We turn our attentions to Premier Punt now, as I assess the games on offer for Gameweek 11 and update you on my quest to turn an initial £100 pot into profit.

This Week’s Games

Premier Punt have two large pots covering all ten fixtures this week. There’s a £500 game with just a £2 entry and also a £300 game for £5 – both should offer plenty of overlay, meaning value for our stakes, so it’s a promising week to get involved on Premier Punt for new and current users.

This week, there are four strikers with tempting fixtures vying for our attentions and getting the right mix is likely to be key to our fortunes. Wilfried Bony (13.2m), Romelu Lukaku (12.5m), Harry Kane (14.7m) and Graziano Pelle (12.6m) are the frontmen in question and it looks like it will be sensible to have different combinations from those four across the possible three line-ups and a variety of captain picks.

Trying to fit two or three of those in a team is a selection headache, with their steep price tags making it difficult to have a balanced side overall. With the likes of you Kevin De Bruyne (11m), Ross Barkley (10.7m), Christian Eriksen (12.9m) and Sadio Mane (12.5) also vying for contention in midfield, striking a balance is key.

My Team
I’ve therefore gone for budget options at the back in an attempt to squeeze in a decent attacking option from each of Man City, Spurs, Everton and Southampton. For the keeper I’ve gone for the cheapest likely starter and hope that Wayne Hennessey (5.5m) will at least pick up some save points against Manchester United.

Leicester’s Christian Fuchs (6.7m) finds a spot. The Foxes picked up a first clean sheet of the season against Crystal Palace and travel to a West Brom side that are the second worst team in the division for goal attempts (96), with Sunderland the only side to register less shots on goal (94). A pair of Watford defenders complete the back-line, Nathan Ake (6.7m) and Miguel Britos (6.4m) are at home to West Ham and the Hornets have three shut-outs in five matches at Vicarage Road.

Ross Barkley gets the nod ahead of Lukaku as the midfielder is cheaper than his team-mate. The same applies for Kevin de Bruyne’s inclusion over Bony. As an alternative to Eriksen I go for another Spurs midfielder – Dele Alli, at 8.3m, should offer value against managerless Villa. West Brom have conceded three goals on three occasions at the Hawthorns this season, so Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez (9.1m) fills the last midfield spot.

Graziano Pelle finds a berth up front. The Italian has three goals and as many assists in the Saints’ last four at St Mary’s. Odion Ighalo, as highlighted in the
Weekly Shop article has been the main threat for Watford and is a cut-price option for a striker in such a rich vein of form. That leaves 14.7m for Tottenham’s hat-trick Harry Kane at home to Villa.

The Bottom Line

A sixth place spot in the £200 weekly guaranteed game gave me £10 in winnings, though a lack of Harry Kane cost me – I finished only nine points off top spot and his inclusion would have made a big difference to my balance. I got close in the Manchester derby game to the money places – 203 points was disappointingly just shy of a £5 return. That still leaves me on a healthy looking £131.34 ahead of Gameweek 11.

This Week’s Stake
Once again I’m going with the guaranteed pots this week, though taking advantage of the multiple line-ups, I enter three in the £500 contest for a total of £6. I also put one team into the £300 game, and will consider adding the other two closer to the deadline.

Stake – £11

Current Balance – £120.34

If you would like to take me on in the £500 or £300 guaranteed pots or try out PremierPunt’s unique single fixtures game sign up here.