Another gameweek done. Twenty goals across six matches, with West Ham's 3-1 victory over Newcastle providing the week's most eye-catching scoreline. The league averaged 73 points, a respectable haul that masked some genuinely poor decision-making further down the rankings.

Brighton dismantled Leeds 3-0 with clinical efficiency, Gomez's brace and Welbeck's third-minute finish setting the tone early. Fulham matched that scoreline against Wolves, Sessegnon combining goal and assist in a display of defensive solidity that's become their trademark this season. Arsenal's midfield dominance over Burnley yielded a comfortable 2-0 win through Rice and Gyökeres, while Man City's 3-1 victory over Bournemouth saw Haaland add two more to his tally despite the hosts' spirited resistance. West Ham's win over Newcastle proved the week's most entertaining affair, with Paquetá, Souček, and J.Murphy combining to overturn an early deficit. Only Burnley's 0-2 loss to Arsenal failed to produce a goal for the losing side.

Across The Premier Pundits, the 73-point average masked a 30-point spread between highest and lowest scores, suggesting the week's real drama lay not in the football itself but in how managers navigated it.

Eight of ten managers captained Haaland for 4 points. David Brown alone backed Mateta, who returned 2 points from the bench. On paper, this looks like overwhelming consensus around the obvious choice. In practice, it was a masterclass in collective mediocrity. Haaland's two goals against Bournemouth should have been the week's standout captain haul, yet 4 points from a doubled return speaks to City's fixture difficulty and the striker's own inconsistency this season. Brown's contrarian call on Mateta, while ultimately fruitless, at least represented independent thinking. The mid-table pack averaged 71 points, just two shy of the league average, suggesting that captain choice mattered far less than the underlying squad construction. Nathan McBannister's rise to first place on 682 total points came despite captaining Haaland for the same 4 points as everyone else, indicating that his advantage lay elsewhere entirely.

Rachel Thompson's bench accumulated 20 points, a figure that would have placed her in the top three had those players started. Her 65-point gameweek score left her stationary at rank seven, a position that might have been considerably higher had she managed her squad rotation differently. Nathan McBannister, by contrast, left just 6 points unused, a lean bench that reflected either superior starting-eleven selection or ruthless squad prioritization. David Brown's 16 bench points represented a middle ground, yet his 82-point gameweek score still topped the league, suggesting that bench management alone cannot overcome strong starting performances. The 14-point gap between Thompson's and McBannister's unused points illustrates the week's central tension: with Haaland captaincy offering minimal differentiation, squad depth became the true separator. Thompson's transfers, taken at no cost, failed to address the underlying issue that her best players were warming the bench while inferior options started. The mid-table pack averaged 9.4 bench points, placing Thompson's 20 as a genuine outlier and a costly one at that.

Four managers executed identical transfers, moving João Pedro out for Mateta. All four took a 4-point hit for the privilege. Pedro's blank this week would have stung regardless, but the transfer compounded the damage by removing him from their squads entirely. Mateta's 2-point return from the bench meant these managers paid 4 points to downgrade, a transaction that belongs in the FPL hall of shame. The mid-table pack's average of 1.2 transfers per gameweek suggests most managers showed restraint, yet these four chose activity over patience. Nathan McBannister's two transfers cost him 4 points but yielded Lacroix and Enzo, both of whom returned 11 points each, a net gain that justified the hit. The contrast is instructive: transfers can work, but only when they target genuine upgrades rather than lateral moves disguised as tactical adjustments. Rachel Thompson's two free transfers, by comparison, generated no points cost but also failed to meaningfully improve her position, suggesting that squad tinkering without clear purpose remains the amateur's refuge.

Nathan McBannister leads on 682 total points, a two-place climb from last week that reflects his 80-point gameweek haul. Rachel Thompson remains seventh on 648 points, stationary despite her 65-point return. David Brown sits eighth on 645 points, level with last week, though his 82-point gameweek score represents the week's highest individual tally. The 37-point gap between first and eighth suggests the league remains genuinely competitive, with no manager having established decisive separation.

Gameweek 11 brings Spurs versus Man United, a fixture that traditionally carries weight in the title race despite both sides' current form. Arsenal face Sunderland, a trip to the Stadium of Light that offers fixture relief after their midweek exertions. Chelsea's home match against Wolves presents an opportunity for the Blues to consolidate their top-three position, while Everton's visit from Fulham pits two sides moving in opposite directions. The international break's absence means no squad rotation concerns, allowing managers to plan with confidence. Fixture difficulty shifts materially next week, with several top-six sides facing lower-ranked opposition. Managers should monitor team news closely, particularly around City and Arsenal, whose European commitments may influence selection decisions despite the domestic calendar's relative calm.