interesting assets are in attack – Toney and Mbeumo.

Bournemouth don’t interest me at all. They’ve improved in recent weeks and could go six unbeaten, but they’re still crap. I still don’t like Solanke, who has only returned against the two worst defences in the league (Leicester and Forest).

Likewise with Southampton. They’ve not kept a clean sheet all year despite playing Leeds, Wolves, Villa and Everton, so I have no faith in their defence. Ward-Prowse is Ward-Prowse, and only really an option if you’re prepared to hold long-term and rely on his set pieces (I’m not). The attackers are all bad, and only Adams seems to play 90 consistently.

Best Captaincy

For this article, I originally wrote: “Just captain Haaland. Liverpool’s defence is woeful, and he’s incredible.”

The injury news is making me question this. De Bruyne and Kane are the obvious alternatives, but let’s wait and hope we get some more news on Haaland before the deadline. Pep is notoriously reliable when it comes to informing us who’s in contention to start the next City match, so I foresee no problems here.

Should I Sell?

Trent – Yes. They cannot keep a clean sheet, and he’s injured. His attacking underlying stats are fine, good even. But we need cleans from defenders to make them worthwhile. Without them, Trent is a waste of money.

Luis Diaz – Yes. Seems like he’s out until after the World Cup now.

Mitrovic – I don’t mind selling, but I’d wait as late as possible for news.

Gross – Not now. Two great fixtures coming up.

Sterling – Not now. Possible captain for blank Gameweek 12 against Brentford’s shoddy defence.

Should I Buy?

Kepa – It’s a luxury transfer if you do it, and you must have a playing backup because I’m still not confident of him keeping his place.

Trippier – Yes. Always. He’s fixture proof, just keep him all season now. He’s a bonus point magnet, is on set pieces and Newcastle might get a clean sheet one day.

Cucurella – He’s at least in my thinking, but the rotation possibility with Chilwell makes me scared.

Foden – Probably not right now, but yes in GW 13.

Maddisson – Yes… just be wary he only needs one more yellow card to get banned.

Trossard – Yes. They play Forest in the blank gameweek, and he could be a captain option there. Besides that, he’s scoring lots of points.

My Moves

I’m probably just holding a transfer with a view to selling Kev, Cancelo and Jesus for a hit in Gameweek 12, or maybe just Kev and Jesus. There is no way I sell Martinelli or Haaland because of the value tied up in them.

Captain’s armband is currently on Haaland, with Jesus as vice-captain for Arsenal’s game against Leeds.