GW7 BRIEFING · THE ASSISTANT MANAGER
Generated 10/13/2026, 3:00:08 PM
The Verdict
HIGH CONFIDENCE- Captain:
- Haaland
- Vice:
- Saka
- Formation:
- 3-4-3
- Transfer:
- Szoboszlai → Groß (made). Hold the rest.
- Bench order:
- 1. Konsa 2. Egan 3. Yalcouyé GK: Davies
- Confidence:
- HIGH
Captain Call
CLEARCaptain
Haaland
Vice
Saka
Nearly Saka instead: Haaland projects 2.0 points more than Saka this week.
The Chairman's Shortlist
Maeda @ ITFC leads.
2 points off Expo
Before You Lock It In
Still Live
- • Raya and Saka start, Konsa sits first on the bench, all three Arsenal away at Nott'm Forest. Arsenal are favourites at 8/13, but one bad afternoon touches three of our fifteen.
- • Barry faces Chelsea at home on FDR 4, tough ceiling game for the Everton forward.
- • Muharemović keeps his place on a 90-minute projection, Leeds at home to Man Utd on FDR 4. Konsa projects 0.16 more, but Muharemović starts on minutes.
Check Before Deadline
- Confirm Groß is in the starting XI and Szoboszlai is gone from the fifteen.
- Confirm the bench order reads Konsa, Egan, Yalcouyé, with Davies in goal.
The Room
Jimmy MacLeod
Groß. Brighton at home to Crystal Palace, 88 minutes, 5.55 projected. I watched him with my eyes, Arjun watched him with a spreadsheet, and we got the same answer. I have never been so annoyed to be right.
Luca Ferretti
Back to 3-4-3. Groß into the four, Haaland, Barry and João Pedro across the top. Finally, the shape has a shape.
Klaus Brandt
Three free transfers sitting in the bank. This is a bird in the hand gathering no moss. At some point you must cash the egg.
Dr. Rachel Okafor
Szoboszlai's hamstring is down to a 25% chance of playing. Selling him is the most clinically sound thing this room has done all week. Muharemović gives me 90 minutes, Konsa 85. The file prefers the extra five.
Arjun Sharma
Konsa projects 4.12, Muharemović 3.96. I have a chart. The chart prefers Konsa. Nobody looked at the chart.
The room backed the Groß move and Haaland's armband; Brandt wants the remaining free transfers spent, and Sharma's chart prefers Konsa to Muharemović by 0.16 projected points.
Worth Watching
Jimmy MacLeod
Three positions on the board this week, I have been watching the Brighton defence, the City wide player, and a Brentford forward who keeps coming up in the numbers.
£5.1m · 4.8% owned
Brighton at home to Crystal Palace, strong favourites at 8/15, clean sheet a real possibility. At that price, Vuskovic is the differential hold I would rather have than pay over the odds for the premium option.
£8.3m · 14.1% owned
Man City at home to Ipswich Town, 1/4 to win, clean sheet a real possibility. Semenyo has form of 10.0 and that fixture is about as friendly as it gets. I have had my eye on him for two weeks.
£7.8m · 9.1% owned
Brentford at home to Liverpool is FDR 4 and the market has it near level, not the fixture I would choose for a debut watch, but the form is there and Thiago is worth keeping on the list for when the schedule eases.
The Squad
3-4-3 · £100.6m
Behind the decision
CONFIDENCE: HIGH
One transfer made, three free transfers held, and a captain call that picks itself. The hard part was done before you read this.
THE CALL
Haaland gets the armband. Szoboszlai is out, Groß is in, and that is the business for the week. We hold the remaining three free transfers. The shape is 3-4-3 and Muharemović starts ahead of Konsa.
FORMATION
3-4-3. Three at the back, Groß joins Saka, Rogers and Palmer in the four, and Haaland leads a front three with Barry and João Pedro. Luca is calling it a return to principles. It is also the shape we had before anyone suggested otherwise.
STARTING XI
Raya (Arsenal away at Nott'm Forest, FDR 3), 90 minutes, 4.14 projected. Arsenal are favourites at 8/13. Clean sheet in play.
Van Hecke (Spurs at home to Coventry City, FDR 2), 88 minutes, 4.9 projected. Spurs are 4/9 to win. Okafor has him at a full 100% and, for once, has nothing to add.
