FPL Gameweek 11 Preview – Keep Haaland and Sell Wood… Seriously.

Welcome to the FPL Gameweek 11 Preview! 

With another international break looming, this is a pivotal gameweek for savvy managers to make informed, strategic decisions. Many FPL experts recommend saving a transfer ahead of the break to prepare for any unexpected injuries or team changes during the downtime. 

This preview dives into essential considerations for Gameweek 11, including holding off on selling key players like Haaland, who is primed to deliver this week, along with key tips on managing budgets and maximising fixture rotations. Get ready for an action-packed week with a range of transfer recommendations, must-have players, and captaincy insights to help you climb the ranks.

Save a Transfer for the International Break

As you may or may not know, there is ANOTHER international break between FPL gameweek 11 and FPL gameweek 12. It’s generally accepted good practice to try and hold a transfer the week before to make sure you have a couple in case of injuries during the break.

Of course, like a lot of FPL advice, this is team dependant. Just something you should consider when making transfer decisions this week.

Don’t Sell Haaland

Okay yes this is directly in opposition to what I was talking about last week. BUT, if you still have Haaland I would hold him for at least this week. And that is because he is the best captain this week. So, don’t sell him this week okay?

You can sell him next week and get Salah for Southampton or Palmer for Leicester or even both and it will be a great move.

Captaincy Matrix

Budget Forward Watch – Time to Sell Wood?

Chris Wood is the 2nd highest scoring forward in FPL going into Gameweek 11. He has been amazing (as have Forest) and I am an owner so I am not being salty.

But, this form he is in is unprecedented. He has 8 goals from 4.5 xG and 10 games. The maximum number of goals he has scored in a PL season is 14. If he carried on at this rate he would have 30 goals by the end of the season and that is very unlikely. Looking back in his career he has performed at this xG level over a sustained period before (last year and at Burnley) but never at this actual output. 

If we look a little deeper, 4 of his 8 goals have come against three of the literal worst defences in the league – West Ham, Leicester and Wolves. He didn’t score against Southampton. That’s four of the five worst defences in the league (he plays the fifth and worst in gameweek 13). His other 4 goals came against Palace (11th best defence), Chelsea (9th best defence), Brighton (13th best defence) and Bournemouth (8th best defence). 

When he came up against top 5 defences (Liverpool and Fulham) he failed to score.

And, the fixtures are about to turn. His upcoming fixtures are pretty bad: Newcastle (10th best defence), Arsenal (3rd best defence), Ipswich (worst defence), Man City (4th best defence), Man United (14th best defence), Aston Villa (6th best defence). There are some good ones in there but some of the absolute worst too – both the Arsenal and City games are away which make them even worse.

At the very least, you need to have a plan to rotate him in gameweek 12, 14 and probably 16. If you want to sell him this week (or next) then I don’t think that’s a bad plan.

Can’t I Just Rotate Him With Rogers?

Rotating Wood and Rogers was my original plan. However, Rogers is having his minutes managed and playing in Europe. In the last two games he made it to 68 mins and and 56 mins respectively.

Villa are also looking a little shaky. They got smashed in the second half against Spurs, failed to beat Bournemouth and could only draw with Man United.

Rogers xGI per 90 of 0.43 is fine. Well, its incredible for his price. But, I fear we might be missing out on better options.

Who WOOD You Sell Him For?

Definitely not Calvert-Lewin who is allergic to scoring despite how good the fixtures are.

The players with the best long-term fixtures are Cunha, Strand Larsen and Evanilson. And here are their stats so far this season:

Evanilson is delivering at almost exactly his xG at the moment and plays for the better team. Both Cunha and Strand Larsen are over performing their xG per 90 by about 0.2.

Otherwise, Raul at Fulham has good fixtures over the next four and Wissa has good longer-term fixtures. After this week Brighton have great fixtures but we aren’t sure who starts up top when Joao Pedro returns from injury after the international break.

