Gameweek 10 has a deadline of Friday 6 November, 18:30 UTC — not Saturday. Everton host Coventry at 20:00 tonight and the rest of the round runs across the weekend. It is also the last gameweek before the international break: Gameweek 11 does not arrive until 21 November, which means a fortnight in which the only thing that can happen to your squad is bad news.
Last week this desk put the armband on Haaland and collected two points, because Brighton won 1-0 at the Etihad. The cheap calls carried the page instead — Konsa 10, Evanilson 9, Palmer 8, Kinsky 6 — against Tzolakis 1, Tavernier 3, Groß 2 and nothing at all from White. The round averaged 47. The lesson has now held three weeks running: the fixture board is a starting point, and the team sheet is the truth.
The fixture board
| Fixture | Difficulty | The number that matters |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenal vs Hull | 2 vs 5 | Arsenal have conceded 5 in 9 with 6 clean sheets; Hull have scored 4 in 4 away |
| Nott’m Forest vs Man City | 4 vs 2 | Forest have scored zero goals in four home games |
| Crystal Palace vs Liverpool | 4 vs 2 | Palace have conceded 21, most in the league, with no home clean sheet |
| Ipswich vs Bournemouth | 3 vs 2 | Ipswich are one of only two sides without a clean sheet — 18 conceded in nine |
| Man Utd vs Aston Villa | 3 vs 3 | United have no clean sheet in nine and have conceded 15 |
| Everton vs Coventry | 2 vs 3 | Coventry have scored twice in four away games |
| Brighton vs Brentford | 3 vs 4 | Brighton have conceded one goal in four home games |
| Sunderland vs Chelsea | 4 vs 3 | Sunderland have scored once in four at home |
| Leeds vs Spurs | 3 vs 3 | Spurs have scored three in four away |
| Fulham vs Newcastle | 3 vs 3 | Fulham have one home clean sheet in four |
The two softest landings pay out in different places. Arsenal’s rating of 2 against Hull is real, but Arsenal have scored 14 goals in nine games — they win 1-0 and 2-0, and the value sits at the back. Palace and Ipswich, rated 4 and 3, have conceded 21 and 18; the value there is up front. Do not buy an Arsenal attacker for a clean-sheet fixture, and do not buy a Palace defender for a shooting gallery.
The captaincy call
Erling Haaland (£15.8m, 68 points, nine goals, fourteen bonus, 79.1% owned) owns the highest BPS total in the game at 309, 66 clear of the next man, and has returned 13, 9, 6 and 8 in his four away games — nine points a trip. Forest have conceded only three goals in four at home, which is the argument against him, but they have also scored none: City will have the ball from the first minute. He has blanked twice in his last three, one of them at home to Brighton last week, but a forward with nine goals and 6.56 expected goals does not need a soft defence.
The armband that actually moves you is Isak (£9.2m, 53 points, six goals, fourteen bonus, 22.8%). Palace have conceded ten in four home games without a home clean sheet all season; Isak’s away returns read 2, 13, 8 and 9, and Liverpool have scored seven in four away. At 22.8% against Haaland’s 79.1%, he is a differential week that costs you nothing structurally. Nicolas Jackson (£7.0m, 43 points, five goals, form 8.2, 27.0%) is the cheap third way: United have not kept a clean sheet in nine, have lost four, and sit 17th. Jackson has 203 BPS and 13 and 9 in his last two.
Haaland is the armband. Isak is the one that wins you ground.
Best picks by position
Goalkeepers. Verbruggen (£4.6m, 51 points, six clean sheets, 26 saves, 23.3%) is the pick of the week: Brighton have conceded one goal in four home games, kept three clean sheets in them, and Brentford have drawn all four of their away matches. Raya (£6.2m, 54 points, 46.9%) is the premium version — Arsenal at home to a Hull side with four away goals — and with six clean sheets apiece, the extra £1.6m buys bonus ceiling, not safety. Tzolakis (£4.7m, 43 points, 32 saves) now goes to the Emirates, the worst place on the board to need them.
Defenders. De Cuyper (£5.4m, 69 points, 2 goals and 4 assists, nine bonus, 233 BPS, 45.7%) is the highest-scoring player in the game and still costs £5.4m — an attacking full-back in the division’s best home defence, exactly the profile the rebuilt bonus system rewards. Gabriel (£8.0m, 58 points, six clean sheets, 197 BPS) is the expensive Arsenal route and returned 17 two weeks ago; Calafiori (£5.9m, 51 points, 48.2%) is the cheap one, fit again after the hip that ended his Gameweek 8 inside 22 minutes. Vuskovic (£5.2m, 58 points, 7.6%) is the third Brighton route and the least owned of the three. Tarkowski (£6.2m, 54 points, 94 defensive contributions, 19.2%) hosts a Coventry side with two goals in four away games. Konsa (£4.8m, 49 points, form 9.2) is the best defender in the game on form, with a 75% knee flag attached — check the press conference, because this page has paid for that mistake already.
