This is the second installment of a new series in which we will take a weekly look at the lineups of the Premier League with regard to the Fantasy Premier League. Knowing which players play each weekend is a crucial element for every active FPL manager, especially in a league that is growing increasingly hard to predict, in great part as a result of larger squad depths all over. Hopefully some readers will have noticed out predicted start for Pulisic last weekend and used that to benefit from his hat-trick.
For the moment, we will consider the lineups of the top-5 teams in the Premier League as it stands by the start of the upcoming gameweek. We might analyse the lineups of all teams at a later stage, based on the interest shown in this series. As far as gameweek 11 goes, we will take a look at confirmed starting lineups for the top-5 teams in gameweek 10, compare those to our predictions for that gameweek, and then predict their lineups for gameweek 11.
For much of the injury news mentioned in these pieces, we consult, among other club-specific sources, the excellent Twitter account and website of Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery). Lineups are written down from left to right, as seen from the goalkeeper’s perspective (so in defense, for example, from left-back to right-back).
Factors potentially affecting lineups per team in the build-up to GW11
| Liverpool | League Cup home vs Arsenal on 30/10 (5-5 won on pens) |
| Manchester City | League Cup home vs Southampton on 29/10 (3-1 win) |
| Leicester City | League Cup away vs Burton Albion on 29/10 (1-3 win) |
| Chelsea | League Cup home vs Manchester United on 30/10 (lost 1-2) |
| Arsenal | League Cup away vs Liverpool on 30/10 (5-5 lost on pens) |
The top 5 at the start of gameweek 11
| 1 | Liverpool | 28 pts |
| 2 | Manchester City | 22 pts |
| 3 | Leicester City | 20 pts |
| 4 | Chelsea | 20 pts |
| 5 | Arsenal | 16 pts |
Lineups for gameweek 10: Predicted vs. confirmed
LIVERPOOL (home vs. Spurs, 2-1)
| PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 10 | CONFIRMED GAMEWEEK 10 | ||
| Form. | 4 – 3 – 3 | 4 – 3 – 3 | |
| FOR | Mané, Firmino, Salah | Mané, Firmino, Salah | |
| MID | Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Henderson | Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Henderson | |
| DEF | Robertson, Van Dijk, Matip (but injury doubt), A-Arnold | Robertson, Van Dijk, Lovren, A-Arnold | |
| GK | Allison | Allison | |
| Subs | /// | (2nd half) Milner > Wijnaldum, Gomez > Salah, Origi > Firmino | |
| Goals | /// | Henderson, Salah (pen, Mané) |
MANCHESTER CITY (home vs. Aston Villa, 3-0)
| PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 10 | CONFIRMED GAMEWEEK 10 | ||
| Form. | 4 – 3 – 3 | 4 – 3 – 3 | |
| FOR | Sterling, Aguero, B. Silva | Sterling, Jesus, B. Silva | |
| MID | D. Silva, Fernandinho, De Bruyne | D. Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne | |
| DEF | Mendy, Stones, Otamendi, Walker | Mendy, Fernandinho, Stones, Cancelo | |
| GK | Ederson | Ederson | |
| Subs | /// | (2nd half) Angeliño > Mendy, Foden > De Bruyne, Aguero > Sterling | |
| Goals | /// | Sterling (Jesus), D. Silva (De Bruyne), Gundogan |
LEICESTER CITY (away vs. Southampton, 0-9)
| PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 10 | CONFIRMED GAMEWEEK 10 | ||
| Form. | 4 – 1 – 4 – 1 | 4 – 1 – 4 – 1 | |
| FOR | Vardy | Vardy | |
| MID | H. Barnes, Maddison, Tielemans, Ayoze | H. Barnes, Maddison, Tielemans, Ayoze | |
| DEF MID | Ndidi | Ndidi | |
| DEF | Chilwell, Soyuncu, Evans, Pereira | Chilwell, Soyuncu, Evans, Pereira | |
| GK | Schmeichel | Schmeichel | |
