FPL: Ten observations from GW10

Hello there FPL managers, here I am again with another set of observations from FPL after another roller-coaster of a GW.

Kane was declared unfit at the last minute for the game against United and everyone was once again waiting for their tickets to the Pep rotation fest to be confirmed.

Let’s start off and look at the key talking points from the weekend games.

1. Man Utd beat “Kane-less” Spurs.

Tottenham Hotspurs travelled to Old Trafford in the high profile game of the weekend. Harry Kane was unavailable due to injury which meant huge sales for the Englishman prior to the deadline.

A classic Mourinho performance saw United nick a 1-0 win due to a late goal from substitute Anthony Martial, keeping another clean sheet in the process with David de Gea at the top of the goalkeepers points chart and Phil Jones proving to be a bargain once again.

With 8 clean sheets from 10 games, United do look like the safest team in terms of defence. Spurs will host Crystal Palace next and with Harry Kane’s probable return he may be a strong captain candidate again.

2. A comeback win for Arsenal inspired by Sead Kolasinac.

Arsenal welcomed Swansea City to the Emirates which according to many was an easy win for Arsene Wenger’s men. However, an early Sam Clucas goal assisted by none other than Tammy Abraham saw them take a surprise lead. A goal and an assist from Arsenal’s wing back Kolasinac saw them complete the comeback, and it was the first time Kolasinac performed to his true potential in the Premier League in FPL terms.

Others to catch the eye were Aaron Ramsey who scored for the second consecutive week and Swansea’s Tammy Abraham who could prove to be a bargain of a third striker at just 5.8m. Alexis Sanchez however disappointed his captainers most of whom had activated their Free Hit chip.

3. Drama at Selhurst Park.

Crystal Palace welcomed West Ham to Selhurst Park and were staring down the barrel very soon as they found themselves down 2-0 by a goal from Chicharito and a stunner from Andre Ayew.

An inspired second half performance and a 97^th minute equaliser from Wilfried Zaha helped them rescue a point. In the process came Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s first return of the season as he set up Zaha for the winner and was much welcome to his owners many of whom started him in their FPL 11.

4. Liverpool brush past Huddersfield.

It was far from comfortable but in the end Liverpool got a big 3-0 win against Huddersfield Town to bounce back from the Tottenham defeat last weekend at Wembley. It didn’t start well as highly captained Mohammed Salah missed a penalty but later got just an assist being another failed captain with Sanchez. Goals from Daniel Sturridge, Roberto Firmino and a screamer from Gini Wijmaldum meant it was a big three points for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

5. Stoke won at in form Watford

Watford were one of the form teams going in to the weekend, after they gave the Champions a run for their money in GW9 and were flying with Brazilian winger Richarlison impressing the most.

However, it was one of those games for FPL managers as Richarlison couldn’t make an impact and Stoke won by a goal to nil by a goal from Darren Fletcher of all people. Richarlison still missed some sitters and still is a very good option with him being the heart of Watford’s attacking ability.

6. Man City get a narrow win against West Brom.

Man City travelled to the Hawthorns and the team sheet brought further misery for Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling owners as Pep did the most Pep thing ever, ”Rotation”. Aguero in the end didn’t even play a minute and brought disappointment to his captainers, Sterling did come on and even scored a goal.

It was a great day again for Leroy Sane’s owners as he grabbed a goal and an assist and starting in the last few matches is proving to be a better option. Caution for Otamendi owners or potential owners, he is now on 4 yellow cards and another one would mean a one game ban. In the end two goals from West Brom were in vain as Man City won again.

7. Hazard leads Chelsea to a narrow win at the Vitality Stadium.

In the late game Chelsea travelled to the Vitality Stadium to face Bournemouth. It was turning out to be a frustrating evening for Antonio Conte’s men before a second half goal from Hazard, who always seem to score against Bournemouth, assisted by Alvaro Morata broke the deadlock. Bournemouth didn’t provide much threat and it was a comfortable win for the Blues. Hazard looked particularly good ahead of the visit of Manchester United in GW11.

8. Groß is the main man for Brighton.

In the early game on Sunday, Southampton travelled to the Amex and took an early lead through Steven Davis who scored on the rebound as a James Ward-Prowse free kick came back of the upright.

Brighton weren’t looking like producing very much but in the second half a great cross by the one and only Pascal Groß was met by the head of Glenn Murray and Brighton rescued a point. Groß also grabbed two bonus points and is proving to be a must-own in FPL at the moment.

9. Vardy party at the King Power.

Claude Puel took charge for his first match at Leicester against a manager-less Everton and a flawless performance which included a Jamie Vardy goal and an Demarai Gray deflected strike saw them defeat a lacklustre Toffees. Riyad Mahrez played behind the striker and looked very influential, as did Demarai Gray who was only making his second start of the season.

10. Burnley keep another clean sheet.

Burnley welcomed Newcastle United to Turf Moor on Monday Night Football days after the 5^th anniversary of Sean Dyche’s appointment at the Clarets. They kept another clean sheet and nicked it with a second half goal from Jeff Hendricks. It was a happy day for owners of Burnley defenders not so much for those starting Rob Elliot.

It was another great performance from Nick Pope who got another two bonus points and a save point giving him 9 points. He is proving to be what Tom Heaton proved to be last year. Ben Mee also impressed and earned himself 3 bonus points. Burnley kept their 4^th clean sheet in 10 games given that they faced Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool and Tottenham in those games it is a very good return. It could be worth doubling up on Burnley defence.

That’s all from all the Premier League games in GW10 from my side. It was a great game-week for me personally but many had a bad game-week due to star players failing. It was another unpredictable but engaging FPL week and so will be the next and the one after that. We are on track for an amazing season with over 5 million FPL managers competing. I am having a fantastic time and I hope you are having too. Until next time.

I AM OUT.

Written by @Varun_esque