A decent average of 44 FPL points in gameweek 13 has kicked off a period of extreme fixture congestion, with two more gameweek deadlines to be dealt with this week alone. Less than 36 hours will be between the final whistle of GW14 on Thursday night and the starting whistle of GW15’s opening game on Saturday. This means an action-packed week of FPL fun and desperation, and the start of a potentially unprecedented period of fatigue, fitness doubts and rotation for FPL managers, especially if Mother Nature continues to throw match-stopping blizzards into the mix.

Looking at the gameweek at hand, we seem to be dealing with an interesting set of fixtures. From a fantasy manager’s point of view, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City’s away games look appealing, against Watford, Everton and Villa respectively. Spurs hosting Brentford is as a fixture to consider, while there could be fantasy joy in Crystal Palace’s visit to Leeds as well.

Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 14 is set at 18h00 (UK time) on Tuesday, November 30^th.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per November 29^th, 2021)

	TRANSFERS OUT	TRANSFERS IN	POSSIBLE REASONS
GK	Martinez (AST), Schmeichel (LEI), Raya (BRE)	Ramsdale (ARS), Mendy (CHE), Sá (WOL)
DEF	Chilwell (CHE), Duffy (BRI), Tsimikas (LIV)	James (CHE), Alexander-Arnold (LIV), Cancelo (MCI)	Form of the transferred-in defenders, Chilwell injury
MID	Foden (MCI), Sarr (WAT), Benrahma (WHU)	Jota (LIV), Gallagher (CRY), Bernardo (MCI)	Foden injury doubt, Jota and Gallagher goal-scoring form
FOR	Ronaldo (MUN), Antonio (WHU), Aubameyang (ARS)	Vardy (LEI), Dennis (WAT), Saint-Maximim (NEW)	Vardy brace in GW13, Ronaldo sub against Chelsea, Antonio lack of returns

Premium pick

It’s hard not to mention Mo Salah here, as the Egyptian made it 20 attacking returns from 13 league starts this weekend when he provided the assist for Jota’s second goal. Still, with Spurs hosting Brentford on Thursday, this feels like a good opportunity to highlight another premium fantasy asset for once, though there really isn’t much to write home about when it comes to Harry Kane (£12.3m) so far this season. He’s scored just the one goal and he’s only given a single assist on top of that, so this is definitely a fixture-over-form kind of pick. It was a shame that Spurs’ visit to Burnley was cut short due to the snowy conditions at Turf Moor, as it would have given us a much better idea of the direction in which new manager Antonio Conte has his team moving in terms of tactics and form, but we’ll now have to wait for that until this Thursday evening. The home encounter with Brentford should be a good opportunity for both Spurs and Kane to show the world that they’re improving and still in it particularly with Spurs having had a rest in GW13 unlike Brentford who had a hard-fought win against Everton on Sunday.

Non-premium pick

Not very often do we highlight a defender as a stand-out non-premium fantasy pick of the week, but with Ben Chilwell out injured for the foreseeable future and with Chelsea playing away at Watford on Wednesday, Marcos Alonso (£5.6m) could bring joy at both ends of the pitch. In seven league starts so far this season, the Spanish wing-back collected 4 clean sheets, 1 goal and 1 assist, and he looks set for a consistent run of starts over the busy coming period. Watford rank amongst the bottom-three teams in the league for both expected goals conceded and actual goals conceded, while most of their underlying attacking stats place them somewhere along the bottom-half of the table. Chelsea will want to make up for losing two points against Manchester United over the weekend and we feel that Alonso has the potential to benefit enormously from that, partly as he’s taking corners.

The budget enabler

We wrote earlier that Norwich have not been terrible of late and we’re confirming that statement by highlighting the considerable budget-enabling qualities of Brandon Williams (£3.9m). That’s right, a Norwich defender. Rather quietly, the Canaries have collected nine points from their last seven games, which has actually lifted them out of last place and into their current joint-18th position. They have also booked 3 clean sheets over that run, including the shut-out versus Wolves at home from last weekend. Manchester United loanee Williams got 7 FPL points from that encounter, courtesy of a clean sheet plus a bonus point while carrying a price tag of just 3.9m. The lowest of any starting player in the official game right now. It’s true that Norwich will struggle to this season’s very end, but Williams could be a useful fifth defender in your squad, especially with an interesting game against Newcastle at Saint James Park coming up next.

