Round 11 of this season’s Premier League campaign features a Saturday lunchtime kick-off between hosts Tottenham and their visitors, Manchester United, when the two teams face off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs will be eager to build upon their comprehensive 4-0 win against Copenhagen in midweek, while United will be looking to return to winning ways after being held to a disappointing 2-2 draw at home by lowly Nottingham Forest.
Our Sofascore XI this week takes into account players from stronger teams at home against poor-travelling teams and for the most part, avoiding clashes between two strong sides.
Round 11 total budget: €80.0M
Formation: 3-5-2
Robert Sanchez (Chelsea vs Wolves) – €6.0M
Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez is the first player on our team sheet for Round 11 and although he possesses an average Sofascore rating of 6.42, the London club have been a tough opponent for Wolves at Stamford Bridge in previous encounters.
Indeed, Chelsea have lost just once in their last seven meetings at home against the west midlands club and as Wolves have hit the back of the net just once in their five outings on the road to date, Sanchez stands a great chance of keeping a clean sheet on Saturday night.
Reece James (Chelsea vs Wolves) – €6.9M
Similar reasoning for the inclusion of Chelsea and England defender, Reece James, but he has also produced a string of consistent performances at the back for The Blues this season which has earned him a Sofascore average rating of 7.29.
Reece James’ last five matches in the Premier League have seen him pick up ratings of 7.0 or over as well as scoring 1 goal and providing 2 assists so far in this season’s campaign as well.
James Tarkowski (Everton vs Fulham) – €7.5M
Everton entertain a poor-travelling Fulham outfit at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday afternoon with the merseyside hosts having lost just once at home so far in this season’s Premier League campaign.
Defender James Tarkowski has been an important part of Everton’s revival under manager David Moyes and indeed he holds Everton’s second-highest average Sofascore rating of 7.15, behind only to Jack Grealish.
Fulham have yet to win away from home this term.
Murillo (Nottm Forest vs Leeds Utd) – €7.3M
Nottingham Forest’s Brazilian defender, Murillo, has produced two solid performances in his last three matches in all competitions, picking up Sofascore ratings of 7.4 against Porto (Europa League) and 7.1 against Manchester United (in last weekend’s Premier League action).
Forest are at home to Leeds United on Sunday afternoon at the City Ground and Murillo and Sean Dyche’s side stand a decent chance of gaining a positive result here especially as Leeds have picked up just one away win in five outings on the road.
Lucas Paqueta (West Ham vs Burnley) – €6.8M
Another Brazilian player features in our Sofascore XI for Round 11 in the shape of influential West Ham midfielder, Lucas Paqueta, who has been one of the few shining lights amongst a West Ham outfit who have produced a disappointing start to this season.
Nevertheless, Paqueta sits top of The Hammers’ player ratings with a Sofascore average rating of 7.18 and is also West Ham’s leading goalscorer having notched 3 goals to date.
Burnley have managed to capture just one away win so far this season.
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham vs Burnley) – €8.5M
England midfielder, Jarrod Bowen, joins his West Ham team-mate Lucas Paqueta in our Sofascore XI for Round 11 having scored 3 goals and providing 1 assist so far in this season’s Premier League campaign.
Bowen’s performances so far this season have earned him an average Sofascore rating of 7.01 and having previously scored against Crystal Palace and Everton along with an assist against Leeds United, further points look set to be heading their way via Bowen against a poor-travelling Burnley outfit.
Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford vs Newcastle Utd) – €7.5M
Brentford return to the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday afternoon to take on Newcastle United with Keith Andrews’ side looking to bounce back from last weekend’s 2-0 defeat away from home at Crystal Palace.
The Bees will be encouraged by just one loss at home so far this season and they’ll be up against a Newcastle United outfit who are still waiting to collect their first away win of this campaign – Brentford’s Danish attacking midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard possesses an average Sofascore rating of 6.91 so far, including 1 goal and 1 assist, and no doubt he’ll be keen to put The Magpies to the sword.
Tijjani Reijnders (Manchester City vs Liverpool) – €8.1M
Sunday’s late afternoon kick-off features the stand-out fixture in this weekend’s Premier League action as Manchester City play host to Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium with just a single point separating the two clubs.
City have won six of their last seven games while The Reds seem to have recovered since a horrific run of results which saw them slip to six defeats in seven games in all competitions.
Back to Manchester City though, and Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders produced an excellent performance against Borussia Dortmund in midweek, providing 2 assists for Phil Foden, and an average Sofascore rating of 6.83 looks set to receive a boost in this upcoming clash.
Granit Xhaka (Sunderland vs Arsenal) – €6.9M
Sunderland have been a revelation so far upon their return to the Premier League as the Black Cats currently occupy 4th place in the top flight table and their stand-out player so far in this campaign has been none other than a former Arsenal player, Granit Xhaka.
The Swiss midfield general has chalked up a Sofascore rating of 7.50 so far this term including a 9.2 rating versus Everton in their 1-1 draw with Xhaka hitting the back of the net.
Xhaka is expected to control Sunderland’s midfield once again on Saturday evening with the added extra incentive of playing against his former club!
Ismaïla Sarr (Crystal Palace vs Brighton) – €6.6M
Another fixture that catches the eye in Round 11 of this weekend’s Premier League action is this upcoming M23 derby between Crystal Palace and Brighton at Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon which contains over 50 years of bad blood between the two clubs.
There’s no love lost between these two clubs but Palace forward Ismaïla Sarr looks to have plenty of potential upside considering his value as the Senegalese striker has notched 3 goals and an assist already this term on his way to a Sofascore rating of 7.05.
Sarr has also produced 2 goals and 1 assist in his previous four games against Brighton.
Nick Woltemade (Brentford vs Newcastle Utd) – €7.9M
Newcastle United will make their way down to the nation’s capital for Sunday afternoon’s encounter against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium with The Magpies still looking to secure their first away win of this season’s Premier League campaign.
German striker Nick Woltemade will be eager to get himself on the scoresheet once again for the north-east visitors having hit the back of the net on four occasions already on his way to a Sofascore rating of 6.90 – but this rating could well head into the 7.0’s on the back of his clinical finishing in the box.