It was a big weekend for the Premier League title race as Arsenal and Manchester City both suffered defeats while Liverpool capitalised by coming from behind to beat Brighton.
In the world of Fantasy Premier League, Mohamed Salah (£12.7m) was on the scoresheet again while Erling Haaland (£15.3m) blanked for the fourth time in his past five league games, while Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth players also stood out.
Gameweek 10 concludes on Monday, with Fulham taking on Brentford (kick-off 8pm GMT, 3pm ET). Before that important bit of business, we review the main FPL talking points from the weekend’s action.
The Haaland vs Salah debate rages on
Switching Haaland to Salah this gameweek was a popular move among the FPL community and was duly rewarded.
Salah scored nine points whereas Haaland blanked and scored two. If you are a Haaland owner, then your patience will be wearing thin and rightfully so.
For £15.3million, one goal in five games is simply nowhere near good, enough especially when the next best premium, Salah is £2.6m cheaper.
I think moving Haaland to Salah for Gameweek 10 was a good move but equally, keeping the Norwegian was a fine decision also. We know it won’t be long before the City forward starts scoring at a higher rate again. But now it’s also about what the extra money can get you.
Plus, Liverpool’s fixtures until Gameweek 18 are slightly better than City’s. That is certainly the case in the next two gameweeks. Arne Slot’s team play Aston Villa (H) and Southampton (A) whereas City play Brighton (A) and Spurs (H).
Therefore, I still think the Haaland-to-Salah switch remains a viable move and one I will be contemplating for the next gameweek. It depends on how confident you are that City will get back to their original selves and if you think Salah is a better captain for the next two fixtures.
It’s time to invest in Nottingham Forest’s defence
Nottingham Forest’s 3-0 win over West Ham now puts them third in the league. Their defenders have been great and the defensive numbers have been really impressive.
They have conceded the second-fewest goals (seven) and boast the second-best expected goals conceded (xGC;10) in the league. They also finished last season with the fifth-best xGC in the league, so their defensive displays are no fluke – they are a solid at the back.
Despite some tough fixtures on the horizon, Forest defenders are still worth investment thanks to their price. Ola Aina (£4.6m) and Nikola Milenkovic (£4.5m) are great value and because of their price point, can be rotated for their tough fixtures. They play Newcastle (H) and Ipswich (H) in the three fixtures.
At the other end of the pitch, Chris Wood (£6.5m) scored his eighth goal of the season and is looking unstoppable right now. He has another good fixture next week against Newcastle (H) and then Ipswich (H) in Gameweek 13, but does play Arsenal (A) and Manchester City (A) inside Forest’s next four games. If you are looking to buy him, then make sure you have a player you can rotate with him during the tougher games.
Forest’s long-term fixtures are good and Wood is the best budget forward in the game.
Dominic Solanke rewards his owners’ patience
In Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-1 win over Aston Villa on Sunday, Dominic Solanke (£7.6m) came up trumps for his owners with a 16-point haul courtesy of two goals and an FPL assist.
Solanke had failed to score in the previous three games, registering an xG of only 0.10. However, over the season he had an xG of 3.6. Against Villa, he managed an xG of 1.66, so this shows the importance of being patient with proven players, especially during good fixture runs, and not putting too much emphasis on small samples of games.
Son Heung-min (£9.8m) was substituted on 56 minutes despite the game hanging in the balance at the time at 1-1. However, head coach Ange Postecoglou allayed any injury fears, telling BBC Sport: “He was never going to play more than 55 minutes. Last time he came back from injury, he got to the 60-minute mark and got injured again. He got through unscathed.”
With Spurs playing Ipswich next, Son is an easy hold but it’s probably too risky to captain him because he is likely to get reduced minutes again. A fully fit Son would have been the best captaincy choice next gameweek.
In the same game, Villa’s Morgan Rogers (£5.4m) was also taken off with a knock after scoring the opener, bringing his FPL returns tally to three goals and two assists.
The injury doesn’t seem serious though and he should be fit for next week. Rogers did appear to want to stay on and we should get more information midweek as Villa play Club Bruges on Wednesday in the Champions League.
Don’t ignore Bournemouth’s good form
Bournemouth have been in fine form this season. They have managed to beat both Manchester City and Arsenal in the past three games, and also managed a draw against Villa away.
They have have had a tough run in the first 10 gameweeks, playing Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Villa and Manchester City — their fixtures now pick up as they play Brentford (A), Brighton (H), Wolves (A), Spurs (H), Ipswich (A) and West Ham (H) in the next six.
Antoine Semenyo (£5.6m) looks like a good buy from here on in. He has scored four goals this season, is cheap, and is his side’s most nailed-on attacker. He also acts as a good enabler at his price and has been putting up good numbers, with an xG (expected goals) of 3.3 and an xA (expected assists) of 1.7. Only Haaland has taken more shots than Semenyo.
Milos Kerkez (£4.4m) looks the best bet in Bournemouth’s defence as their most attacking defender.
If you want to take a punt on a low-owned forward, then Evanilson (£5.9m) is a good option. He has scored three goals and has recorded one assist in eight starts while registering an xG of 3.0.
(Top photo: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