The differential

Callum Wilson (£7.3m) has not scored or assisted since hitting the back of the net in two consecutive gameweeks in GW8 and GW9, but with two home games against Norwich and Burnley up next, we feel he could be a good option for the short term. What adds to his appeal, is that he is currently owned by just 3.2% of managers, making him a serious differential asset. Newcastle’s opponents on Tuesday, Norwich, are ranked 19th in the entire league for both goals conceded (17) and expected goals conceded (24), and a poacher like Wilson can take advantage of the situation. On top of that, the former Bournemouth man is also on penalty duties for the Toon, which adds to his appeal. Considering the current scarcity of decent forward options in the official game, Wilson could be the differential you’re looking for without breaking the bank.

For more GW14 FPL transfer options, see what fiso forum members are considering.

The (vice-)captaincy

As you know by now, our advice is to stick with Mo Salah as your captain until further notice. The Liverpool talisman has been extraordinary again this season and there is just no arguing with a player who has accrued a ridiculous 131 FPL points after 13 rounds. That’s just over 10 FPL points on average.

Still, for those of us looking to mix it up, gameweek 14 offers a few more than decent alternatives to Salah. Lukaku, Alonso or James for Chelsea at Watford? Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son at home against Brentford also come to mind, as do a few Manchester City assets as they prepare for a visit to Villa Park. The question is, as always, who will start for the Cityzens? Jota is in very good form at the moment and could be a good choice for the captaincy. The likes of Raul Jimenez at home versus Burnley, Jamie Vardy away at Saint Mary’s where Southampton have lost two on the bounce, and Callum Wilson at home to Norwich can pay off handsomely as well.

Discuss your FPL opinions on FISO’s Fantasy Premier League forum.

Gameweek 12 was another good one for the differentials, apart from in defence, where the popular premiums delivered nicely. Last weekend’s Team of the Week contained a five-men defence made up of the weekend’s two highest-scoring players overall, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Tyrone Mings with 15 FPL points each, with Antonio Rüdiger (14 points), Reece James (12 points) and Joao Cancelo (12 points) completing the backline. Out of the remaining six players, only Watford’s Emmanuel Dennis, who scored a goal and gave 2 assists against Man United, boasted an ownership of more than 4.5%. The Nigerian forward was also the only non-defensive player who scored more than 12 FPL points in GW12.

Looking forward to gameweek 13, Sunday evening jumps out particularly. Before Chelsea host Manchester United for the last encounter of the weekend, fellow title candidates Manchester City will be welcoming high-and-flying West Ham to the Etihad. Uncomfortable games for the Blues and Skyblues, so Liverpool will be hoping to take advantage a day earlier when Southampton roll up to Anfield. As a Fantasy Premier League Manager, that’s probably one of the games you want to aim for this weekend, while Arsenal versus Newcastle, Brentford at home to a weakened Everton, and Leicester against Watford at the King Power could bring fantasy joy as well.

Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 13 is set at 11h00 (UK time) on Saturday, November 27^th.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per November 24^th, 2021)

	TRANSFERS OUT	TRANSFERS IN	POSSIBLE REASONS
GK	Schmeichel (LEI), Raya (BRE), McCarthy (SOU)	Ramsdale (ARS), Mendy (CHE), Foster (WAT)
DEF	Dias (MCI), Shaw (MUN), Duffy (BRI)	James (CHE), Alexander-Arnold (LIV), Cancelo (MCI)	Form of the transferred-in defenders, Dias rotation, Shaw injury doubt
MID	Benrahma (WHU), Gray (EVE), Greenwood (MUN)	Gallagher (CRY), Smith-Rowe (ARS), Bernardo (MCI)	Gallagher and ESR form, Benrahma lack of returns, Gray injury doubt & fixtures
FOR	Antonio (WHU), Ronaldo (MUN), Vardy (LEI)	Jimenez (WOL), Dennis (WAT), Saint-Maximin (NEW)	Antonio lack of returns + difficult fixtures, Dennis chasing points, Jimenez vs Norwich

Premium pick

If you regularly read our Fantasy Premier League gameweek previews, you’ll know that we’ve been attempting to add some variation to our premium fantasy pick category. Recommending Mo Salah (£13.0m) every weekend just didn’t really feel like adding value to your weekly decision-making process as a fantasy manager. And while that’s all fine, Salah has just kept on returning. With 4 goals and 3 assists in his last four games, and 11 goals and 8 assists after 12 league games overall, gameweek 2 is still the only round without an attacking return for the Egyptian wizard. He is by far the highest-scoring fantasy asset this season and has so far been offering levels of consistency and reliability that have rarely been witnessed in FPL (‘Thierry Henry esque’). In a weekend in which Chelsea and Manchester City face potentially tricky opposition, Liverpool are playing at home against Southampton. The potential for closing the gaps with both sides is real, the Blues are 4 points ahead in first and the Cityzens 1 point ahead in second place, so we’ve gone with Salah as the stand-out premium fantasy pick for gameweek 13.

