In his Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 10 review, FPL author David Wardale uncovers a world of transfer pain and a rare quiet day for the game’s most explosive asset in another challenging Premier League weekend for managers.

No fewer than seven of the top ten transfers-in blanked for one reason or another and the gameweek’s underwhelming average of 42 points meant red arrows for the many, not the few.

Don’t forget to check out all our brilliant FPL Gameweek 10 tips right here.

https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-ultimate-guide/

Liverpool 2 Brighton 2 – FOMO Woe As Mo So-So

Picture a player who’s started nine games this season and produced returns in seven of them.

He has six goals, an assist and 57 points.

Only Mohamed Salah (£12.9m) – or to give him his full name, Mohamed Captain 4 Life Salah – can beat him among midfielders for goals scored, and shots total, on target and in the box.

And yet the Egyptian is owned by 70.7% and this player by…3.7%

Welcome to The Curious Case of Sadio Mane (£11.9m), the story of a man whose only crime was to play in the same team as Salah.

Okay, so his massive price tag hasn’t helped either, and yet just three players can match or better his points for the campaign.

And of the seven stars who cost £11.5m or more, Salah alone beats him for output, but only Kevin De Bruyne (£12.0m) has as small an ownership base (with less than half Mane’s points).

Against Brighton, the Senegal international made it three goals in as many starts, only to be eclipsed for points (10 v 7) by Jordan Henderson (£5.0m) of all people.

As for Salah, a staggering 4,676,563 FPL managers captained him for fear of missing out and were handed just five points – his second-worst return of the campaign – as he produced a season-low two shots.

Brighton were well worth their point and Leandro Trossard (£6.4m) caught the eye with a goal from a highly effective turn as a false nine.

The Seagulls’ fixtures are now generally favourable until the middle of December.

But those tempted by the 1.2%-owned Belgian as an out-of-position differential should consider that manager Graham Potter tweaked his tactics to target Liverpool’s midfield defensive three, so striker Neal Maupay (£6.5m) is likely to be back starting next week.

A look at one of Brighton’s cut-price defenders (Joel Veltman (£4.4m) anybody?) might be a cheaper and safer bet for points.

Mane, meanwhile, is anything but cheap, so unlikely to get the Liverpool double-up his form deserves.

Mohamed Salah Stats

Spurs 0 Man United 3 – Jolly Ole, No More Nuno

Manchester United’s annual Ole Returns From The Brink Festival got underway with a convincing win over a truly awful Spurs, who responded by sacking their manager.

Nuno Espírito Santo Sacked | FPL Analysis

The beleaguered Gunnar Solskjaer switched to a back three for the trip to Tottenham, with the returning Raphael Varane (£5.5m) helping the team to their first clean sheet since Gameweek 2.

Then again, shutting out Spurs is not all that. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side managed a second-worst 103 shots under his tenure and they recorded zero attempts on target on Saturday.

The big points on the day went to Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.4m), who scored, assisted and brought in a second double-digit return of an up and down season, but it was his partnership with Edinson Cavani (£8.4m) that caught the eye.

The Uruguay international also scored, while Bruno Fernandes (£11.7m) now has three assists from his last four starts.

Whether Solskjaer sticks with his new formation remains to be seen. Marcus Rashford (£9.4m) will be especially interested to know as the system seems to offer him either a place up front or a seat on the bench.

He came off the latter to score for the second time as a substitute and is looking fit and sharp for the first time in a long while.

United won’t face someone as bad as Tottenham every week. For instance, next up is Man City, with Chelsea to come a couple of gameweeks later.

The fixtures favour Spurs more, making the likes of Harry Kane (£12.1m) and Heung Min-Son (£10.2m) attractive again if they can tap into the expected no Nuno bounce.

FPL Fixture Ticker

Newcastle 0 Chelsea 3 – Give Reece A Chance

Romelu Lukaku (£11.5m) spent some of his injury downtime (and an obscene amount of money, no doubt) at Salt Bae’s ridiculous restaurant this week.

And if that wasn’t enough to make you queasy, Gameweek 10’s most transferred-in player, Mason Mount (£7.6m), falling ill and missing a routine thrashing of Newcastle should have done the trick.

But the fantasy cruelty piled up on Tyneside, with Chelsea’s seventh most popular asset the one to produce a huge haul.

That man was Reece James (£5.7m) and his performance on the day was immense.

He scored the most goals (two) and jointly led the way for shots on target (three) among all players on Saturday, while no defender could match his three key passes.

A monster 21-point haul ensued.

A net 170,178 managers brought him in for the Newcastle trip – way off the 649,211 who made Ben Chilwell (£5.9m) the second-most popular buy of the gameweek.

