In Gameweek 9, the floodgates opened. Chelsea scored seven past a hapless Norwich City, Manchester City showed their class with an impressive 4-1 win over high-flying Brighton and Liverpool, perhaps surprisingly (for the scoreline), thumped Manchester United 5-0 at Old Trafford.
Mohamed Salah, easily the best player in the league right now, upped his performance to yet another level as he became the first opponent player to score a hat-trick and Old Trafford.
For the Blues, Ben Chilwell scored for the fourth game in a row, while Mason Mount emerged out of nowhere to score a hat-trick. Antonio Rudiger provided an assist while Phil Foden scored twice for City to complete a dream gameweek for many FPL managers.
In a week with an average score of 64, many managers breached the three-figure mark.
Gameweeks like these don’t come very often but GW10 has the potential to be another high scoring one if the top three teams that have the most owned players keep up their scoring spree.
City face a struggling Crystal Palace, the Reds entertain Brighton while Chelsea travel to relegation-threatened Newcastle. Another pointfest on the cards, perhaps.
Fixture Difficulty
On paper, Brentford and Norwich have the easiest fixtures, but given the form of latter, FPL managers will probably only be interested in Brentford players. The attacking duo of Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo are attractive propositions while defender Pontus Janssen is also a great option with the defender already providing three assists this season.
League leaders Chelsea and Southampton also have kind fixtures in the coming weeks.
Fixture Difficulty Index
| Team | Combined Difficulty rating for GW 10-12 | GW10 opponents | GW11 opponents | GW12 opponents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 10 (3, 2, 5) | LEI(A) | WAT(H) | LIV(A) |
| Aston Villa | 9 (4, 2, 3) | WHU(H) | SOU(A) | BHA(H) |
| Brentford | 6 (2, 2, 2) | BUR(A) | NOR(H) | NEW(A) |
| Brighton | 10 (5, 2, 3) | LIV(A) | NEW(H) | AVL(A) |
| Burnley | 9 (2, 5, 2) | BRE(H) | CHE(A) | CRY(H) |
| Chelsea | 7 (2, 2, 3) | NEW(A) | BUR(H) | LEI(A) |
| Crystal Palace | 9 (5, 2, 2) | MCI(A) | WOL(H) | BUR(A) |
| Everton | 10 (2, 3, 5) | WOL(A) | TOT(H) | MCI(A) |
| Leeds | 8 (2, 3. 3) | NOR(A) | LEI(H) | TOT(A) |
| Leicester | 10 (3, 3, 4) | ARS(H) | LEE(A) | CHE(H) |
| Liverpool | 10 (3, 4, 3) | BHA(H) | WHU(A) | ARS(H) |
| Man City | 9 (2, 4, 3) | CRY(H) | MUN(A) | EVE(H) |
| Man Utd | 9 (3, 4, 2) | TOT(A) | MCI(H) | WAT(A) |
| Newcastle | 9 (4, 3, 2) | CHE(H) | BHA(A) | BRE(H) |
| Norwich City | 6 (2, 2, 2) | LEE(H) | BRE(A) | SOU(H) |
| Southampton | 7 (2, 3, 2) | WAT(A) | AVL(H) | NOR(A) |
| Spurs | 10 (4, 4, 2) | MUN(H) | EVE(A) | LEE(H) |
| Watford | 10 (2, 4, 4) | SOU(H) | ARS(A) | MUN(H) |
| West Ham | 9 (3, 4, 2) | AVL(A) | LIV(H) | WOL(A) |
| Wolves | 9 (3, 2, 4) | EVE(H) | CRY(A) | WHU(H) |
The big ins and outs
Last week’s heroes for Chelsea – Mount and Chilwell – are high on demand before their trip to Newcastle. Phil Foden is next after the Blues duo, followed by Salah who continued to gain owners. (How can one still not have him, you wonder) Emile Smith-Rowe was on the scoresheet for Arsenal last week, and also gaining in ownership.
Most transferred (in) players ahead of GW10
| Position | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| MID | Mount | CHE |
| DEF | Chilwell | CHE |
| MID | Foden | MCI |
| MID | Salah | LIV |
| MID | Smith Rowe | ARS |
Chelsea players lead the exits too as Romelu Lukaku, who remains sidelined with injury, is the most sold player this week. Next is teammate Marcos Alonso who now seems second-choice behind Chilwell. Manchester United teammates Paul Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo continue to lose owners as Manchester United’s form dips.
