Gameweek 11

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Summary for the lazy.

- Gameweek 11's deadline is 18:30 BST, Friday 14th October ⏰- Haaland is a "wait and see" for Liverpool, according to Pep 🤦‍♂️- Reece James' injury not as bad as first assumed 🙏- Matip, Trent and Diaz also ruled out for Gameweek 11 🔴- Meanwhile, Salah scores a 5-minute hatty in the UCL ⚽️Stick around to find out if Salah is back on the menu.

Let's get going before this bloody deadline sneaks up on us.

Erling on the side of caution.

Yeah, we've probably used that title before, but like I said, time is tighter than the offside decision that will inevitably rob you of points this weekend.If you have any decent Erling Haaland puns, please hit "reply" and send 'em. I have a funny feeling we'll need more before now and the end of the season.Here's what Guardiola had to say when someone - presumably an FPL manager - asked about Haaland's availability for Gameweek 11:

Whilst this sounds ominous, the best FPL managers aren't panicking. Pep is known in these parts for downplaying the fitness status of his key players ahead of big fixtures, and this looks to be a prime example.Ultimately, Haaland was on the bench in City's midweek fixture: it's highly unlikely he's able to play.As one redditor put it, "even if Haaland is stretched out of training and is filmed in hospital, I will still captain him."

Incidentally, the in-vogue Phil Foden is also "tired", bless him. Still, he managed to stay awake for the whole of his 13 minute cameo against Copenhagen on Tuesday, so he's probably fine too.

Reece is in pieces.

Reece James has been a bothersome player to own this season.Having scored four points in his last four games, he's rewarded our patience by getting himself injured against Milan on Tuesday.Fortunately, some reports reckon he'll be out for days, not weeks. 

Still, given the fact Gameweek 12 is a midweek-special, that's still likely to be at least two weeks in FPL terms.And besides, you might want to get rid of him regardless. If he does return within a 10 day time-frame, he'll face Man United, followed by Brighton, Arsenal and Newcastle. It's not exactly mouth-watering for a player who is yet to score more than 7 points in a gameweek.Here he is travelling back from Milan on an EasyJet flight. Because apparently zero legroom and a massive passport queue at Gatwick is just what a knee injury needs.

A rest for the rest.

The CIA's plot to exterminate every England full-back ahead of the World Cup gained further traction when Trent Alexander-Arnold was ruled out of Gameweek 11.He's twisted his ankle and, whilst the full extent of the injury is still being assessed, Klopp described it as "not good". Ominous.

Joel Matip (calf strain) and Luis Diaz (knee - 6-8 weeks) add to Liverpool's growing list of injury woes, but there's good news for Aleksandar Mitrovic owners.The Serb was pictured in training ahead of Fulham's rather appetising Bournemouth fixture. Look how happy he looks to be back:

A quick word on possible replacements for the likes of Trent and James.The trendy thing to do - and probably the most sensible - is to downgrade them to a cheaper alternative and use those funds to bolster your forwards or midfield.Wolves and Crystal Palace are traditionally robust teams and both have a good run of defensive fixtures. Palace's Andersen has a pretty decent expected goal involvement (joint-fourth amongst all defenders over the last six games) and will only set you back £4.5m. Guehi is also popular.

Is Salah back?

Mo Salah's exclusion from Liverpool's starting XI against Rangers prompted two interpretations.Some felt he was being rested ahead of the more important Man City game on Sunday.Others felt Klopp - just like plenty of FPL managers - had finally given up on the Egyptian.Suffice to say, a 5-minute hat-trick against an admittedly poor Rangers side has given some FPL managers a conundrum, particularly given Man City and Arsenal blank in Gameweek 12.

So, is Salah back on the menu?There's probably a joke about Chicken Tikka Mo Salah somewhere here, but just like the man himself, we're going to avoid it.Obviously Salah is a great player, but at his price-tag, he needs to be the best. In previous seasons he has been, but for now, Haaland will always be your captain.You'll only get value from his £12.7m price-tag if you're doubling his points more weeks than not, and whilst his underlying stats are fine, they don't make a compelling enough case for ownership.Until Liverpool reverse their fortunes (which they almost certainly will), we'd continue to distribute your funds elsewhere.

The key stats.

Here are all the important stats ahead of Gameweek 11.

The best captain.

(The one on the left.)There's been plenty of clickbaity articles about captaining someone other than Haaland this week, but let me save you some time: all of them will inevitably conclude that actually yes, the man who has literally never failed to register an attacking return this season is probably the best captain.Particularly against an injury-strewn Liverpool side who have conceded six in their last two Premier League games.

"Expert" analysis.

This week's FPL "expert" is Ross from FPLMerch. He also happens to be the co-founder of this very newsletter.Though it pains me to admit it, his FPL record is actually very decent. He has seven top 100k finishes (five of which have come in the last six seasons) and has twice finished in the top 3k. He is, unfortunately for me, as close to an expert as one can get.Pretty good for a man who openly admits to owning four different goalkeepers across the season and failing to get a clean sheet from any of them.

FPL can feel like being in the upside-down right now. Your casual mates are probably doing well, boasting about beating you despite playing with two £5.5m goalkeepers and starting Andy Robertson every week. Yeah, I’m talking about you, Mike.This type of start is not uncommon; I've seen it many times and I always win out in the end. My solution: don’t panic.

Let them make the mistakes, not you. Be patient, play your own game and don’t force differential moves to try and catch up just yet. This is a marathon, not a sprint. 

One advantage you have on these casuals is the ability to plan ahead. I like to use the FPL team app for this exact reason.It’s free and you can plan your moves weeks in advance.With Blank Gameweek 12 right around the corner, there are opportunities to attack some fixtures.Both Brighton and Liverpool play Nottingham Forest in Gameweeks 12 and 13 respectively. I’m eyeing up my De Bruyne spot to go: KDB > Trossard (GW12) > Salah (GW13) > Foden (GW14), attacking those fixtures at minimum cost. Best of luck all.

Give Ross a follow on Twitter if you're so inclined. And, if you're ever in the market for some FPL-themed gifts (for yourself or for someone else), check out FPLMerch.com.As always, our weekly expert gets to make our newsletter team move. With two free transfers in the bank, Ross has decided to remove Reece James and Leon Bailey and bring in Lewis Dunk and Leandro Trossard.Here's how we shape up.

Looking ahead.

As a final reminder: next Gameweek takes place between Tuesday 18th - Thursday 20th and Man City and Arsenal will not play. 

Also, we thought it might be useful to share a list of players on four yellow cards. If they get one more, they get a one-match ban, so maybe avoid them for now.

We know you're desperate for Kenny Tete but you're just going to have to withstand going without him for the time being.

Okay, we're out. Again, please excuse the lateness. We'll be back in your inbox on Monday evening.Cheers,

The FPLTips team.