Fantasy Football Files - 2025/26 - Gameweek 11 - 'Burn It Down'

Gameweek 11 pitted me against another of my D&D Football Factory co-hosts in (Big) Sam. I had more classic points than him, but he was above me more importantly in the ‘Justice League’ table.

With me taking a quite recent points-hit, I decided not to make any transfers as me and Sam only had a couple of the same players, so I settled with letting things play out. Sam decided not to make any transfers either, so he also thought with eight differentials that there was no need to alter things. I captained Mo Salah whilst Sam opted for Jarrod Bowen. This was a choice I was a little nervous about as if Bowen was a midfielder like previous seasons, then he would still be in my side. With him being a forward now I had to let him go for budget reasons.

The action started back on the 8th of November at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. My chances of clean sheet points from Micky van de Ven were dashed as Bryan Mbeumo put Manchester United ahead in an otherwise forgettable first half. Spurs turned it around late in the second half, only for Matthijs de Ligt to salvage a point for the Red Devils with a header right at the death.

There were only two 3pm games. Everton had a plethora of goals disallowed before they won 2-0 at home to Fulham. I was thankful that Jack Grealish was not involved in either goal. Michael Keane scored the Toffees’ second goal en route to 15 points and at £4.5m will be useful until Jarrad Branthwaite returns. In the other contest, West Ham beat Burnley 3-2 at the London Stadium to ease some of the pressure on Nuno Espirito Santo. Sam’s captain Bowen surprisingly did not contribute so I dodged a bullet. My opponent and I both had Martin Dubravka in goal who finished with 2 points.

I feared the 5.30 kick-off as Arsenal travelled to Sunderland. I did however, quite boldly state on the #FootyOnTop show earlier that morning that I did not believe the Black Cats would lose the match. Gabriel Magalhaes is always a threat, so I was ecstatic that former Arsenal man Dan Ballard gave the home side the lead with an emphatic finish. The caveat was Nordi Mukiele assisted the goal, and he was the last man on my bench. I should have backed my chat with chest and started him, but had I been wrong then I would have been mad at myself. The Gunners scored twice after the break, with a well taken goal by Bukayo Saka and a thunderbolt from Leandro Trossard. Mikel Arteta’s men thought another three points were in the bag when Brian Brobbey popped up with a 94th minute equaliser. A fair result as both teams had chances, not a good one however for FPL managers who have doubled or tripled up on Arsenal players at the back. Granit Xhaka was booked against his old club so nothing for me there.

Chelsea and Wolves were goalless in a mainly uneventful first half in the 8pm fixture before the Blues kicked into shape. Enzo Maresca’s men bagged three second half goals as they went on to win 3-0 and moved up to third in the table. Fortunately, Sam’s man Reece James was only on the bench. With us having the bulk of our players not play until Sunday, I trailed 11-6 at the end of Saturday.

Sunday, began with four 2pm kick-offs. Things were not good at Villa Park for me as Aston Villa thumped Bournemouth 4-0. Marcos Senesi’s blank was horrible to watch, while Eli Kroupi was only on the bench and Antoine Semenyo whom we both owned had a penalty saved. Sam’s luck was much different at the Gtech Community Stadium. Newcastle took the lead at Brentford through a good goal by Harvey Barnes only to end up losing 3-1. Dan Burn was sent off for a second bookable offence in the second half much to my pleasure, so the only thing that did not go in my favour was the fact Nick Woltemade got a fantasy assist. With the Magpies conceding three, Burn ended up with no points.

Nottingham Forest beat Leeds 3-1, so Joe Rodon was not of use this week. Arch-rivals Crystal Palace and Brighton met and despite both teams creating a good number of chances it ended goalless. This gave me clean sheet points for Daniel Munoz and just as importantly it meant that two of Sam’s midfielders blanked in Ismaila Sarr and Yankuba Minteh. This had me in a position to win as Sam only had Hugo Ekitike left who I of course had too. With my captain Salah playing in the last game, and Erling Haaland who I did not really want anything from, I felt I would have a straightforward victory.

So, to the Etihad we go. Liverpool started poorly and got an early scare as Manchester City were awarded a penalty. Giorgi Mamardashvili was to save Haaland’s spot-kick though. The Reds did not take advantage as Haaland scored the opener anyway. Arne Slot’s men then thought they were back in the game. I was confused as to why Salah was taking a corner but then just as I was expressing that out loud Virgil van Dijk headed in the equaliser. After VAR intervened the goal was chalked off as offside was given against Andy Robertson. Putting being a Liverpool fan aside, I still thought the decision was harsh as Gianluigi Donnarumma would not have saved it regardless. City then got a second through Nico Gonzalez and then in the second period a fine individual goal from Jeremy Doku finished things off.

Despite my captaincy failing, ironically what I did not want in Haaland’s goal won the head-to-head for me as in a low scoring affair prevailed 25-23. Burn’s sending off was critical too as I got what I would call a cheap win; a win is all that counts, nonetheless.

@DubulDee