Non-premium pick

The FPL enthusiasm surrounding Ivan Toney (£6.7m) was sinking rapidly over the past few months, as the Brentford forward was not delivering on his underlying numbers. Prior to the GW12 encounter with Newcastle at Saint James Park, Toney had not recorded an attacking return for five weeks, but he rewarded the managers who kept faith him by scoring his third goal of the season against the Magpies. A total of 6 FPL points is not earth-shattering, but we’d like to look at it as a good start (on a good run of returns, that is). In order for his goal last Saturday to be just that, he does need to perform again this weekend, against Everton at home this time. The Toffees are going through a difficult period, losing four of their last five league games and conceding a worrying 10 goals in the process. Only Norwich fared worse over that same period. In other words, perhaps an injury-stricken and out-of-shape Everton side is just what Brentford need to deliver on their promising underlying attacking statistics. If it is, expect penalty-taker Toney to be involved.

The budget enabler

Now, with Burnley hosting Antonio Conte’s Spurs this coming Sunday, this pick might not be with hopes of a big haul immediately, but with an eye on the medium and longer term. By scoring his fifth goal of the season last weekend against Crystal Palace, Maxwell Cornet (£6.1m) has become the first Burnley player in Premier League history to score 5 goals in his first six starts for the club. The former Lyon man seems to have hit a serious purple patch of form for his new team and with a decent run of fixtures still to come, there might be more returns on the horizon given the quality of the goals he has scored. After the home game against Spurs, it’s Wolves and Newcastle on the road, followed by West Ham and Watford at home. Apart from that though, Burnley’s current form and sudden accuracy in front of goal mean that even the coming home game against Tottenham could be a source of points for their assets. At a price of just £6.1 and playing as a forward while listed as a budget midfielder by FPL, Cornet looks like a more than appealing budget-enabling pick.

The differential

Think about this for a moment: the fifth-highest scorer in the official game right now is owned by just 4.6% of all managers. That’s right, and that’s not all, because thanks to his 7 goals and 2 assists from 11 league starts, he is also the game’s second-highest-scoring midfielder, outscoring every forward in the game. In other words, Sadio Mané (£12.0m) represents enormous differential value at the moment. The Senegalese winger has quietly been working on his impressive totals in the shadow of his attacking partner on the other wing, Mo Salah. This may also explan why Mané’s ownership is so low, because investment in Salah, which is what just over 72% of the FPL community has currently opted for, reduces the appeal of heavily investing in another attacking Liverpool asset. If you’re looking to close gaps in your mini-leagues though, or if you’re simply feeling like taking a risky punt to try and improve your overall rank, Mané could be a fantastic addition to your squad.

The (vice-)captaincy

Earlier in this article, we highlighted Mo Salah as our stand-out premium fantasy pick for gameweek 13 by some distance, so it’s no surprise that we’re putting the GW13 captain armband on him as well as we suspect will 99% of other teams in the top 10k. Sometimes you just have to keep it simple (and repeat your captaincy choice for weeks on end).

The Egyptian will be the most-captained player again this weekend though, which reduces his relative value as an FPL asset a bit, especially if you’re chasing in your mini-league or just not feeling like following the template. In that case, there is Sadio Mané, while the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Emile Smith-Rowe at home against Newcastle, Salah and Mané’s team mate Jota at Anfield versus Soton, and Raul Jimenez away at Carrow Road look like decent alternatives as well. If you want to take it a step further, Mbeumo and Toney against Everton, Trossard at home versus Leeds and Jamie Vardy at the King Power against Watford might hold some differential captain value as well.

Discuss your FPL opinions on FISO’s Fantasy Premier League forum.

