In a gameweek largely dominated by injuries and COVID-19-related absences, some of the season’s performers still delivered. An 11-point haul from Man United talisman Bruno Fernandes, a brace by Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and a goal from Spurs star Heung-Min Son are good examples of that. Still, Gameweek 9 gave us the lowest-scoring ‘player of the week’ with 13 FPL points (DCL vs Fulham) and we honestly don’t see the uncertainty regarding starting lineups and team performances decreasing any time soon, especially not now the European competitions have resumed again.
Having said that, this weekend has all the making of becoming a high-scoring one, with fixtures such as Man City at home against Burnley, Everton versus Leeds at Goodison Park and a Leicester side with a point to prove hosting Fulham. If you’re following the FPL pundits and FPL forums, you’ll also have noticed the focus on the considerable fixture swings that are taking place around this gameweek. This could very well lead to increased transfer activity and wildcard or free-hit activation in the build-up to GW10. All in all, plenty of things to take into account when making your transfers (or carrying your free transfer over to next week) as it looks to become another rollercoaster of a weekend.
Do check out the Predicted Line-Ups for the Premier League clubs as well as the latest injury news (click on ‘Team’ to sort per club rather than the default ‘date’) before finalising your transfer(s). And don’t forget: the deadline for gameweek 10 is set for 18h30 (UK time) on Friday, November 27th.
Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per November 25th, 2020)
| TRANSFERS OUT | TRANSFERS IN | POSSIBLE REASONS | |
| GK | Martinez (AST), Ryan (BRI), Pickford (EVE) | Mendy (CHE), Fabianski (WHU), McCarthy (SOU) | |
| DEF | Alexander-Arnold (LIV), Saiss (WOL), Lamptey (BRI) | Chilwell (CHE), Robertson (LIV), Zouma (CHE) | All transfers out are unavailable for at least 1 game, while the Chelsea and Liverpool defences have made good impressions. |
| MID | Zaha (CRY), Salah (LIV), Rodriguez (EVE) | Jota (LIV), Fernandes (UTD), Grealish (AST) | Mostly in-form mids being brought in, Zaha injury, Salah doubt. |
| FOR | Wilson (NEW), Kane (TOT), Bamford (LEE) | Vardy (LEI), Calvert-Lewin (EVE), Bamford (LEE) | In-form strikers brought, Wilson injury, Kane difficult fixtures and premium price tag. |
Premium pick
Picking Jamie Vardy (£10.2m) as our premium pick last weekend as he faced a depleted Liverpool defence kind of backfired when the Reds showed the world once again why they are deservedly called one of the best squads in the world this decade. The Englishman blanked for the third time this season, but we are nevertheless repeating our pick for GW10. Leicester will be hosting a leaky Fulham side on Saturday and we find it hard to imagine a fourth Vardy blank of the season coming from this one. The Leicester star already has 8 goals and 2 assists to his name, while no team in the league has conceded more goals than Fulham’s 18 so far. If there was ever a chance of another classic Vardy party, this is it.
Non-premium picks
Thanks to a starting price of £7.0m, it’s very well possible that Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.9m) will remain in our non-premium fantasy picks category for the rest of the season. The England youngster is quickly starting to look like one of the most under-priced FPL assets in recent memory with 10 goals and an assist to his name already after 9 league games. He has blanked in just one game so far this season, away at Southampton back in gameweek 6. Last weekend, he needed a bit less than a minute to get on the score sheet once again and just under half an hour to make it a brace, which was enough for him to become FPL player of the week. Saturday’s home game against Leeds has all the makings of a goalscoring spectacle, as both sides have combined powerful attacks with at times fragile defensive displays this season. We’re not sure what the final score will be, but we’re pretty sure DCL will have an impact on it.
For a defender, we consider £5.5m the maximum for this category, though it can be seen as expensive already when looking at the plethora of well-performing, less expensive defenders in the official game right now. Still, we feel that the combination of his individual performances and the upcoming fixtures swing make Man City fullback Joao Cancelo (£5.5m) an interesting option for many squads. The Portuguese international hasn’t missed a minute of Premier League football since gameweek 5 and accumulated 25 FPL points since then, courtesy of 2 clean sheets and 1 assist. Over the next four games, the Skyblues are facing three of the four most goal-shy teams in the league, which sounds like more points for Cancelo. There is, of course, the ever-present risk of rotation in Pep Guardiola’s squad, so do keep an eye on tonight’s Champions League lineup, but the versatile defender looks like a wise investment in any case.
The budget enabler
At £6.1m, we were doubting if we could still include Patrick Bamford in our budget enabler category, but considering his nailed-on status in one of the league’s most attacking sides and the fact that he can be played with confidence most of the gameweeks, we figured we could. The Leeds forward has already scored 7 goals and provided 2 assists this season for a total of 60 FPL points, which is quite incredible for a striker who started out with a price tag of just £5.5m. To make things even better, the Englishman ranks amongst the overall top two for several key offensive statistics, including shots on target, shots in the box and big chances. The upcoming away game at Goodison Park is by no stretch an easy one, but the Toffees are not currently known for their defensive solidity. After that, it’s Chelsea away, followed by West Ham and Newcastle at home. Not the easiest of runs, but at his price and with Leeds in the form they are currently in, the striker represents a great budget-enabling opportunity.
A differential pick or two
Leicester forward Harvey Barnes (£6.9m), who is classified as a midfielder in the official game, is a differential pick for a reason. While his quality as a player is undeniable, he is still lacking some efficiency in front of goal or at least, in the final third. He gets into dangerous positions and has the teammates to supply him with ammunition, but he sits on just 2 goals and 1 assist this season. That’s also the main reason why he is currently part of only 3.8% of all teams, but those managers who have kept faith in the youngster might be rewarded this weekend. In Fulham, the Foxes are facing a team that currently sits in the bottom four when it comes to goals conceded, shots on target conceded and big chances conceded. Barnes will get his chances on Saturday, he just needs to finish them.
Our second differential pick of the week is one who just missed out on the Golden Boot last season with 20 goals (and 6 assists, for that matter). Raheem Sterling (£11.5m), like the rest of the Cityzens, has not been having a great season so far and that’s reflected by his numbers: 7 games started, 2 goals scored, 1 assists provided. Like the legend John Cruijff once said though, every bad thing has its good side, because as a result of his underwhelming performances, Sterling currently sits in just 4.6% of FPL teams with a nice run of fixtures coming up. Starting with Burnley at home this weekend, the Englishman is facing Fulham, West Brom and Newcastle at the Etihad in the five weeks after that. If there was ever a moment for City to get back to winning ways, it’s now and Sterling could become a major GW10 differential fantasy pick in the process.
The captaincy
Our captaincy pick for gameweek 10 is Jamie Vardy. After blanking against Liverpool, we can’t help but feel that the attacker will be looking to bounce back in style at home against an insecure Fulham defence. Vardy will probably be one of the most transferred-in fantasy assets come Friday evening’s deadline and most, if not all, managers who own him will be placing the band on his arm.
Having said that, the upcoming round offers plenty more good options for the captaincy besides Vardy. At City, we have Kevin de Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus and even Joao Cancelo as they host a largely toothless Burnley side. At Goodison Park, there is the encounter between Everton and Leeds, which puts Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and Bambam Bamford in the mix. Finally, there is also the (likely) return of Mo at the AmEx in Brighton and Hove, as Seagulls host Liverpool with Salah likely part of the starting lineup once again after testing negative for COVID-19 earlier this week.