Dub's October Premier League Team Of The Month - 2026/27
October’s Premier League team of the month is here. It is the first one of the 2026/27 season as August started late due to the first expanded World Cup, minimising the fixtures played. September saw the first ever 3-week international break, again minimising matches so October gave the first concrete opportunity to make a worthwhile team. The irony is should you wish to use these players for the Premier League’s official Fantasy Premier League, after the upcoming gameweek 10, we have another international break. Remember, the players are listed under the positions they occupy in ‘FPL’.
Goalkeeper
Bart Verbruggen (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Verbruggen kept three clean in four matches in October as the Seagulls ended the month in third place. The Dutch international made 14 saves across the games, with his best performance coming in the 1-0 victory at Manchester City, where he made half of his saves (7). His best saves came when he denied Matheus Nunes’ left foot shot and then later on he thwarted a close-range powerful effort from Abdukodir Khusanov. Overall, his 6 clean sheets this campaign are tied with Arsenal’s David Raya for the joint-most. His 26 saves rank 7th amongst goalkeepers.
Defenders
Abdoul Ouatarra (Ipswich Town)
The Tractor Boys picked up five crucial points in October and Ouatarra played his part on their right-hand side. Gary O’Neil’s men came from behind to get their first home win since the opening day when they beat Fulham 2-1. Ouatarra’s fine strike from outside the box levelled things up. Ipswich then lost 3-2 at Manchester City, and the Ivorian played in a more advanced role setting up Daizen Maeda to make it 1-1. To close the month, Ouatarra assisted again as his ball through was emphatically put away by Florentino Luis in a 2-2 draw with Hull at Portman Road.
Ezri Konsa (Arsenal)
Arsenal have not missed William Saliba nearly as much as many thought they would as Konsa has performed excellently since joining from Aston Villa. The Gunners beat Leeds 2-1 to begin the month and Konsa had their joint-most clearances with 5. They then edged past Nottingham Forest, at the City Ground and Konsa made a huge block at the end of the game to deny Liam Delap. Their last October game saw them beat Everton 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium where Konsa opened the scoring after a scramble in the box after a corner hit the woodwork.
Jan Paul van Hecke (Tottenham Hotspur)
Tottenham are improving defensively and new signing van Hecke has settled in well. Roberto De Zerbi’s men got a deserved point when they had 10-men away at Manchester United and van Hecke led the team in clearances and interceptions with 5 & 4 respectively. Their standout result was an impressive 2-0 away win at Chelsea where the Dutchman again led the team in clearances with 4. October concluded with him scoring a crucial second goal as Spurs saw off 10-man Crystal Palace at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Dutchman is second in the league in passes with 809 overall and is also Joint-6th in blocks with 10.
James Hill (Bournemouth)
Hill helped Bournemouth to three clean sheets in four October fixtures as they collected 9 points from a possible 12. The Cherries’ best win came as they beat Manchester United, 3-0 at Old Trafford where Hill had a colossal performance. He made 7 clearances, made 6 tackles and made 4 interceptions. Hill’s 61 duels won have him joint-5th overall in the league as well as being joint-8th in clearances with 56. The loss of Marcos Senesi currently is not hurting Marco Rose’s side.
Midfielders
Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Rice led by example in October as the Gunners took the maximum 9 points that were available to them. Rice worked tirelessly and assisted in two of their three games. Firstly, a neat Arsenal attack was rounded off by a deft flick by Rice and Bruno Guimaraes fired in low to win the game at home to Leeds. Mikel Arteta’s men then just got past Nottingham Forest, 1-0, and Rice passed to Noni Madueke for the deflected winner. Rice is 6th overall in the league in touches with 743.
Johan Manzambi (Aston Villa)
Manzambi has adapted well to Premier league life, and this included a solid October. He has brought something different to Villa’s attack after the loss of Morgan Rogers. In the 2-2 draw with Brentford, he assisted John McGinn’s deflected shot that made it 2-1. Unai Emery’s men got a big away win at Newcastle, and Manzambi’s header turned out to be the winner. After a gargantuan home victory over Manchester City, Villa drew 1-1 with Fulham and Manzambi laid on the opening goal for Nicolas Jackson. The Swiss international is only going to improve.
Jack Rudoni (Coventry City)
Coventry had their best month of the campaign thus far as they won 2 of their 4 matches. Rudoni was the highest scoring midfielder in the league in the month, netting three times. He began October tucking away a spot kick as the Sky Blues shocked Newcastle with a 4-1 home triumph. He found the net again although it was in a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham as he squeezed the ball in at the near post. Frank Lampard’s side then beat Sunderland 3-1, where Rudoni’s long range shot was deflected in for their third goal.
Forwards
Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Not Haaland’s best month in terms of all-round play but he still found the net four times on his quest to another Golden Boot. After Liverpool went down to 10 men, Haaland opened the scoring at Anfield reacting quickest to Jeremy Doku’s blocked shot in a 3-0 win. He bagged a brace in the 3-2 home win over Ipswich, his first was a header after good play by Mateo Kovacic. He slid his second in after a good touch and then ran towards goal. In a 2-1 loss at Aston Villa, he scored a towering header from a Iliman Ndiaye cross. The man honestly is a machine.
Nicolas Jackson (Aston Villa)
Jackson is reunited with Unai Emery, the manager who showed faith in him at Villarreal and he is flourishing. The Senegalese international is now joint-3rd top scorer in the league with 5 goals after netting 4 times in October. Jackson turned in Emiliano Buendia’s ball to level things up at home to Brentford in a 2-2 draw. Villa got a mammoth home win against Manchester City and Jackson was at the double. His clinical finish into the roof of the net made it 1-0, and he then won the contest in the second period shooting early to catch out Gianluigi Donnarumma. He concluded the month with a low shot to open the scoring in a 1-1 draw with Fulham.
Evanilson (Bournemouth)
Evanilson is not necessarily known for being prolific but that is exactly what he was in October. He got a scant consolation as the month started badly with a 5-1 drubbing at Chelsea. His industry provided the opener for Marcus Tavernier in the 2-0 victory over Sunderland. He then seized on an error by Omar Alderete to make it 2-0 after bamboozling Robin Roefs with a plethora of stepovers. In a big win at Manchester United, he reacted quickest to round Senne Lammens and curl in a fantastic finish to make it 3-0. His superb month ended with another goal as James Trafford’s mistake saw him tap the ball in after Justin Kluivert found him as they beat Leeds 2-0 at home.
@DubulDee
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