Keep or sell Konsa? - FPL gameweek 10 dilemmas

Published5 November 2026

BBC Sport's Fantasy Premier League expert FPL Heisenberg gives his answers to some of the biggest dilemmas facing managers heading into gameweek 10.

What to do with Konsa?

Despite performing so well in recent weeks - helping Arsenal to three clean sheets in three Premier League games - for me defender Ezri Konsa (£4.8m) is not a buy this week.

After the midweek Champions League game, Mikel Arteta mentioned him having some knee problems, which led to his early substitution.

William Saliba is now fit and was even in the squad, so anyone bringing Konsa in now is looking at a sell as early as gameweek 11.

However, for owners he is not an automatic sell either.

There is still a chance he starts Hull at home. I am hoping he either starts or he isn't in the squad.

As an owner I am hoping he is fit enough to start, and then in gameweek 11 or 12 I will look to move him on to a defender with strong defensive-contribution potential - someone like Brighton's Luka Vuskovic (£5.2m), Liverpool's Jeremy Jacquet (£5.1m) or Leeds' Tarik Muharemovic (£5.1m).

He is a hold for this week, not a buy.

Underperforming midfielders - Gibbs-White, Mbeumo, Schade: buy, sell or hold?

We are in a period of the game where defenders look very strong - they offer goal threat, defensive contributions and play for sides with real defensive strength. The days of starting five midfielders feel in the past for now. The meta is closer to four defenders, three or four midfielders, and two or three strikers. Things can shift quickly in FPL, but that is the landscape right now.

If you have midfielders you are not happy with, the answer may not always be to sell them. It can be to bench them some weeks and only play them in the better fixtures.

In isolation, Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White (£7.8m) is still a reasonable pick. He is on penalties, he is the talisman for Forest even when the goals have been scarce, and he plays 90 minutes.

Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m) is involved in a lot of chances and goals for a Manchester United side that is struggling. He was unlucky not to return against Chelsea.

Kevin Schade (£6.2m) plays for a Brentford team that is on the up and carries attacking threat.

These are decent options. You do not have to force a sale just because they have blanked recently.

There is no clear must-buy in midfield, unless you are without Brighton's Pascal Gross (£6.2m) or Chelsea's Morgan Rogers (£8.2m) and you specifically need to move one of these three on. Hold if you can, and reassess if the picture changes.

Best defender to buy this week?

We are entering a busier stretch where some of the early-season reliable options - Konsa (£4.8m), Brighton's Maxim de Cuyper (£5.4m) and Arsenal's Riccardo Calafiori (£5.9m) - may not be as nailed as they have been.

I am not saying sell them all immediately, but it is worth starting to think about how you phase in the next wave of defensive purchases.

Antonio Silva (£5.1m) or James Hill (£5.6m) at Bournemouth both stand out as good options this week and beyond. The underlying defensive data has been solid, and both are excellent for defensive contributions - more than nine per 90 minutes. Playing Ipswich is a decent time to buy.

Muharemovic at Leeds is another. Spurs is not the easiest fixture, but Leeds have been very good at Elland Road, so it is a fair entry point if you want him.

A Liverpool defender is also worth considering. Crystal Palace have struggled and have been vulnerable to set-pieces - Tottenham's Jan Paul van Hecke had a number of chances and eventually scored last week. Virgil van Dijk (£6.4m) or Jacquet look shrewd buys. If you do not already own De Cuyper, or if you can afford Gabriel (£8.0m), those remain strong options too.

Best picks from Liverpool before a good run?

This is the start of a good run, beginning with Crystal Palace. There are a few options, but each carries some risk. The defenders are the obvious options - Jacquet and Van Dijk both look fine. Midfield is harder.

Bradley Barcola (£8.1m) is getting minutes but the underlying numbers have not been strong. Cody Gakpo (£7.1m) has shown good minutes and data in the past, but the recent early substitutions are a concern while he is competing with Victor Munoz (£6.5m) and Barcola out wide.

Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.7m) has been underwhelming. He is not getting enough game time and his role is unclear. That leaves Alexander Isak (£9.2m).

He is an excellent pick, but at more than £9m he is also expensive. You have to ask why you would take him over Nicolas Jackson (£7.0m), Joao Pedro (£7.7m) and Erling Haaland (£15.8m), or the cheaper options like Thierno Barry (£5.6m) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.1m). He is good, but he also blocks other good picks. It is perfectly reasonable to wait and look again around gameweek 13, rather than forcing investment now.

Captaincy - Haaland v Gabriel/Calafiori?

This is a slightly trickier week.

Haaland is away at Nottingham Forest. Forest have struggled at both ends, but their attacking and defensive data has actually been reasonable, and Glasner has a history of being difficult to break down against stronger sides from his Palace days. If you want to take on Haaland, this is a reasonable week to do it.

The problem is the alternative options are limited.

The clearest ones are Gabriel or Calafiori. Gabriel brings excellent clean-sheet odds, the chance of a bullet header, and defensive-contribution points. He is probably the strongest rival to Haaland.

In my own team I am looking at Calafiori. He had a full midweek rest so he should start against Hull, and when Arsenal dominate the ball he gets very high up the pitch. Against Hull that could be significant.

We have to start treating defenders as genuine captaincy options given how many double-digit hauls they have produced this season.

My head is still on the safer Haaland pick, but I am very tempted by Calafiori. If you want to go different, an Arsenal defender is the way to go.

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