The other option (if you are currently playing 4 in midfield) is to sell Wood for Semenyo or Johnson. Semenyo for the good fixtures and Johnson for the highest xG attack in the league.

Why WOOD You Sell Him Now?

I’m not sure if selling him this week is necessary. Newcastle’s defence has not been incredible this year (although it has certainly improved on the debacle it was the first few weeks). 

The thing is, if you want a Bournemouth or Wolves player you want them this week as they play two of the worst defences in the league.

And, I think there is potentially high upside here. Whilst everyone is scrambling to get this guy in, you have banked his points and moved on to the next pick with great fixtures.

European Round-up

• Liverpool beat Leverkusen 4-0 and for some reason Slot left Salah on for the full 90. Diaz backed a hat-trick and Gakpo actually started up front so I expect Darwin to start this weekend (but really I would just avoid any Liverpool attacker not called Mo). Konate played almost 90 so we know he is fit after coming off at half time last weekend.
• The future Man United Manager’s Sporting Lisbon beat Man City 4-1. This just leads me to double down on my no Man City defenders approach. Did you know they had someone called Simpson-Pusey? Me neither. He started at centre-back. Haaland missed a pen and Foden scored the opening goal. As I said last week, they’re looking a little bit shit.
• Villa lost 1-0 to Brugge after a very bizarre penalty was given away by Mings. Just go an watch it, its funny. Rogers played 66 mins so he is also fit (not that you want to start him against Liverpool).
• Arsenal lost 1-0 to Inter Milan. The good news is that Odegaard came off the bench in the 90th minute which suggests he should be in contention for the starting 11 for gameweek 12 in a couple of weeks.
• Spurs lost to Galatassaray 3-2 (it’s less bad than it seems when you remember they have Osimhen). Maddison played 66 mins and Son played 45 mins. I don’t think we can say either will play 90 at the weekend based on that.
• Man United beat PAOK 2-0. De Ligt and Martinez were rested. B. Fernandes played 90 mins.
• Chelsea beat an Armenian team that you have never heard of 8-0. Palmer didn’t start because he still isn’t in the Europa League squad. He is probably safe to start at the weekend but we aren’t 100% sure after Martinez kicked him last weekend.

Best Attacking Fixtures

Here are the five sides with the very best attacking FPL fixtures, from FPL Gameweek 11 to 15.

In comparison to last week Fulham and Everton drop out of the top five as their runs start to come to an end. Bournemouth jump in with a great run and United jump in thanks to their next three being excellent (even if the two after are poor).

Best Defensive Fixtures

Here are the five sides with the very best defensive FPL fixtures, from FPL Gameweek 11 to 15.

I am actually not a huge fan of any of these fixture runs so I think you need to look to premium defenders and/or a defensive rotation. This is one of the reasons I am not selling Trent or Gabriel (despite the lack of returns).

In terms of rotation. I think I would look to a Villa/United rotation or Fulham/Brighton rotation which both work well for around 10 gameweeks.

Should I Buy?

Looking at the most-bought players in FPL, ahead of Gameweek 11, and don’t know whether you should buy one? We will tell you!

Wood – No. See above. Get Cunha/Strand Larsen, Evanilson, Wissa or Raul instead.

Salah – No. I’d rather have Haaland this week or maybe even Saka at a push. Potentially Son for the captaincy. Obviously no need to sell though. It’s just one week where I don’t like the fixture.

Aina – No. The fixtures have turned/are turning. I own the guy and I don’t really want to start him in three of the next five games. Ignore his big 15 pointer last week. If you need a cheap defender, look at who your players would rotate well with.

Solanke – Yes. What a difference a week makes. From one of the most sold players to one of the most bought. Fixtures are okay and underlyings are good – good pick.

Mbeumo – Yes. You should have got him already. The Brentford talisman continues to look brilliant and has good fixtures.

Isak – Yes but you could wait a week because I don’t like going away to Forest. Look at those fixtures. A sea of green (apart from Liverpool at home in 14). I genuinely think this guy is the second best striker in this league so get him in if you want.

