There doesn’t tend to be much that Fantasy Premier League managers agree on, but the vast majority will concur that Gameweek 11 was an absolute shocker. Unless you had the foresight to pick “four assists Jeremy? Four?” Doku, of course.
If the aim of FPL was to score as few points as possible we’d all have done pretty well, with most teams packed full of players with the numbers one, two, and even zero, underneath their names. That four of the top five most popular assets in the game produced a combined seven points tells you all you need to know. Halloween came a week late in FPL. Truly the stuff of nightmares.
Surely things can’t possibly get any worse in Gameweek 12 and one fixture that immediately draws the eye is Arsenal vs Burnley on Saturday. Vincent Kompany’s beleaguered Clarets already had an almighty job on their hands to arrest their slide at the Emirates, but their assignment is even tougher now that the Gunners have adopted a siege mentality in response to perceived refereeing injustices. A big home win could be on the cards.
Manchester United vs Luton is another that could tempt managers into the transfer market, although given how Erik ten Hag’s side has played this season, maybe not. The biggest match-up of the weekend meanwhile is also the final game before the last international break of 2023, when Chelsea host Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
i‘s top scorers in Gameweek 11
- Phil Foden – 6 points vs Bournemouth: Jeremy Doku and Bernardo Silva hogged the points during City’s big win, but Phil Foden still managed to outscore Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez after bagging a goal off the bench.
- Joachim Andersen – 5 points vs Burnley: A clean sheet in an otherwise barren week is not to be sniffed at, but Joachim Andersen almost certainly would have picked up a few extra points had he not been booked due to his high score in the Bonus Points System.
- Hwang Hee-chan – 5 points vs Sheffield Utd: Hwang Hee-chan stretched his points scoring streak to five games after providing the assist for Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s equaliser at Bramall Lane.
The Gameweek 12 deadline is at 11am on Saturday 11 November:
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Gameweek 12 fixtures
Saturday 11 November
3pm kick-off unless otherwise stated
- Wolves vs Spurs (12.30pm)
- Arsenal vs Burnley
- Crystal Palace vs Everton
- Man Utd vs Luton
- Bournemouth vs Newcastle (5.30pm)
Sunday 12 November
2pm kick-off unless otherwise stated
- Aston Villa vs Fulham
- Brighton vs Sheffield United
- Liverpool vs Brentford
- West Ham vs Nottingham Forest
- Chelsea vs Man City (4.30pm)
Ben White (Arsenal)
Much has been made of Burnley’s defensive errors of late but their issues at the opposite end of the pitch are just as troubling. The Clarets are the lowest scorers in the Premier League having scored just eight goals in their opening 11 games.
Mikel Arteta has a tendency to rotate his backline in fixtures against relegation-threatened teams – as Gabriel Magalhaes owners know only too well – but Ben White has started every single Premier League game this campaign and has an excellent partnership with Bukayo Saka on the right wing.
White has already registered a goal and assist apiece and tops the charts among Arsenal’s defenders for shots on target (with four) and chances created (10).
Price: £5.7m Points: 53 Gameweek 12 fixture: Burnley (h)
Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton)
European competition newcomers Brighton haven’t yet cracked the Thursday to Sunday formula as shown by their run of five Premier League matches without a win. On the plus side, their next Europa League game away to Ajax doesn’t involve too much travel and kicks off at an earlier time of 5.45pm, which should aid their recovery.
Even despite their recent iffy form, you would back the Seagulls to score at least a couple of goals against Sheffield United, but identifying who will get them is tricky. Ansu Fati, Simon Adingra, Evan Ferguson and Joao Pedro could all start and perform well, but Kaoru Mitoma seems like the safest pick from Roberto De Zerbi’s frontline.
Mitoma was Brighton’s best player at Everton last weekend and ranks top in their squad for shots (with 20) and second for chances created (17) behind Pascal Gross.
Price: £6.5m Points: 52 Gameweek 12 fixture: Sheffield United (h)
Mohammed Kudus (West Ham)
FPL managers are naturally taking a shine to Jarrod Bowen given his record-breaking exploits away from the London Stadium and considering he is the seventh-highest scoring player in the game, there is no questioning his merits as an asset.
However, if you fancy recruiting a lower-owned and cheaper alternative from the West Ham attack, look no further than Mohammed Kudus. David Moyes initially eased the big-money signing from Ajax in gently, but has since played him for the full 90 minutes in West Ham’s last two league games.
The Ghanaian is certainly beginning to find his feet, netting a well-taken goal against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup last Wednesday before scoring a spectacular one in the league defeat to Brentford.
Price: £6.5m Points: 11 Gameweek 12 fixture: Nottingham Forest (h)
Rasmus Hojlund (Man Utd)
A fixture rather than a form pick, this one. Rasmus Hojlund’s Premier League goal drought extended to eight matches and 572 minutes at the weekend, while 161 minutes have elapsed since his last shot on goal. The young Dane’s frustrations were evident as he huffily took his place on the substitute’s bench after being taken off at Craven Cottage.
Encouragingly, though, Hojlund performed well in the Champions League in midweek, scoring twice against former club FC Copenhagen to put United 2-0 in front, before they imploded in typically spectacular fashion.
The 20-year-old will hope to continue that form against a Luton side that is yet to keep a clean sheet in 13 games in all competitions. They have been far leakier away from Kenilworth Road too, conceding 14 goals in six league games on the road, twice as many as they have at home.
Price: £7.1m Points: 15 Gameweek 12 fixture: Luton (h)
Anthony Gordon (Newcastle)
Ah, the perils of publishing a Fantasy Premier League tips article before a round of midweek Champions League action. Callum Wilson was originally included for Newcastle’s trip to Bournemouth but with the striker’s availability now in jeopardy after a hamstring tweak in Dortmund, he’s been swapped out for Anthony Gordon.
Although Joelinton led the line during the second half of Newcastle’s defeat in Germany, it would be a surprise if Gordon did not play there on Saturday. It was from a central role that Gordon popped up with the winner against Arsenal in Gameweek 11 which took him to eight FPL goal involvements (four goals, four assists) for the campaign already.
Another Newcastle player to potentially look at is Tino Livramento (£4.3m). Nominally a right back, the summer signing from Southampton started on the right wing on Tuesday night and may feature more prominently now that Dan Burn is injured.
Price: £5.7m Points: 54 Gameweek 12 fixture: Bournemouth (a)