| Subs | /// | (2nd half) Albrighton > H. Barnes, D. Gray > Ayoze | |
| Goals | /// | Chilwell, Tielemans, Ayoze (Tielemans), Ayoze (Chilwell), Vardy, Ayoze (H. Barnes), Vardy (Chilwell), Maddison, Vardy (pen, H. Barnes) |
CHELSEA (away vs. Burnley, 2-4)
| PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 10 | CONFIRMED GAMEWEEK 10 | ||
| Form. | 4 – 3 – 3 | 4 – 3 – 3 | |
| FOR | Pulisic, Abraham, Willian | Pulisic, Abraham, Willian | |
| MID | Mount, Jorginho, Kovacic | Mount, Jorginho, Kovacic | |
| DEF | Alonso, Tomori, Zouma, Azpilicueta | Alonso, Tomori, Zouma, Azpilicueta | |
| GK | Kepa | Kepa | |
| Subs | /// | (2nd half) James > Alonso, Giroud > Abraham, Hudson-Odoi > Willian | |
| Goals | /// | Pulisic, Pulisic, Pulisic (Mount), Willian (Abraham) |
ARSENAL (home vs. Crystal Palace, 2-2)
| PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 10 | CONFIRMED GAMEWEEK 10 | ||
| Form. | 4 – 2 – 3 – 1 | 4 – 2 – 3 – 1 | |
| FOR | Aubameyang | Lacazette | |
| MID | Saka, Ceballos, Pepe | Aubameyang, Ceballos, Pepe | |
| DEF MID | Xhaka, Guendouzi | Xhaka, Guendouzi | |
| DEF | Kolasinac, D. Luiz, Sokratis, Bellerin | Tierney, D.Luiz, Sokratis, Chambers | |
| GK | Leno | Leno | |
| Subs | /// | (2nd half) Saka > Xhaka, Kolasinac > Tierney | |
| Goals | /// | Sokratis (Xhaka), D. Luiz (Lacazette) |
Predicted lineups for gameweek 11
LIVERPOOL (away vs. Aston Villa)
| Form. | 4 – 3 – 3 |
| FOR | Mané, Firmino, Salah |
| MID | Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Henderson |
| DEF | Robertson, Van Dijk, Lovren, Alexander-Arnold |
| GK | Allison |
| Ruled out | Matip, Shaqiri |
| Doubtful | Keita |
| Notes | Matip remains out for this game with Lovren most likely to deputise for him as he has done since the former got injured. Van Dijk and Salah suffered minor knocks (dead leg and tired ankle, respectively) but Klopp has stated that both are fine to start against Villa. |
MANCHESTER CITY (home vs. Southampton)
| Form. | 4 – 3 – 3 |
| FOR | Sterling, Aguero, Bernardo Silva |
| MID | David Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne |
| DEF | Mendy, Stones, Fernandinho, Walker |
| GK | Ederson |
| Ruled out | Sané, Rodri, Zinchenko, Laporte, Danilo |
| Doubtful | Angeliño |
| Notes | With Mendy the only fit natural left-back in the squad at the moment, he looks assured of another start after the mid-week encounter with Southampton. Walker was replaced by Cancelo at right-back after 65 minutes in that game, so that position could go either way. Fernandinho was only suspended for the mid-week Cup match, so should be back to make a central defensive pairing with Stones rather than Otamendi, leaving Gundogan, who didn’t feature mid-week, in the defensive midfield position for a second gameweek in a row. David Silva, De Bruyne and Sterling were all rested as well, so we expect them to return to the starting line-up on Saturday. Both Mahrez and Bernardo Silva played the full 90 minutes in the League Cup, and we’ve gone with the latter to start against the Saints. Aguero (90 minutes) and Jesus (87 minutes) both featured mid-week, with the former scoring a brace. Seeing as he was benched for gameweeks 9 and 10, he should start this weekend, but it’s more of a guess than ever. Man City’s next Champions League is not until Wednesday so not an urgent need to rest players on Saturday. |
LEICESTER (away vs. Crystal Palace)
| Form. | 4 – 1 – 4 – 1 |
| FOR | Vardy |
| MID | H. Barnes, Maddison, Tielemans, Ayoze |
| DEF MID | Ndidi |
| DEF | Chilwell, Soyuncu, Evans, Pereira |
| GK | Schmeichel |
| Ruled out | Matt James |
| Doubtful | None |