It seems like it was just yesterday that we were going through our 37th draft for the 19th time with five minutes to go to the gameweek 1 deadline. A lot has happened since then though, and with the third international break of this season now behind us, what’s probably the biggest period of the FPL year now comes into sight: the Christmas period. Ten gameweeks in about 40 days, combining with the two final rounds of the European group stages over the coming weeks, and the League Cup semi-finals towards the end of December. You better have a decent playing bench at your disposal.

For now though, gameweek 12 and it’s not looking like a straight-forward one. No fixture really stands out from a fantasy point of view, unless you really strongly believe in the “new manager bounce” for what has been a lacklustre Spurs squad this season as they host an equally flat Leeds side. Bar the elevated rotation risk, Manchester City at home to Everton could bring joy as well, while United away at Claudio Ranieri’s Watford would be top of the list had it not been for the away side’s terribly unpredictable form and uninspiring performances of late. Chelsea and Liverpool have their work cut out for them with games against Leicester away and Arsenal at home, respectively.

Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 12 is set at 11h00 (UK time) on Saturday, November 20^th.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per November 18^th, 2021)

	TRANSFERS OUT	TRANSFERS IN	POSSIBLE REASONS
GK	Sanchez (BRI), Raya (BRE), Schmeichel (LEI)	McCarthy (SOU), Ramsdale (ARS), Guaita (CRY)	Sanchez red card, Raya injury
DEF	Alonso (CHE), Shaw (MUN), Azpilicueta (CHE)	James (CHE), Cancelo (MCI), Alexander-Arnold (LIV)	Alonso and Shaw flagged, form of Cancelo, James and TAA
MID	Gray (EVE), Mount (EVE), Grealish (MCI)	Gallagher (CRY), Smith-Rowe (ARS), Son (TOT)	Everton fixtures, Mount and Grealish flagged, Gallagher and ESR form
FOR	Vardy (LEI), Ings (AST), Toney (BRE)	Antonio (WHU), Kane (TOT), Armstrong (SOU)	Vardy blanking, Ings flagged, Kane fixtures. Armstrong form

Premium pick

The original plan was to recommend Mo Salah as our premium fantasy pick once again, simply because even against Arsenal at home, he’s the most reliable FPL asset around. At the last moment though, we figured you already know that so we take this opportunity to mention Harry Kane (£12.2m) instead. The Spurs striker is having a bad season so far with just a single goal and a single assist to his name after 10 league games, and his underlying numbers are far from great, but we might just be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. First, there was the appointment of Antonio Conte for what will hopefully translate to a serious “new manager bounce” for Kane and co as they host Leeds on Sunday. Second, the Spurs forward made the most of the last international break by scoring no less than 7 goals in two games. In all fairness, the opponents in those games were Albania and San Marino, but it’ll surely have done his confidence some good. All we need now is for him to start delivering in the Premier League again as well.

Non-premium pick

While we were going over our candidate non-premium fantasy picks for inclusion in our GW12 FPL preview, we were a bit surprised by Diogo Jota’s (£7.5m) ownership at the time of writing. While 12.8% moves him out of differential territory, it’s still quite low when you consider the current state of Liverpool’s attack, according to FPL, at least. As we’re preparing for gameweek 12, the following attack-minded Reds are flagged: Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané, Jordan Henderson, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott. In other words, how is Jota not going to start for Jurgen Klopp’s side when they welcome Arsenal to Anfield on Saturday? It’s not the most favourable of match-ups as the Gunners have been picking up some good form since their horrible start to the 2021-22 campaign, but Liverpool still boast the league’s best attack with 31 goals scored. Jota himself currently sits on 4 goals and 1 assist from nine starts. Arsenal have generally been resilient in defence, except against the division’s elite sides (the 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Man City back in GW3 comes to mind), so we’re hoping for that pattern to continue this weekend.

The budget enabler

You may or may not have noticed, but rather quietly, Southampton have been one of the league’s stand-out performers over the past month or so. The Saints have taken an impressive 10 points from their last four games, scoring 5 goals in the process. Their striker Adam Armstrong (£5.9m), who was brought in from Blackburn Rovers for about £15 million over the summer, has been directly involved in two of those goals in the last two games. In GW10, he provided the assist for the only goal of the game in a 0-1 victory at Vicarage Road and in GW11, he scored the only goal of the game and took home 9 FPL points against Aston Villa at home. The fact that his goal was the result of a thundering strike from outside the area wasn’t much of a surprise, considering that only Michail Antonio has taken more shots than him this season. Up next are a Norwich side under new management, but we’re honestly not sure how much of a difference it will make. It’s true that the Canaries have been OK at times when they were not facing top-6 or top-8 opponents, but they don’t seem to possess sufficient quality to secure Premier League survival. They have conceded a minimum of 2 goals in four of their five league games at Carrow Road this season, which bodes well for an budget-enabling Adam Armstrong in good form.