The left-back was subdued, however, with no shots and just two key passes, while the Kai Havertz (£8.1m) Experiment (which sounds like a 1970s prog rock supergroup) brought in a faintly decent six points from a first attacking return since Gameweek 3.

Illness is one thing, but all of us with Chelsea assets will just have to get used to the potential randomness of rotation this season as starts for Hakim Ziyech (£7.3m) and Callum Hudson Odoi (£5.3m) demonstrated on Saturday.

At least Newcastle’s line-ups are consistently forgettable and will likely remain so until a new manager, and the January transfer window, can make things interesting.

Reece James was the King of the Gameweek in Gameweek 10.

Man City 0 Crystal Palace 2 – Smash And Grab

Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace play a more progressive brand of football than his predecessor, Roy Hodgson.

But Saturday’s shock win was all Hodgson: defend; break; defend; nick a goal; defend; defend; defend.

Man City dominated for much of the time, despite playing half the game with ten men after Aymeric Laporte (£5.5m) was sent off for a professional foul on Wilfried Zaha (£6.9m).

The Eagles midfielder had already scored by then – his first goal since Gameweek 6 – and some might view the kindly shift in Palace’s fixtures as a sign to take a punt on the 5.9%-owned Zaha.

But he has previous for flattering to deceive and the 7.9% on the (far cheaper) other scorer at the Etihad, Conor Gallagher (£5.6m), might have found the safer bet.

Gallagher scored and assisted for a second double-digit return of an impressive season, thanks in part to a selection issue highlighted on Twitter by the ever-excellent @barCOLEYna.

When Luka Milivojevic (£5.4m) starts alongside Gallagher, the latter’s xG and xA has been only 8% and 6% respectively. When Milivojevic doesn’t start, those figures jump to 47% and 40%.

Defeat for City meant it’s been just one clean sheet in four now for the previously formidable backline, although much of the fantasy pain centred on the blank from gameweek’s third-most popular purchase, Phil Foden (£8.2m).

VAR denied him an assist for a Gabriel Jesus (£8.7m) ‘goal’, which neatly summed up a poor day for the midfielder, who had no shots and made just the one key pass.

Well-owned defender Joao Cancelo (£6.4m), on the other hand, had a match-leading five attempts, but to no avail. He’s now averaged just 2.25 points per game over the last four fixtures.

The Manchester derby and a visit from the in-form West Ham await City over the next three gameweeks, suggesting now might not be the time to tap into their talents.

Fantasy Premier League Stats by OPTA

Aston Villa 1 West Ham 4 – Bowen For Gold

Talking of the Hammers, they made it three wins on the spin as Jarrod Bowen (£6.3m) racked up a score that might finally earn him a boost to his measly 1.4% ownership.

The midfielder’s season-best 11 points involved a goal, assist and maximum bonus as he continued to close in on the points tally of teammate Said Benrahma (£6.5m), who is owned by 32.2%.

The latter did manage an assist at Aston Villa to record a first return since Gameweek 5. Over the same period, Bowen has scored twice and provided four assists, but attracted just under 50,000 new owners.

A third straight clean sheet eluded the Hammers as Ollie Watkins (£7.3m) scored for the second time in four gameweeks despite Villa being reduced to ten men by that stage, Ezri Konsa (£4.9m) dismissed for denying Bowen a goalscoring opportunity.

That spoiled the party for Aaron Cresswell’s (£5.5m) 15.3% fan club, while the 48.4% on Michail Antonio (£8.2m) had to swallow a third blank in his last four starts.

The fixtures stiffen for West Ham over the next five, with Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea awaiting them. Their form, however, remains impressive.

That cannot be said for a Villa side lacking both cohesion and solidity.

They’ve lost four games on the bounce now and their assets look equally uninviting.

FPL Gameweek 11 Fixtures vs Form | FPL Tips

Leicester 0 Arsenal 2 – Ramsdale Saves The Day

Arsenal’s fine run of form continued with a hard-fought win at Leicester made possible by a stellar display from Aaron Ramsdale (£4.7m).

The keeper’s eight saves at the King Power Stadium included a world-class effort to keep out a James Maddison (£6.7m) free-kick as the Gunners made it seven matches unbeaten, four of which have involved clean sheets.

Ramsdale’s ten-pointer was his best score of the season and he’s now into the top five for goalkeepers despite missing the campaign’s first three games.

The biggest haul on the day came from centre-half Gabriel (£5.0m). He opened the scoring and earned maximum bonus for a 15-point tally.

Emile Smith-Rowe (£5.6m) scored for the second consecutive match and his cut-price charms have made him one of the early pace-setters for Gameweek 11 transfers-in.