| Notes | Tielemans and Evans were the only two starters from the 0-9 victory over Southampton in gameweek 10 who started in the mid-week League Cup games against Burton, the former scoring a goal and assisting another. Both should feature again this weekend. We expect the rest of the team to remain unchanged in comparison to the starting eleven that wrote history last weekend at Saint Mary’s, as the Foxes are flying at the moment. |
CHELSEA (away vs. Watford)
| Form. | 4 – 3 – 3 |
| FOR | Pulisic, Abraham, Willian |
| MID | Mount, Jorginho, Kovacic |
| DEF | Alonso, Tomori, Zouma, Azpilicueta |
| GK | Kepa |
| Ruled out | Rüdiger, Loftus-Cheek |
| Doubtful | Kanté, Christensen, Barkley |
| Notes | From the players who started in Chelsea’s fourth consecutive Premier League victory last weekend, Alonso (90min), Zouma (90min), Jorginho (90min), Kovacic (90min) and Pulisic (70min) started in the mid-week League Cup game versus Man United. We expect all of them to feature again in gameweek 11 after about three days of rest. Tomori, captain Azpilicueta, Mount, Abraham and Willian were all rested. Mount and Abraham came on mid-week, after 70 and 78 minutes respectively, but they look assured of a starting spot against Watford on Saturday. We’d say the highest risk of rotation exists for Pulisic (Hudson-Odoi could return to the starting line-up albeit played midweek), but Captain America’s hat-trick last weekend following his impact sub against Ajax a few days earlier should give him plenty of credit for the moment. If Emerson is fully fit then he will be pushing Alonso for the left-back spot. |
ARSENAL (home vs. Wolves)
| Form. | 4 – 2 – 3 – 1 |
| FOR | Lacazette |
| MID | Aubameyang, Özil, Pepe |
| DEF MID | Torreira, Guendouzi |
| DEF | Tierney, David Luiz, Sokratis, Bellerin |
| GK | Leno |
| Ruled out | Reiss Nelson |
| Doubtful | Kolasinac |
| Notes | None of the players that started in gameweek 10 were part of the starting eleven for the mid-week League Cup clash with Liverpool. After his unacceptable outburst towards the stands last weekend, troubled Xhaka should be out of the starting lineup, likely providing the excellent Torreira a chance to cement a starting berth besides Guendouzi. In the back, Tierney got the nod over injury-doubt Kolasinac against Palace last weekend and we see no reason why that shouldn’t be the case this weekend. On the opposite side, we feel it’s time for Bellerin to replace Chambers, despite the former playing 90 minutes against Liverpool mid-week. Centrally, David Luiz and Sokratis should return. Further up the pitch, Aubameyang will probably take up the left-wing position again as Lacazette is fit again (he got an assist in gameweek 10). On the right flank, record transfer and left-footed Pepe is getting into a bit of form and should start. At number 10, we feel it’s between Ceballos and (who doesn’t love a good comeback story?) Mesut Özil. Ceballos had an unremarkable game as a starter last weekend and came on in the 72nd minute against Liverpool on Wednesday (in which he was the only player to miss a penalty in the decisive shoot-out), while Özil started on Wednesday and put out a more than decent display that led his manager to hint at a (starting?) role against Wolves coming Saturday. |
Finally if you like FPL but want to have a go at a weekly FPL type competition for prizes then have a look at FanTeam’s 50,000 euro weekly monster. There are freerolls for new entrants if registered within the last 8 weeks. New FanTeam users registered through this link can also claim a free 2 euro ticket for the 2 euro Weekly Monster (let us know your FanTeam username to claim the free ticket).