The differential

Remember when AFC Bournemouth were the FPL gift that just kept on giving? In the 2018-19 season, budget picks like Callum Wilson (£7.3m) and Ryan Fraser were lighting up the league for the Cherries under coach Eddie Howe. Where the former managed 14 goals and 12 assists in 30 games for 168 FPL points, the latter recorded 7 goals and 14 assists for 181 FPL points. Since then, that Bournemouth team has slowly been dismantled, but as fate would have it, the recent appointment of Eddie Howe as Newcastle manager has seen the coach united with his two former star players once again, only this time at Saint James’ Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. While Fraser has yet to make an impact, Wilson has already shown glimpses of his goal-scoring prowess for the Toon. Despite missing several gameweeks due to injury, he has still managed 4 goals so far, and for a struggling team that is. The hope is that the arrival of Howe will blow some new life into the Magpies, just in time for an up-tick in form to coincide with a good run of fixtures, starting with promoted Brentford at home. With that game followed by Arsenal away and then back-to-back home encounters with Norwich and Burnley, Wilson could represent enormous differential value with an ownership of just 2.5% at the moment of writing.

The (vice-)captaincy

Seeing as Mo Salah should be your FPL GW12 captain (don’t argue with 10 goals, 8 assists and 117 FPL points from 11 starts), we’ll continue what we started by instead taking a look at wise vice-captain picks. With so many injuries doubts plaguing the Reds at the moment, it just feels like even more eyes and more hopes will be on the Egyptian wizard, if that’s even possible. From the same roster, Jota could be a good shout as well.

Earlier, we have also mentioned the soon-to-haul(-we-hope) Harry Kane earlier in this gameweek 12 preview, while despite unreliability hitting peak levels at Old Trafford, Cristiano Ronaldo can never be discarded, especially not against a relegation candidate like Watford. More budget-friendly picks include Michail Antonio away at Molineux, Adam Armstrong or Che Adams against Norwich at Carrow Road, or Callum Wilson or Ivan Toney from the encounter between Newcastle and Brentford on Saturday.

Discuss your FPL opinions on FISO’s Fantasy Premier League forum.

After a downpour of hauls and the season’s second-highest average score in gameweek 9, gameweek 10 was a completely different experience. With Mo Salah not scoring for once (though he did assist), the FPL differentials took the power once again as Cristiano Ronaldo and Reece James were the only players with an ownership of more than 10% to make it into GW10’s Team of the Week. On the flipside, no less than six of last weekend’s outstanding performers currently still boast an ownership of less than 5% with four of them sitting in less than 2% of all teams. While James recorded the highest score of the week (21 FPL points), courtesy of 2 goals and a clean sheet, the likes of Gabriel (15 points, owned by 1.7%), Matthew Lowton (14 points, owned by 1.7%) and Declan Rice (13 points, owned by 5.1%) provided big as well for the few fortunate managers who own them.

This weekend could end up being another unpredictable and possibly low-scoring affair in terms of FPL. On Saturday, it’s the Manchester derby at Old Trafford at 12:30pm, while on Sunday, Liverpool (at West Ham), Leicester (at Leeds) and Spurs (at Everton) are all up for potentially tricky outings. In terms of the traditional top sides, Chelsea and Arsenal do present interesting fixtures by hosting Burnley and Watford, respectively. The home games of Southampton (vs Aston Villa), Brentford (vs Norwich), Crystal Palace (vs Wolves) and Brighton (vs Newcastle) all look winnable for the home sides (only 2 of the 10 fixtures in GW9 were home wins!), but the results might just as easily go the other way, in our opinion.

Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 11 is set at 18h30 (UK time) on Friday, November 5^th.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per November 5^th, 2021)

	TRANSFERS OUT	TRANSFERS IN	POSSIBLE REASONS
GK	Raya (BRE), Schmeichel (LEI), Ederson (MCI)	Ramsdale (ARS), Mendy (CHE), Sánchez (BRI)
DEF	Alonso (CHE), Dias (MCI), Azpilicueta (CHE)	James (CHE), Chilwell (CHE), Livramento (SOU)	Chelsea defensive rotation
MID	Kovacic (CHE), Mount (CHE), Sarr (WAT)	Smith-Rowe (ARS), Gallagher (CRY), Son (TOT)	Kovacic injury doubt, ESR and Gallagher form, Conte arrival at Spurs
FOR	Ings (SOU), Lukaku (CHE), Antonio (WHU)	Toney (BRE), Hwang & Jimenez (WOL) & Ronaldo (MUN)	Ings and Lukaku injury doubts, Toney fixtures, Hwang & Jimenez form

Premium pick

Since Salah failed to score last weekend for the first time since his blank in gameweek 2, we are immediately removing him from our recommendations. He’s over. That’s a joke, of course, the Egyptian provided an assist against Brighton for his 17^th return of the season and remains the most reliable FPL asset out there, including for his upcoming away game with West Ham. For the sake of variation though, and because decent form and a good fixture seem to be coinciding for him at the moment, our premium fantasy pick for gameweek 11 is Pierre-Emerick Aubaneyang (£10.0m). The Arsenal forward had a slow start to the season, but seems to be finding his place in Mikel Arteta’s improving squad. He scored 4 goals and gave 1 assist in his last seven games for a total of 37 FPL points or just over 5.5 points per game. Not amazing for a player with his price tag, but definitely not bad either. Up next are Watford at the Emirates, followed by Liverpool away and then Newcastle at home, which looks like a run over which Auba could bring the 5.4% of managers who own him considerable joy.

Non-premium pick

Mason Mount (£7.5m) missed last weekend’s clash with Newcastle at the very last minute due to non-COVID19-related illness, which will have had more than a few fantasy managers fuming, but the English midfielder is set to return this weekend. He had initially travelled with the team to Newcastle, but was then sent home to recover and he was also left out of the mid-week squad that visited Malmö in the Champions League. Mount is a key figure for this Chelsea side and in the absence of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, is attacking creativity is much needed. Injury issues have kept his season from really taking off so far, but in the three games that he could start so far this season, he recorded 3 goals and 3 assists. Two of those assists came in gameweeks 1 and 2, while the rest of his returns formed his 24-point mega haul against Norwich in gameweek 9. Even though Burnley are considerably sturdier than the Canaries, especially in defence, this weekend’s game should be three points in the bag for the Blues and the hope is that Mount can contribute to such a result. Keep an eye on Chelsea team news.

The budget enabler

It’s hard to remember the last time we mentioned TWO Arsenal fantasy assets in the same gameweek preview article, but here we are. After highlighting Aubameyang’s potential as a premium pick, we have now come to the budget-enabler category with Emile Smith-Rowe (£5.6m). Over the past two games, the 21-year old midfielder recorded 22 FPL points, courtesy of a goal and an assist against Villa in GW9 followed by a goal at Leicester last weekend. This brought his totals to 3 goals, 2 assists and 49 FPL points from nine starts, which represents incredibly good value when taking his price tag into consideration. ESR ranks amongst the top-two Arsenal assets for several important attacking indicators, including shots in the box, shots on target and big chances creates. This bodes well for him as the Gunners take on Watford at home next. Since Claudio Ranieri took over at Vicarage Road, the Hornets have conceded 8 goals and they still have not managed to keep a clean sheet this Premier League season. Like the case with Auba, this fixture looks juicy for Smith-Rowe, with the added bonus of Newcastle at home in gameweek 13 (after an away game at Anfield).

The differential

Now this is a bit of a punt and with “bit”, we mean that it’s a pretty big gamble when looking at the season so far. Harry Kane (£12.1m) does not only have just 1 goal and 1 assist to his name so far, he also carries a very premium price tag, which is not really a combination of factors you’d favour when looking for new recruits for your FPL squad. The “punt” part of this pick comes from the fact that Tottenham’s away game against Everton will also be Antonio Conte’s first game in charge of Spurs. Very much remains to be seen when it comes to the Italian’s ideas for his new side and his the extent of his arrival’s impact on the club, but Kane looks set to be an integral part of whatever comes next at White Hart Lane. In that sense, the visit to Goodison Park could be a great beginning of a new era, as the Toffees are finding themselves in a bit of a slump at the moment. Rafa Benitez’ men have lost their last three league games and conceded 8 goals over that run, while important figures like Lucas Digne, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Abdelaye Doucouré all remain sidelined with injuries. It might just be the moment to hop aboard the Kane train early (his ownership is at 6.6% at the moment of writing), before it takes off on a very appealing run of fixtures (if you have 2 transfers to use this week and no real need to make one then consider transferring a benched player for a Spurs player due to their fixtures from GW12 and the new-manager bounce factor).