Midfielders. Tavernier (£6.6m, 55 points, five goals, twelve bonus, 243 BPS, 28.8%) has the second-highest BPS total in the game, reached double figures in three of four away matches, and now meets a side that has not kept a clean sheet all season. Evanilson (£6.4m, 52 points, four goals and four assists, form 8.5) is his partner in the same fixture. Rice (£7.4m, 47 points, five assists, 12.9%) is the cheapest way to own Arsenal’s fixture without guessing the scorer. Rogers (£8.2m, 50 points, 53.0%) is a hold: nine points last week, but Chelsea away at a Sunderland side with two home clean sheets is not a captaincy game. Groß (£6.2m, 60 points, 47.0%) is the highest-scoring midfielder in the game and has returned 5, 0 and 2 since — own him, do not add.
Forwards. Haaland, Isak and Evanilson are the names. Barry (£5.6m, 39 points, four goals, 6.37 expected goals, 8.1%) is the budget route at home to Coventry.
Differentials worth a flutter
| Player | Pos | Club | Price | Pts | Form | Owned | GW10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iwobi | MID | Fulham | £5.4m | 38 | 6.0 | 1.5% | NEW (H) 3 |
| Ayari | MID | Brighton | £5.4m | 43 | 7.0 | 1.7% | BRE (H) 3 |
| Dewsbury-Hall | MID | Everton | £6.6m | 41 | 5.2 | 6.4% | COV (H) 2 |
| Enciso | MID | Ipswich | £5.5m | 37 | 5.5 | 1.0% | BOU (H) 3 |
| Manzambi | MID | Aston Villa | £6.2m | 38 | 6.0 | 7.6% | MUN (A) 3 |
| Castagne | DEF | Fulham | £4.5m | 37 | 4.2 | 1.2% | NEW (H) 3 |
Iwobi at 1.5% is the pick of the table: 202 BPS, form 6.0, a home fixture and third in line on penalties at £5.4m. Ayari has 43 points in 664 minutes at 1.7%, in a Brighton side that has scored thirteen in four at home. Dewsbury-Hall has 230 BPS — joint-third among midfielders — for £6.6m. Enciso is the cheapest way into the Ipswich fixture, and Castagne is the £4.5m enabler with two assists and a home game.
One to avoid: Bruno Fernandes and the £11.7m name
Bruno Fernandes (£11.7m, 35 points, three goals and one assist, form 1.0, 21.2% owned) is the most expensive midfielder in the game and has returned ten points in seven matches since his 23-point afternoon in Gameweek 2: 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 0, 2. He is still on penalties, still captaining the side, and still being priced as a premium asset by a fifth of the game. United have not kept a clean sheet in nine, have won once and sit 17th; Villa arrive with two clean sheets in four away games. Every week you hold him is a week you cannot spend that money on Isak, Gabriel and a Brighton defender.
Three flags to clear before the deadline. João Pedro (£7.7m, 37.5% owned) is out with a thigh injury and a 0% chance of playing — second week running, still owned by more than a third of the game. Saka (£9.5m, thigh, no return date) is out and down to 6.0%; if he is still in your squad, the international break is the window. Calvert-Lewin (£6.1m, 20.1%) carries a 75% foot flag into a home game against Spurs.
Bottom line
Captain Haaland, with Isak the armband for anyone chasing. Verbruggen in goal; De Cuyper, Gabriel and Calafiori in defence; Tavernier and Evanilson are the value in the round’s leakiest fixture; Jackson is the cheap route into United’s missing clean sheets. To gain ground, Iwobi at 1.5%. To protect your rank, sell Bruno Fernandes.
And then, for once, do nothing. Gameweek 11 is on 21 November: roll the transfer, do not take a hit for a single fixture, and do not buy anyone about to board a long-haul flight. The first chip set — wildcard, bench boost, triple captain, free hit — must be used by Gameweek 19, which is nine gameweeks away, so the fortnight is better spent planning than spending.
Set the team tonight, not tomorrow. That is how the commentary desk calls it.
Methodology & credit: All prices, ownership figures, points, form, minutes, expected goals, bonus and BPS totals, defensive contributions and injury flags are taken from the official FPL API (bootstrap-static, fixtures and element-summary endpoints), snapshot 6 November 2026, ahead of the Gameweek 10 deadline of Friday 6 November, 18:30 UTC. Fixture difficulties are the official FPL 1-5 team values for Gameweek 10; team goals for and against, clean sheets, and home and away splits are computed from the 90 completed fixtures in the same snapshot. No price, ownership figure or injury flag is estimated. This is editorial analysis, not a guarantee — verify prices and press conferences before you transfer, because both move.