De Cuyper (Brighton at home to Crystal Palace, FDR 2), 6.01 projected, the highest of any defender in the squad. Brighton are 8/15 to win. Good day to be an attacking Brighton defender.
Muharemović (Leeds at home to Man Utd, FDR 4), 90 minutes, 3.96 projected. Not the prettiest fixture, but he is projected to be there at the final whistle, and that is the whole point of him this week.
Saka (Arsenal away at Nott'm Forest, FDR 3), 5.67 projected, vice captain. Arsenal are favourites at 8/13.
Rogers (Chelsea away at Everton, FDR 3), 86 minutes, 4.72 projected. Four goals against an xG of 1.6. Arjun has been flagging that number for weeks and he is right to flag it. We start him because he is nailed and Chelsea are favourites at 6/5.
Groß (Brighton at home to Crystal Palace, FDR 2), the transfer in. 88 minutes, 5.55 projected. Three goals, four assists this season. He arrives fit, which is more than could be said for the man he replaced.
Palmer (Chelsea away at Everton, FDR 3), 85 minutes, 5.35 projected. Chelsea are favourites at 6/5.
Haaland (Man City at home to Ipswich Town, FDR 2), captain. Six goals this season. Man City are 1/4 to win. 89 minutes, 7.71 projected. There is nothing to debate here, and MacLeod has already started debating it anyway.
Barry (Everton at home to Chelsea, FDR 4), 88 minutes, 4.29 projected. His xG of 5.5 says the volume is there even if it has not fully converted. He is the one man in this side hoping Chelsea have a bad day, which makes the team talk awkward.
João Pedro (Chelsea away at Everton, FDR 3), 85 minutes, 4.91 projected. Back in the front three. Between him, Palmer, Rogers and Barry, we have Everton against Chelsea covered from both ends.
BENCH ORDER
1. Konsa (Arsenal away at Nott'm Forest), 85 minutes, 4.12 projected. Loses the start to Muharemović on minutes, not quality. First off the bench if anything goes wrong.
2. Egan (Hull City away at Fulham), 90 minutes, 3.17 projected. Reliable, unglamorous, second in the queue.
3. Yalcouyé (Brighton at home to Crystal Palace), about 15 minutes, 1.0 projected. Third sub. If we need him, the afternoon has gone wrong in ways this briefing is not equipped to discuss.
GK: Davies (Liverpool away at Brentford), zero projected minutes. Bench goalkeeper in the purest sense.
CAPTAIN
Haaland, projects 7.71 points this week, Man City at home to Ipswich Town, favourites at 1/4. The gap over Saka, the alternative, is 2.0 projected points. The armband goes where it belongs.
MacLeod did not need convincing. "That is not a fixture," he said, "that is a formality." He is not wrong, and he will not let us forget it.
Vice: Saka, Arsenal away at Nott'm Forest, Arsenal favourites at 8/13. 5.67 projected. Genuine cover if anything goes wrong with Haaland late.
WHY NOT ANOTHER TRANSFER?
Klaus wanted to spend. Klaus always wants to spend. The fifth-midfielder option on the table would have spent most weekends on the bench behind Barry and João Pedro, and paying for a substitute is not ambition, it is admin. Konsa and Yalcouyé are next week's business. Until then, three free transfers stay in the safe.
The Chairman asked whether holding transfers counts as "strategic patience." It does now.
WHY NOT KONSA?
Sharma's chart has Konsa at 4.12 and Muharemović at 3.96. That is a gap of 0.16 projected points. Okafor's file has Muharemović at 90 minutes and Konsa at 85. A fine margin either way, and I will take the defender projected to see the final whistle. Konsa is first on the bench, so if I am wrong, I am only wrong by one substitution.
ARBITRATION
Brandt raised the money: three free transfers sitting idle. Noted. They are not idle, they are waiting for a fixture worth spending them on.
Sharma wanted the Rogers concern on the record again. Four goals against an xG of 1.6 is a significant overperformance and a correction is statistically due. I hear it. Rogers is still nailed, Chelsea are still favourites, and we do not drop a nailed midfielder on regression risk alone. The flag is noted for the file.