The (vice-)captaincy

Seeing as about 99.9% of FPL managers will again be captaining Mo Salah this weekend for Liverpool’s visit to West Ham, we figured we’d approach our usual captaincy segment a bit differently this time. Instead of focusing on recommendations for the captaincy (Salah, obviously), we’ll take a quick look at some interesting and, most importantly, wise picks for the vice-captaincy. Salah did play 90 minutes in Liverpool’s mid-week victory over Atlético de Madrid, after all.

For those who can afford this type of team structure, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would be a more than decent pick for the vice-captaincy as Arsenal host Watford on Saturday. Much of the same goes for Chelsea’s Kai Havertz for the home encounter with Burnley and Leicester’s Jamie Vardy for the visit to Elland Road. Riskier, but also more affordable vice-captains for gameweek 11 include Brentford’s Ivan Toney against Norwich at home, Brighton’s Leandro Trossard or Neal Maupay versus Newcastle at home, and Chelsea creator Mason Mount, on condition that he is declared fit before the Burnley game.

Discuss your FPL opinions on FISO’s Fantasy Premier League forum.

With an average of no less than 64 points, gameweek 9 was about as action-packed as they come in the Fantasy Premier League. What greatly added to the excitement (and disappointment, depending on your squad) was the fact that, while more than a few decently owned assets delivered, the only real premium pick to haul was Mo Salah. And he didn’t just haul, he HAULED. Three goals, one assist, a clean sheet and three bonus points at Old Trafford were good for 24 FPL points, making him the first player to cross the 100-point threshold in the 2021/22 campaign.

Incredibly though, the Egyptian wasn’t the only player to record a 24-pointer, because a day earlier, Mason Mount faced Norwich at the Bridge, which resulted in exactly the same haul for the academy graduate. Other big-time stand-out performers were Man City’s Phil Foden with 18 FPL points, courtesy of a brace plus an assist, Watford’s Joshua King with 16 points, thanks to a hattrick at Goodison Park, and last weekend’s true differential Maxwell Cornet, who scored twice for Burnley against Southampton for 15 FPL points. The former Lyon man is currently owned by 0.3% of managers and preparing for a good run of fixtures on paper. Anyway, on to the coming weekend!

Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 10 is set at 11h00 (UK time) on Saturday, October 30^th.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per October 28^th, 2021)

	TRANSFERS OUT	TRANSFERS IN	POSSIBLE REASONS
GK	Raya (BRE), Schmeichel (LEI), Lloris (TOT)	Mendy (CHE), Martinez (AST), Foster (WAT)	Raya injury
DEF	Alonso (CHE), Shaw (MUN), Azpilicueta (CHE)	Chilwell (CHE), Alexander-Arnold (LIV), Rüdiger (CHE)	Alonso rotation, Azpi injury, Chelsea defensive solidity
MID	Pogba (MUN), Raphinha (LEE), Fernandes (MUN)	Mount (CHE), Foden (MCI), Salah (LIV)	Good GW9 for transferred-in players, Salah red hot, Pogba red card, Raphinha injury doubt
FOR	Lukaku (CHE), Ronaldo (MUN), Vardy (LEI)	Antonio (WHU), Hwang (WOL), Vardy (LEI)	Lukaku and Vardy injury doubts, Antonio ongoing form, Hwang form+budget

Premium pick

Look, we know it’s becoming repetitive, but it’s our goal to provide you every week with the best possible advice to help you form a winning squad in the official Fantasy Premier League game. That’s why we can’t possibly justify not picking Mo Salah (£12.9m) as our premium fantasy pick of the week once again. The Liverpool star might just be in the best form of his life at the moment and that’s saying a lot about the highest-scoring, most consistent FPL performer of the past few seasons. He bagged a scandalous 24 points against arch rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford, helping him to become the first player to score 100 FPL points this season, and settling his current totals at 10 goals and 6 assists from nine league games. That’s just under 12 points per game. Up next are Brighton, who are having the best Premier League start in the club’s history, at Anfield and even though the Seagulls have been defensively solid in general this campaign, we can really only see this one going one way. Man City put four past Graham Potter’s men last weekend and a similar scenario could unfold in Liverpool thus coming Saturday, with Salah most likely smack in the middle of it all.