Arsenal host Watford next and Newcastle will be another visitor in the near future, but their other fixtures are less attractive, with Liverpool, Man United and West Ham all to come by the middle of December.

Leicester were unlucky not to at least score on Saturday, but their most popular player, the 31%-owned Jamie Vardy (£10.8m) was largely anonymous, reduced to just one shot.

Youri Tielemans (£6.5m) impressed once more, firing in three attempts and producing a Saturday-best five key passes, while substitute Harvey Barnes (£6.5m) caught the eye with a 45-minute turn off the bench involving a match-leading six shots.

Clean sheets remain the major issue for the Foxes.

They’ve not kept one since the opening day of the season and with Leeds and Chelsea up next, they don’t look like changing that state of affairs in the short term.

Emile Smith Rowe Stats

Burnley 3 Brentford 1 – Clarets Come Good

Burnley’s uninspiring start to the season seems to be officially over after a surprisingly entertaining duel with Brentford.

Star of the show, in terms of points, was defender Matt Lowton (£4.4m). He scored, assisted and brought in the big bonus for a 14-point haul.

But it’s hard to look past the influence of new signing Maxwel Cornet (£6.0m), who made it three goals in two matches (and four across just 277 minutes of action).

The midfielder has added some much-needed dynamism to Burnley’s traditionally more stodgy fare and the team led the way on Saturday for big chances, creating five. For reference, Man City had none.

A Gameweek 11 trip to Chelsea might be beyond Sean Dyche’s revived side, but the fixtures that follow are good enough to warrant interest in his players for, arguably, the first time all season.

Clean sheets continue to pass the Clarets by, however. They’ve managed only one, and that was against Norwich.

But Cornet’s form, and his differential status as a 0.7%-owned asset, make him one to watch.

Brentford, meanwhile, are struggling and the memory of their fine start to the season becomes dimmer by the day.

Burnley was meant to be the start of a good set of fixtures, but things are currently awry at both the front and back.

Having kept three clean sheets in their first five matches, they’ve not managed a single shut-out since, and three straight defeats have featured only two goals.

Striker Ivan Toney (£6.6m and 20.5%) remains their most-owned asset, but he’s blanked for four straight starts now.

On the plus side, it’s Norwich and Newcastle next…

Best FPL Forwards for Gameweek 11 | Fantasy Premier League Tips 2021/22

Watford 0 Southampton 1, Norwich 1 Leeds 2, Wolves 2 Everton 1 – Round-Up

Che Adams (£6.8m) scored his first goal of the season as Southampton stretched their unbeaten run to three matches, two of which have involved clean sheets.

That meant another good day for Tino Livramento (£4.4m) and his 20.2% fan base. He’s now produced returns in six of his last seven starts.

The Saints have good fixtures, apart from a Gameweek 13 visit from Liverpool, until mid-December, although it’s hard to look past Livramento if you’re thinking of investing.

Watford assets aren’t exactly demanding our attention, with a run of fixtures the wrong side of ugly just to ram that point home.

At least Leeds are starting to show signs of life and a 2-1 win at Norwich was especially welcome for the 18.2% who own Raphinha (£6.6m).

The Brazilian scored his first goal since Gameweek 6, while Rodrigo (£6.3m) made it two in two to offset the continued absence of Patrick Bamford (£7.7m) up front.

Norwich’s bid to be one of the Premier League’s worst ever sides is showing impressive consistency, but there was great news for the 4% plugged into the bargain bucket Andrew Omobamidele (£3.9m) as the defender marked his second top-flight start with his first-ever goal.

Pity the 12,187 managers who finally got rid of him this week, thus missing out on 10 sweet and cheap points.

Monday night’s game confirmed the opposing trajectories of the two sides involved, with victorious Wolves on the up and Everton continuing their slide into mid-table.

Neither team offers much fantasy joy, aside from Raul Jimenez (£7.6m), that is.

The Wolves striker scored for the first time since Gameweek 6, but he’s still produced returns in four of his last five outings and has Crystal Palace, Norwich and Burnley to come before the fixtures turn nasty in early December.

The fantasy points are spread rather more thinly across the rest of the squad and the team’s most popular player, the 11.7%-owned Hee-Chan Hwang (£5.8m), blanked for the second time in three matches.

Blanks abounded in an Everton side that’s now lost three on the spin.

Key injuries are hitting them hard, while the impressive early-season form of Andros Townsend (£5.7m) and Demarai Gray (£5.8m) is well and truly over – the former has done nothing of note for three Gameweeks and the latter has just one assist from his last four starts.

With Spurs, Man City and Liverpool to come over the next four gameweeks, there’s little to suggest the rot is going to stop anytime soon.

Predicted Points Tool

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FPL Gameweek 10 Review | Big Blanks And A Shot-Shy Salah

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