Surprisingly, Jamie Vardy has been sold by a few managers as there was a doubt over his participation this weekend but he is back in training and fit to face Arsenal, a team he can have a good return against. Raphinha has pipped Vardy in the top five, as he is also on the way out despite a Norwich fixture that can be tempting to look at their team’s assets.
Most transferred (out) players ahead of GW10
| Pos | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| FWD | Lukaku | CHE |
| DEF | Alonso | CHE |
| MID | Pogba | MUN |
| FWD | Ronaldo | MUN |
| MID | Raphinha | LEE |
Top picks for Gameweek 10
Whether you bring them in through transfers or (luckily enough) have them in your squad already, these are the five hottest selections for GW10:
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool): 17, 3, 10, 8, 12, 7, 13, 13, 24. These are Salah’s hauls this season and one need not look at anything else. Just thrice has he scored fewer than ten points this season. A resolute Brighton will test the Egyptian perhaps but he’s already passed sterner tests this season. Leave out Salah at your own peril.
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City): The joint top-scoring striker in FPL this season, Vardy has surprised many with his consistency again. Leicester have gotten better going forward as the season has progressed and face an Arsenal side that have kept just three clean sheets this season. The Gunners are his favourite opponents. He has eight goals in eight starts against Arsenal and given his current form, he has every chance of keeping that run going.
Joao Cancelo (Manchester City): Manchester City are yet to concede a goal at home this season and Crystal Palace who have been fairly hot and cold this season are unlikely to change that. Patrick Viera’s men have already lost away to Chelsea and Liverpool without putting up much of a fight. City who have scored ten goals in four games at home are likely to continue that trend. Cancelo, the most advanced among City defenders, is always a good pick for their home games thanks to his attacking threat and ability to attract bonus points.
Phil Foden (Manchester City): The England youngster is on fire and has returned in each of his last three matches for man City. The fact that he is pretty much an assured starter under Pep Guardiola speaks volumes about the form the midfielder he is in. City have the highest xG (Expected Goals) at home in the league and could put Palace, who have conceded a minimum of two goals in each away game so far, to the sword.
Michail Antonio (West Ham): The Hammers striker has been a standout performer this season overall and was back among the points last week against Tottenham. Facing an Aston Villa side who are one the weakest defensive teams in the league, Antonio could do some damage. Given his consistency this season, it would be risky betting against a man in such rich vein of form.
Top differential picks for GW10:
Joshua King (Watford): Another hat-trick hero but one that went slightly unnoticed last week, as Watford thrashed Everton. Boosted by the arrival of Claudio Ranieri, Watford could be the team to bet on in GW10 and King, who has returned almost every time he’s started, is a great option. Owned by less than 3% of FPL managers, King is one of the top differentials to own this week. At a price of £5.6, he is quite a bargain too.
Harry Kane (Tottenham): An FPL great, Kane has struggled this season but has shown signs of returning to form. He was on the scoresheet against Newcastle and faces a Manchester United side that have kept just one clean sheet in 20 matches in all competition. United and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be under extreme pressure, Kane and Spurs could profit. Owned by just 6.6% of FPL managers, Kane can be a huge differential.
Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea): Injuries to Lukaku and Timo Werner has meant Hudson-Odoi has got his chance not just to start but also play in his preferred left-wing position. The English winger was in fine form against Norwich last week and is often very direct when playing in that left-wing position. Owned by just 0.3% of FPL managers, Hudson-Odoi is a good differential for GW10.
Captaincy Conundrum
It’s becoming not so much of a conundrum with the way Salah is going and there’s no reason to look beyond him again. His ownership and captaincy stats are so high that it’s a big risk going into a gameweek with Salah not as the captain.
For those brave enough to take that risk, Foden or Vardy are good alternatives.
The Field’s FPL team
Gameweek 9 points: 97
Like most, we had a good gameweek last in GW9 and missed out on the three-figure mark by just three points. But we were forced into taking a hit this week with Dennis suspended for Watford. We transferred out Cristiano Ronaldo and Dennis for Gabriel Jesus and Antonio. The thought behind bringing in Jesus was to have a City attacker in the ranks.
It was a tough decision in goal for us as Robert Sanchez has Liverpool at Anfield and Vicente Guita faces Manchester City at the Etihad. Given that we had to pick a goalkeeper we went with Sanchez who has a slightly more stronger defence in front of him.
The captaincy is not an issue as we have decided to stick with Salah and not put too much thought in it.
FPL GW10 deadline: 3:30 PM IST, Saturday, October 30, 2021
(Stats Courtesy: Premier League website, Understat.com and WhoScored.com)