Derby delight and goals galore categorised the weekend where the Premier League progressed a quarter of the way through the season.
Here’s what you need to be across, as we build up to FPL Gameweek 11.
When does FPL Gameweek 11 start?
Saturday 4 November, 10:00pm AEDT
Fulham host Manchester United to kick FPL gameweek 11 off. While both sides will be desperate for a win, it’ll be Erik Ten Hag’s men who will need to a fine result more than their opposition. An emphatic home derby defeat to Manchester City, following a series of fortunate, last gasps wins, has sapped public confidence in the Dutchman. Should United fail to win, and win well, it could place Ten Hag’s head on the chopping board.
FPL Gameweek 11 notes
Steady Eddie & Arteta’s striker headache
Each goal was different in its own right; a great touch and tap-in to open his account, some brilliant alertness and finishing following a corner fumble for the second, and a rifled screamer from outside the box to round the hat-trick off. Safe to say, it was Eddie Nketiah’s (£5.5 I 6.1%) day against Sheffield United. In Gabriel Jesus’s (£7.9 I 2.6) absence, the young Englishman gave his manager plenty to think about up top. While the Brazilian is far better in build-up play, Nketiah’s hat-trick highlights his superior goalscoring prowess; which, after all, is a striker’s main job.
Fergie time (finally)
It was a simple, yet brilliant, left-footed curled strike from the edge of the area that broke Evan Ferguson’s (£6.0 I 6.9%) goal drought of five-and-a-bit games and 254 minutes. The Irishman’s goal is his first since his brilliant hat-trick against Newcastle in matchweek 4, when he put England, and Europe on note, by becoming one of the youngest player’s to bag three goals in a Premier League game. And while such a wait between strikes is long, it should be remembered this period saw Brighton play Manchester United (which Ferguson played just five minutes of), Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Manchester City.
With a goal every 102 minutes this Premier League season, and five goals to his name so far, there can be no doubt about the 19 year old’s place in the pantheon of football’s great young strikers. With a run of winnable games, beginning with Everton in FPL gameweek 11, and continuing with Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest after that, a red alert should sound throughout the Premier League: It’s Fergie time.
Liverpool’s electrifying front three frighten
It’s a headline we grew accustomed to seeing throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s when Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and Mohamed Salah (£12.8 I 42.8%) consistently terrorised Premier League opposition. Both Mane and Firmino are gone, replaced by a new generation of enigmatic excitement machines, not that that’s stopped Liverpool. Against Nottingham Forest it was Diogo Jota (£7.7 I 1.4%) and Darwin Nunez (£7.4 I 13.4%) who stepped up, alongside Salah, as each of Klopp’s starting front three found the back of the net.
Connecting the dots from midfield was the impressive Hungarian, Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0 I 5.5%), who has been incredibly impressive since arriving from RB Leipzig in the summer. Liverpool’s number eight grabbed two assists against Forest, highlighting his necessary creative prowess, but it’s his well-rounded weekly contributions which are most eye catching.
Jurgen Klopp’s men are right in this title race, and if they’re any chance of securing their second round of Premier League glory they’ll need their front three, whoever features in it, consistently firing.
Another non contested Manchester Derby
Was there ever any doubt about this performance? Manchester City are a bulldozer, Manchester United the pile of dirt in their way. Erik Ten Hag’s men aren’t helped by a dense defensive injury list forcing a makeshift back four of Diogo Dalot (£4.9 I 2.3%), Harry Maguire (£4.2 I 0.9%), Jonny Evans (£4.0 I 1.5%), and Victor Lindelof (£4.5 I 0.3%) to mark Erling Haaland (£14.0 I 84.1%) and Julian Alvarez (£7.2 I 34.2%). They were doomed from the start, weren’t they?
