Premier League fantasy football tips: Erling Haaland or Mohamed Salah for the armband?
- Published
The first thing to say is don't miss the Friday deadline - it's at 18:30 BST before Crystal Palace v Tottenham, which gets gameweek 10 started at 20:00.
I'm sure a lot of you this week, whether you're playing the wildcard or not, are wrestling with which superb FPL assets you're going to have to leave out of your squad.
We can only field seven attacking players in any one gameweek but at the moment all of Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Ollie Watkins, Mohamed Salah, Bukayo Saka, Son Heung-min, James Maddison, Jarrod Bowen and Kaoru Mitoma feel almost like 'must-haves'.
Your budget may well determine which combination you can actually put together, particularly if you've got Kieran Trippier or Trent Alexander-Arnold in your defence, but it's safe to say they are all excellent picks and it's only with hindsight that we'll be able to tell which were the best ones to go for.
Don't judge the outcome on one gameweek though and if you're not on a wildcard then think carefully before potentially making unnecessary transfers.
I've not got Son or Watkins in my squad but I do own Maddison and Alvarez and I can afford to bring Saka and Mitoma in with my two free transfers.
I'd back Alvarez to keep pace with Watkins over the long-term and although Saka isn't quite as explosive as Son in producing those double-digit hauls, he's still a hugely consistent performer in one of the best attacking teams in the league.
Arsenal are about to embark on a run of fixtures that you'd expect them to do well in and he also takes penalties - when he chooses to do so.
I can't really afford to get to Son without ripping my squad up and taking points hits on transfers which I don't think is worth it. Obviously it will be different for each individual manager and if I was on a wildcard then I would definitely be bringing Son.
The point I'm making is that there are plenty of good players in this game and you could easily end up selling one or two who could do just as well as the shiny new toy you're after.
Captaincy
As a non-Watkins owner it's down to Salah or Haaland for me and it really is the flip of a coin. Salah has the home fixture against Nottingham Forest but I feel he's been slightly fortunate with his two-goal hauls against Brighton and Everton in the last couple of games.
Haaland's not been plundering the goals at quite the same ridiculous rate he was last season but you sense he could do some damage at Old Trafford on Sunday against that Manchester United defence.
Heads it's Salah, tails it's Haaland and I do like Watkins as well if you've got him. That's helpful isn't it?
Fixtures to target
This is the start of the fixture swing I've been talking about for the last few weeks and I would definitely be backing the home teams to deliver in the Arsenal v Sheffield United, Aston Villa v Luton and Brighton v Fulham games.
An Arsenal defender is a must on the gameweek 10 wildcard, either Matty Cash or Lucas Digne at Villa would be an excellent complement to Watkins, and Simon Adingra could be a really exciting Brighton pick if you don't just want to do the obvious and go for Mitoma.
He will be getting more game time on the right flank now that Solly March is out for a prolonged spell and he's already provided three attacking returns this season.
Differentials
Could Vladimir Coufal return after missing West Ham's Europa League trip to Olympiakos?
There are plenty of tempting differentials available at the moment and some of the budget options could be really useful to you to help build that wildcard squad.
I mentioned Kostas Tsimikas last week who will feature on loads of wildcards but West Ham's Vladimir Coufal is another good option at the back - just check on his fitness having missed the game away to Olympiakos on Thursday.
Cole Palmer is a bargain at £5m even though Chelsea's fixtures aren't the kindest over the coming weeks but I'd also mention Gabriel Martinelli, Tomas Soucek and Pascal Gross in the midfield category.
As for the strikers Gabriel Jesus is only owned by just over three percent of managers in the game and Burnley's Lyle Foster would be my differential pick if you're looking for a cheaper option.
Gamble of the week
I think going without Haaland or Salah on a gameweek 10 wildcard represents a massive gamble but the managers who dropped Haaland a couple of weeks ago to be able to afford the likes of Tippier, Son and Watkins would say otherwise. And I'm the guy going without Watkins or Son this week so what do I know?
Alistair Bruce-Ball presents the Fantasy 606 podcast alongside former Premier League winner Chris Sutton and Statman Dave. You can find the podcast by searching for 'Fantasy 606' on the BBC Sounds app, then just click subscribe. The code to join the Fantasy 606 league is 'j03mnp'.