With Gameweek 11 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) nearing, our pundits are starting to finalise their teams before Saturday’s deadline.
FPL General, who has three top 500 finishes to his name, is fully committed to going without Mohamed Salah (£14.2m) and Erling Haaland (£14.8m) this season. Here, he reveals his latest Free Hit draft, as he contemplates whether or not this is the right time to activate the chip.
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GAMEWEEK 10 REVIEW
Surely it’s impossible to get three red arrows in a row ranked around six million? FPL General: Hold my beer. I’m unlocking all kinds of unwanted FPL achievement badges this season (self-inflicted, of course).
The first 10 Gameweeks have been nothing short of brutal in terms of outcomes, but overall, I’m somehow still enjoying the game and the matches. Committing 100% to the no Salah/Haaland experiment in pre-season has made it easier to take the rough Gameweeks on the chin. The Norwegian, being 70% owned and scoring braces in 50% of his appearances, has made life without him extremely difficult. The lack of alternative reliable premiums has been even more frustrating.
I’m relishing the challenge of fighting back over the next 28 Gameweeks, however. After the pain endured in 2025/26, I’ve convinced myself that FPL will be conquered in 2026/27.
Three free transfers were used last week to bring in Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.6m), Ismaila Sarr (£6.6m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.9m). Those to make way were Pedro Porro (£5.5m), Matheus Cunha (£7.9m) and Joao Pedro (£7.4m).
Not owning an Arsenal defender until Gameweek 10 should be a criminal offence. When it comes to reviewing the season, that will be one of the key takeaways. I was too cautious with Mikel Arteta’s remarks about Gabriel being a fitness concern on two occasions. I should’ve just pulled the trigger on him and relied on the bench if required. Lesson learned.
If you auto-captained Haaland for the first 10 weeks, you’d have got 196 points from him. I’ve only managed 84 captain points so far. Those captains have been Bukayo Saka (£10.1m) four times, Bruno Fernandes (£8.9m) twice and one armband each for Antoine Semenyo (£8.1m), Cunha, Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) and Cole Palmer (£10.3m). This season has made me realise more than ever before just how important a reliable captain is. Haaland will be the first name in my team for Gameweek 1 next year!
GAMEWEEK 11 TEAM
I present to you Hospital F.C. After using three free transfers last week, there’s only one available for Gameweek 11 and just £0.1m in the bank. It’s not looking good, Geoff.
Oliver Glasner said Sarr had a tight hamstring on Thursday, which has me concerned about his minutes for the weekend, too. Aside from the flagged players and the Crystal Palace guys, everyone plays away, which is also not ideal. As a result, I’m strongly considering deploying the Free Hit chip this week. What better way to ensure more pain before an international break?
I don’t really want to take hits when the chip is available and there’s unlikely to be Blank or Double Gameweeks in the first half of the season. Looking ahead, this squad will be looking much better for Gameweek 12 fixture-wise, so I like the idea of masking my problems for a week then figuring it out afterwards. At 6.9m rank, I may as well go for broke and take on some of the highly owned guys this week with differentials that have good fixtures, the likes of Chelsea, West Ham United and Nottingham Forest. I can also tap into the new manager bounces and Wolverhampton Wanderers not having a gaffer v Chelsea.
FREE HIT DRAFT