Gvardiol – No. I am willing to die on this hill. He has been fortunate. 3 goals from an xG of 0.6 and City don’t seem likely to keep a clean sheet any time soon with awful fixtures in the next three and a mini-injury/Rodri crisis.

Semenyo – Yes. I want him so bad and massively regret selling him and keeping Rogers last week. In my opinion he is the best cheap midfielder in the game.

Johnson – Yes. Good player, good underlyings, good fixtures, good team, good buy.

Welbeck – No. He has been really good but I don’t know whether he keeps his place in the team after the international break/from gameweek 12.

Sels – No. Whilst I’m glad that everyone agrees with me now that Sels is the best keeper, I don’t think you should waste your transfers on keepers and definitely not looking at his fixtures.

Saka – Yes. Great pick and great fixtures going forward.

Ait-Nouri – Yes. Wolves fixtures are so good. Their defence is pretty shaky so ideally you are rotating him out for most away games (a Fulham defender is good for this). Regardless, he is attacking enough that he can come up with returns. I wouldn’t take any other Wolves defenders (nor would I sell them tbf).

Garnacho – No. I really don’t know where or if he fits in Amorim’s team going forward (see last week’s piece for Amorim analysis).

Fernandes – Yes. In contrast to Garnacho, I think any United team has Bruno in it so I am not so concerned about Amorim.

Virgil – No. Get Konate for cheaper if you want a Liverpool defender with minimal attacking output.

Son – No. I don’t know if he plays 60 mins let alone 90 mins.

Palmer – No. Not this week. It’s just a bad fixture against Arsenal.

Should I Sell?

And now let’s take a look at the most-sold players in FPL, ahead of Gameweek 11.

Haaland – No. See the top of the piece.

Luis Diaz – Yes. I don’t trust his minutes and neither should you. Particularly after he plays almost the full game in midweek.

Watkins – Maybe. I’m not in a rush to sell this guy. He’s been reasonably good, starts every PL game and plays for a good team. I can only assume you are trying to save money for other moves at which point I am fine with you selling. But, after this week he has a great run of fixtures. I don’t understand why you would sell him this week if you own him. I would not buy him this week though.

Havertz – Maybe. You will have to wait to see if he is fit after he went off with a head injury midweek.

Jackson – Maybe. I don’t mind selling him. He has a bad fixture this week and then a great one next and then a bad one the week after and then a great one the week after.

Konate – No. He is fit and played midweek.

Smith Rowe – No. I’m not in a rush to sell ahead of the next two fixtures but fine to sell if you are making a longer term move or for Semenyo.

McNeil – No. Everton suck but they have some good fixtures still and unlike DCL this guy can actually return. There are better players at this price range but not much better that you need to make a transfer.

Calvert-Lewin – Yes. He is so bad the fixtures don’t even matter now.

Alexander-Arnold – No. I know he has been bad but I don’t think there are better options unless you are willing to spend a lot of time, effort and transfers picking the perfect rotation. Even if you sell him I don’t really know how you use the money. You can’t turn a crap midfielder to a premium and there aren’t really good mid-priced midfielders besides Mbeumo and Johnson.

Captaincy Corner

I want to captain Haaland but I don’t own him.

Currently, I have the armband on Salah. If I owned Saka it would be on him but Haaland is the best pick.

My Moves

I am looking at my team and I think that DCL is a big problem. He has been shit and will continue to be shit. No matter how good a fixture you throw at him, he still cannot return. So, I think he has to go.

That’s It.

That’s it for the FPL Gameweek 11 Preview! This week brings plenty of intriguing choices, from the decision to hold Haaland to exploring value picks like Cunha or Strand Larsen as alternatives to Chris Wood. As we head into the international break, remember that flexibility in your squad will be useful for the busy period ahead. 

Whether you’re looking to make bold moves or play it safe, we hope this guide helps you strike the right balance. Best of luck for Gameweek 11—may your captaincy choice bring a massive haul and your transfers pay off as you edge closer to your FPL goals!