£1M Fanteam FPL 2021/22 - Gameweek 11 Preview
No changes for me this week. It’s less that there is nothing I would like to change, and more that I can’t bring in the players I would want to. It’s also not exactly clear which team to focus on right now so I think it’s fine for me to save my free transfer for the next GW after the international break and make major changes then.
Salah captain is fairly straight-forward. Defensively West Ham have not been good and they are a team that will likely go for it - trying to score goals rather than hold onto a goalless draw. There is a slight worry that he might miss out on a game soon but West Ham are a doing well so far this season so I doubt this would be the game Klopp drops Salah.
I’ve made the decision to keep Antonio because I do think that West Ham have the capabilities to get goals from this game against Liverpool. The counters they deploy are some of the best in the league and Liverpool are rather susceptible when their wing-backs push forward. I see a lot of people drop Antonio for the tougher fixture run, but honestly West Ham has looked like a team that can score against anyone. If the big teams underestimate them then Antonio is bound to return.
That is also the reason I’m not too keen on Alexander-Arnold this week. He’ll play for me because there is always a chance for an attacking return, but clean sheets have not been all too common for Liverpool this season. I could have done with the 2 assists against West Ham rather than midweek against Atletico Madrid if I’m perfectly honest.
Chelsea host Burnley this week which will make for an interesting watch. As we all know, Burnley had an impressive win against Brentford last week scoring 3 on the day. Of course Chelsea is not Brentford so I’m still going into this expecting a clean sheet for both Mendy and Chilwell. I’m a little worried about the latter as last season infamously Tuchel dropped Chilwell in favour of Alonso because of the height difference for this exact fixture. Hopefully the fact that Alonso started midweek means that Chilwell gets the nod this time around, and brings in some attacking returns to make up for James’ brace from last week.
There is also a world where Havertz doesn’t play but that wouldn’t change much for me as he has been missing in these Chelsea games for a while now. Joking aside, Pulisic could take his spot up front which would just rub salt in the wound. If Pulisic plays ahead of him, then Havertz is getting kicked out of my team before the Chelsea game even kicks-off.
The main decision for me this week was who to start between Duffy and Semedo. Wolves play away to Crystal Palace which as many teams have found out, that is not an easy fixture this season. Palace appear to be a sound attacking side, which when you combine that with Wolves’ failure to keep clean sheets - makes me want to avoid Semedo this week. Duffy on the other hand has to defend his clean sheet against Newcastle - one the most direful squads at this very moment. Hopefully Potter has realised that the 5-at-the-back is superior for his team and that Duffy is an important part of the defence. With everyone available again, there is risk of rotation for Duffy. Either way, Duffy is the safer pick in my eyes - mostly because Semedo has let me down every week I’ve played him so far. Of course that now means he’ll get a clean sheet and finally get an attacking return the one week I bench him.
The Manchester Derby will commence this week which is going to be a fascinating watch. City are the heavy favourites with United’s lack of form although United love spoiling the party a little bit when it comes to these in recent years. I have Foden from the City side - a player that has about a 50% chance of playing in any City game. Since this is the final league game before the international break, and it is a derby, I would like to think that Pep picks his best players which would include Foden. Fraudulence is in-bound but that is what I signed up for when I picked him up last week.
On the other side of Manchester, I still have Ronaldo. After his goal and assist in GW9, he followed it up with a brace midweek in the Champions League against Atalanta to scrape a draw. There is no way he doesn’t play this game against Manchester City. It he going to return? Now that is a completely separate question. Man City have surprisingly been conceding a few goals in their recent few games in any competition. United will likely deploy the 5-at-the-back again as they did against Spurs, and the game plan with the counters is also probably going to stay the same. I’m sort of committed in keeping Ronaldo and praying he does something just because United’s next game is against Watford.
So Antonio Conte has joined Spurs - that is something nobody would expect to happen in a million years. Everyone is excited by the prospect - rushing to get in the likes of Kane and Son. The fact of the matter is that they are the same players as they were under Nuno. I just don’t believe in this set of players until I see it with my own eyes. I pounced on Havertz and Foden and so far it has only come to bite my arse - I’m holding back for now even though Spurs are playing a considerably weak Everton side. I have Gray playing in this one and I actually think he can get something out of it. I didn’t watch the Europa Conference League Spurs game but conceding 2 against Vitesse can’t be a good sign for the defence. Not to mention that Conte played his best men in that game too. I’m hoping that Gray, Richarlison and Townsend feast on that backline, especially if it’s going to have the likes of Ben Davies and Eric Dier.
Toney closes out my starting 11. Brentford’s shock loss last week to Burnley is not a good sign for my Toney pick. Where is the Brentford that has been relentlessly pressuring Chelsea and Liverpool? These lot comfortably beat Arsenal but they can’t paly against Burnley? God I’m praying that Brentford do well against Norwich else I will truly believe that I’m cursed. I mean it’s Norwich - I reckon I could convert a few against them.
Steer and Baah don’t exist. Tierney is likely not going to play but should be back for GW11 - that is if he keeps his place ahead of Tavares.