Fantasy Football tips and advice: FPL Gameweek 10 transfers, selections and captain choices

By Tom Carnduff

Football

Sat October 08, 2022 · 2y ago

Gameweek 9 was a successful one for Sporting Life readers, with our suggestions delivering points in various forms.

James Maddison scored twice and grabbed an assist as Leicester ended their long wait for a win with a 4-0 hammering of Nottingham Forest.

That came a couple of days after Callum Wilson scored for Newcastle, while Kurt Zouma delivered a clean sheet as West Ham beat Wolves.

Those who watched our pre-GW9 video, outlining four players to target if playing a Wildcard, would have been rewarded with a total of 45 non-captain points from those picks.

All focus turns to Gameweek 10, with Arsenal v Liverpool on Sunday the headline act.

A number of other teams are also featuring in games at home, meaning that there should be some good points on offer if we target the right teams.

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When is the FPL Gameweek 10 deadline?

The FPL Gameweek 10 deadline is Saturday October 8 at 13:30 BST, with the first game kicking off at 15:00 BST.

How do the FPL chips work?

Bench Boost: This counts the points of those on your bench alongside your starting XI - this can only be used once a season
Triple Captain: The captain earns 3x the amount of points for that gameweek - this can only be used once a season
Free Hit: This allows unlimited changes for one gameweek only. A team reverts back to how it was before once this has been played - this can only be used once a season

Who has the best fixtures in Gameweek 10?

It's likely that you would have played your Wildcard by now, given the fact that you get unlimited transfers during the World Cup period.

Gameweek 10 fixtures would have been in mind when it came to picking players to include, and there are some eye-catching fixtures for fantasy football players.

MANCHESTER CITY, off the back of a 6-3 win over rivals Manchester United, have a home game against a struggling Southampton.

Erling Haaland will be the most captained player by far, although Phil Foden will remain a name of interest following his hat-trick.

Are LEICESTER back to their previous levels or was the win over Forest a one-off?

Time will tell, but they'll welcome a trip to a Bournemouth side who have failed to post above 1.0 xG in all eight games so far.

WEST HAM were another side who secured a win in GW9, and they face a Fulham team who conceded four at home to Newcastle last time out.

Marco Silva's side have massive injury concerns for Aleksandar Mitrović, and the striker's absence will be a huge advantage to a West Ham defence that has posted strong underlying numbers this season anyway.

What are the best transfers for Gameweek 10?

While City have a nice home game in GW10, it may be worth looking at transferring out those players once the deadline has passed.

Of course, if you invested in Haaland early, you are locked into some serious value but the likes of Foden and Joao Cancelo have seen small price rises that won't make too much difference.

The reason for looking to move them out is that they have a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool in GW11, and their postponed fixture against Arsenal means they won't be involved in GW12.

Over the next two weeks post-GW10, City have one game rated at '5' on the FDR. It could be high scoring, but it could also be one where defenders return little.

The same sort of thing applies to Arsenal, although it isn't as bad. They face Liverpool this weekend before a trip to Leeds and then no game in GW12.

But with Gameweek 10 in mind, who are the best players to bring in?

Wilfried Zaha

Position: MID
Club: Crystal Palace
Fixture: Leeds (H)
FPL Price: £7.3m

This is a bargain price and now looks the great time to get involved given Palace's upcoming fixtures.

He's had a price rise since we included him in our pre-GW9 video, but he still can deliver at a very reasonable £7.3m. Palace's next five are against teams rated '2' on the FDR.

Not only that, but Wilfried Zaha has been delivering in the first part of the season. He's got 33 points on his tally from four goals scored. A point to note here is that three of those came in home fixtures.

The underlying numbers for Zaha are good, averaging an open play xG that is better than Luis Diaz, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho.

Bruno Guimarães

Position: MID
Club: Newcastle
Fixture: Brentford (H)
FPL Price: £5.6m

He was fit enough to be involved against Fulham following an injury picked up over the international break, and Bruno Guimarães secured his first assist of the season as they won in convincing fashion.

It's a surprise that was the case though when we consider his numbers so far this season. Only Kieran Trippier (1.9) has averaged more key passes per game than Guimarães (1.8).

Newcastle have also been posting some ridiculously strong attacking numbers at home but haven't been converting the chances.

The above chart highlights this, outlining that, based on xG, it was a similar chance that they would have scored 14 rather than the six on their tally.

Jarrod Bowen

Position: MID
Club: West Ham
Fixture: Fulham (H)
FPL Price: £8.1m

Is Jarrod Bowen back? Or was that performance against Wolves a one-off outing before returning to his low points return?

We can hope that it's the first point, and his underlying numbers this season highlight how he's unlucky not to have scored more than the one he got last time out.

No Hammers player has averaged more shots per game than Bowen (2.4), which has led to him posting a total of 2.02 xG.

They have a home contest against a Fulham side who have conceded the highest open play xG in the Premier League, while their set piece xG is the third-most in England's top-flight.

Anthony Martial

Position: FWD
Club: Manchester United
Fixture: Everton (A)
FPL Price: £6.9m

This one is a massive risk, and the advice here would be to monitor Erik ten Hag's pre-game quotes closely to see if he gives any hint about Anthony Martial starting.

It's been a frustrating start to the season for the striker, who has spent more time in the treatment room than on the pitch. However, his showing from the bench at the Etihad was a reminder of what he can bring.

He would have started the season opener against Brighton but missed out through injury. Despite coming on in the 59th minute, he still found the net twice as they were well beaten by City.

Martial also got an assist in the 2-1 home win over Liverpool, again after coming off the bench, meaning he's posted two goals and one assist in two outings where he only featured in the second-half.

It could be too soon, and be prepared that he may not start, but investing now ahead of a potential run of games means we're getting a striker who can score at a decent rate for a bargain cost of £6.9m.

Who should I captain in Gameweek 10?

ERLING HAALAND. Next.

It's hard to resist backing the City striker with the 'C', and now he comes into the game against Southampton on the back of three goals and two assists in GW9.

If you have him, it's still worth going with the majority for now as he'll likely deliver. If you're in the 17.3% without him, there's still time to find a way to get him in.

At this early stage of the season, we're not even a third of the way through it yet, it's fine to continue to captain the one player you know everyone else is. It's about keeping in touch with the top in leagues, differentials can come at a later date.

The biggest thing here is that, while others may score when made captain, you know that Haaland will score more. The points haul is so drastic that it creates huge gaps between you and rivals by not having him as captain.

Gameweek 9 was a great example of this. While, OF COURSE, he isn't going to do that every week (maybe), there was a 23-point difference between captaining him and not. That's three players worth who have had a good week in points.

For those who don't have him, or are so desperate to find someone else, CALLUM WILSON could be a solid differential given his goal last week and Newcastle's attacking performances at home.

JARROD BOWEN's recent showings give us hope that he has returned to his best, while JAMES MADDISON will see his popularity rise following the return in GW9.