Non-premium pick

Mason Mount (£7.5m) is back. After a busy summer, a slow start to the season and some injury niggles, the England international announced his return in style after earning his first starting spot since gameweek 5 and making the most of it by scoring the first Premier League hattrick of his career. Opponents Norwich were no match for the Blues as they cruised to a 7-0 victory and in the absence of the injured Lukaku and Werner, it was Mount who took the spotlight. You might think that this pick smells a bit like points chasing, but that’s not the case here. The 22-year old midfielder is an integral part of Thomas Tuchel’s attacking set-up as he adds a certain amount of creativity and depth to a part of the pitch where Chelsea were perhaps lacking in previous games. He was initially rested for Tuesday’s League Cup encounter with Southampton, but came on in the 67^th minute to end up playing added time as well. Nevertheless, we expect him to line up from the start again this coming Saturday when Chelsea visit struggling Newcastle, where another attacking return or two could be waiting around the corner.

The budget enabler

The cruciate knee ligament injury to Brentford goalkeeper David Raya has caused a bit of a stir in the FPL goalkeeper category. The Spaniard was owned by about 12% of managers before news of his injury was announced, a development that took one of the game’s most interesting budget goalkeepers out of the equation at once. One player who has seen his stock rise as a result of Raya’s bad luck is Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster (£4.0m). When looking at Watford’s performances so far this season, it’s clear what kind of value the English veteran offers. What you’re getting with Foster is a strong budget-enabler who is a sure starter for his side. He has been in the starting eleven since gameweek 5 and his only returns so far have been 3 save points, but he plays and offers you at least an additional half million to invest elsewhere in your squad, and 0.6m is you’re swapping him in for Raya. The Hornets are playing Southampton at home this weekend, a decent fixture that they’ll be looking to win. The hope is that new manager Claudio Ranieri can work his magic at Vicarage Road and who knows, our 4.0m-goalie might even start delivering the odd clean sheet from time to time as well.

The differential

Perhaps symbolic for this season so far is the fact that we are recommending Harry Kane (£12.1m) as a stand-out differential in the build-up to gameweek 10. After a noisy summer and a less than optimal start to the season off the pitch, which undoubtedly had its knock-on effects on performances on the pitch, Tottenham’s very own just has a single goal and a single assist to his name this campaign. Both of those returns came against a Newcastle side in disarray back in GW8. That probably explains his current 6.6% ownership and why he has been demoted to the differential category, at least for the time being. Up next are Manchester United at home, which normally would not be an ideal fixture for a player clearly in search of his best form, but this is not a normal season. The Red Devils are not turning up for games at the moment and the 0-5 thrashing in front of their own crowd at the hands of historic rivals Liverpool is not likely to have helped their situation much. The United defence looked suspect, to such a point that we feel this might just be a blessing in United red disguise for Kane. The England striker is, of course, still lethal and a forward of his pedigree is probably the last thing United’s defenders want to face right now, even if he’s part of a Tottenham side that is not firing on all cylinders yet, either.

The captaincy

It’s Mo Salah. We like to think and to analyse and to find those gems in the official game, but sometimes, it’s better to keep it simple. To not overthink. This is one of those times. Liverpool are hosting Brighton at home and even though the Seagulls will surely put up a good fight, it’s bordering the impossible to not captain Salah for this one, based on current form and recent hauls. There are decent alternatives, sure, but let’s put it this way: ignore Salah at your own peril.

Now, about those alternatives, if you must. Reigning champions Manchester City are playing at home to Crystal Palace, which should end in a comfortable victory for Pep Guardiola’s men. Phil Foden is the one to watch, while the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Kevin de Bruyne appeal as well. The ghost of rotation remains ever-present, though. Chelsea are visiting Newcastle, which brings Mason Mount and Kai Havertz (yep, even after his disappointing three-pointer against Norwich) into the picture. Raphinha away against Norwich could be a slightly riskier, but potentially rewarding pick as well, just like Michail Antonio at Villa Park on Sunday and Harry Kane versus Manchester United.

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