⚽ Welcome back for another article
Who are the best players to buy for GW11 and beyond?
Let's break it down nice and simple by positions. Of course every week there will be some positions you're not looking to use a transfer, you might even be hoping to roll but I always recommend reading each part as there's plenty you might have missed.
🧤 Goalkeepers
One thing you certainly won't have missed is just how strong the Arsenal defence has been, they're away to Sunderland next which has Raya top of the keepers table for GW11.
-
5.7 expected goals conceded after 10 games is comfortably most.
-
They're on all-time premier league record pace with only 3 goals conceded after 10. (Mourinho's Chelsea with 15 conceded in 38 is the record.)
-
7 clean sheets, only 6 big chances conceded, that's one conceded every 163 minutes.
Looking at the next 5 that does have Raya unsurprisingly top of all keepers, next is in fact Sanchez with 17.2 projected points over the next 5. Context is important with data and it's hard to read into theirs because several red cards have skewed it, 13.6 xG conceded so far ranks 14th. 4 clean sheets is third most after Arsenal and Newcastle. There was that quote from Maresca a while ago where he did allude to potential rotation at some point, it may or may not happen but is a slight risk to consider.
📉 Teams to Target
20.99 xGC for Burnley means they're still glued to bottom in that stat, only West Ham and Wolves have conceded more goals. No-one has conceded more shots than Burnley, so they're definitely a team to target. Who have they got coming up?
Well, all of their next 4 have players with potential.
-
West Ham next: Paqueta and Bowen could be great.
-
Chelsea after that: Enzo, Joao Pedro. Perhaps wouldn't rush to buy Joao Pedro mind but after finally scoring again last game keep hold for a couple games.
-
Brentford after that: Thiago.
-
Palace after that: Mateta, Sarr, Munoz.
🛡️ Defenders
Gabriel is top this week, he's averaging 10.5 points per game this season which is madness. They've not conceded since GW6, back in September. Chelsea are home to Wolves next, so James and Cucurella are 2nd and 3rd.
- I'd recommend paying the 0.6m premium for Cucurella if you were considering James. They have managed him incredibly well but it still would not surprise me if he misses the occasional game for a rest, load management, and there is always that bad injury record looming over him that makes him a risk.
- Chalobah for 5.1m looks fantastic, either him or Cucurella look more sensible.
After 10 gameweeks which defenders are showing the most offensive potential?
-
Timber has crept ahead of Munoz as the #1 defender for expected goal involvement, 2.75 for him, 2.67 for Munoz.
-
Both fantastic picks from this week onwards if you can buy them.
-
Cucurella's attacking stats are respectable too.
🟨 Suspension Tightrope
In case you missed it another free addition to the app recently is the suspension tightrope, which tracks all players in the league and how near they are to suspension.
5 yellows in their team's first 19 games played is a 1 match ban. Now that isn't to say don't buy these players but it's good to be aware, and how exposed you currently are.
Sorted by ownership the most notable names 2 from a ban are:
-
Kudus
-
Senesi
-
Grealish
-
Calafiori
-
Munoz
-
Burn
-
Thiago
Paqueta and Neco Williams are 1 from a ban.
Link below to get the app or search FPL Focal in the app store. fpl.page is another way to access it from your browser.
💰 Cheaper Defender Options
If you can't afford Munoz at 5.7m for Palace's great fixture run then Lacroix and Richards are great too. Guehi has done well but Lacroix is far better for defcons per 90.
Honourable mention to Keane who is the cheapest on the table by far this week at 4.5m, it's difficult to justify Tarkowski's selection overall when Keane who isn't far behind for defcons per 90 is 1 million cheaper. That could be a good area to free up money if you've got Tarkowski.
Looking at cheaper defenders then, as far as next 5 projections:
-
Lacroix and Andersen are joint top on 19 points.
-
Senesi 18.8.
-
Rodon 15.1 points, Esteve 14.8, Mukiele and Alderete 14.3.