Haaland, barely a week on from emphatically answering questions about his goalscoring form, particularly in Kevin De Bruyne’s absence, was involved in all three of City’s goals here. He cooly converted a penalty 26 minutes in, popped up with a back post, and rolled an assist to Phil Foden (£7.5 I 9.5%) for City’s third. The world’s best striker is back; as if there was any doubt about that. He now has 11 (11!) goals this season and is on track to break his goalscoring record set last season.
Let’s talk about Villa’s title charge
You may be asking; ‘What? An Aston Villa title charge? Are you alright?’
Yes, I’m fine, and yes, they’re right in this title hunt. After ten games, Unai Emery’s men have collected 22 points, four short of league-leading Spurs, and have the best attacking output (26 goals) of any Premier League side. They put three past Luton like their opponents weren’t there.
In Ollie Watkins (£8.4 I 41.9%) they have one of the Premier League’s most in-form forwards with 5 goals and 8 assists so far this season, while amongst a sea of top performing stars, Moussa Diaby (£6.7 I 13.5%), John McGinn (£5.5 I 0.7%), and Douglas Luiz (£5.5 I 8.8%) are having lights out, incredible seasons of their own. All three were involved in goals against Luton with Luiz assisting McGinn and Diaby scoring one of his own, highlighting Villa’s elite capacity to score by committee.
Make no mistake about it, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa are in this title charge. While they mightn’t win the whole thing, they’ll definitely play a decisive role in who eventually does.
New year, same old Chelsea
Once again, the Ivan Toney (£7.9 I 0.1%) sized hole in Brentford’s attack grew smaller at the weekend. The man tasked with filling the Englishman’s shoes, Bryan Mbuemo (£6.6 I 19.3%), was the star of the show once again. His looping cross set up Ethan Pinnock’s (£4.5 I 1.8%) header to open Brentford’s scoring, while he was in the right place at the right time to capitalise on Robert Sanchez’s (£4.6 I 6.9%) last-gasp foray into Brentford’s box. The Stamford Bridge smash and grab provided the Cameroonian’s sixth goal and second assist of a stellar season; should Toney stay or leave at Brentford remains to be seen, but either way Thomas Frank has unlocked another exciting forward talent.
For Mauricio Pochettino, it’s back to the drawing board to work out why his side can delight against Arsenal and flounder at home to Brentford. His young side dominated possession, took more shots, had higher expected goals, and took more corners, yet failed to convert these into goals. Sound familiar?
DCL strike sinks West Ham, breaths hope in Everton
A terrible weak for Everton, with the death of adored chairman Bill Kenwright and threats of a 12-point deduction, wasn’t compounded at the weekend. Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s (£5.8 I 1.1%) 50th Premier League goal proved the difference as Sean Dyche’s men downed David Moyes’ West Ham, sending Everton five points clear of the relegation zone. It remains to be seen where the future of Everton lies; should the Premier League’s financial sanctions end in a points deduction they’ll surely face relegation, but for now, all they can do is continue the momentum from this victory.
Ange’s Spurs maintain top spot!
Who’d have thought that sentence would be written at the start of the season? Not many. There isn’t much to say about Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham side that hasn’t already been said. To put it simply, they’re brilliant, but far from perfect. In James Maddison (£8.1 I 39.5%) they have one of the Premier League’s best attacking midfielders, Heung-Min Son (£9.6 I 37.6%) has found his goalscoring shoes, Yves Bissouma (£5.0 I 0.5%) remembered how to play football, and Micky Van de Ven (£4.7 I 5.5%) is an imperious, brilliant young defender.
Against Crystal Palace, Spurs again proved they’re far from just a pretty football side. For the second game running, they repelled significant opposition pressure, maintained commitment to their style of play, and, like Andy Dufresne, came out clean on the other side. The sky is the limit for Aussie Ange and his Tottenham excitement machine, how high they eventually soar is entirely up to them.
Transfer targets under 15% ownership
DEFENDER: Micky Van de Ven (£4.7 I 5.5%)
MIDFIELDER: Phil Foden (£7.5 I 9.5%)
FORWARD: Eddie Nketiah (£5.5 I 6.1%)
