This article is part of our FPL Best XI series.
We're only just over a quarter into the 2015/16 Premier League season, but already last season's title-winners Chelsea host a pivotal tie against Liverpool on Saturday, when all eyes will be on the managerial matchup.
Recently appointed at Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp remains in search for his first league win as Reds boss, while Blues boss Jose Mourinho's job is seemingly at stake following an increasingly controversial and disappointing 15th-place start to this season.
That high-intrigue affair will kick off Gameweek 11, and the usual allotment of games will run through Monday's matchup between Tottenham and Aston Villa, who are fresh off sacking manager Tim Sherwood last weekend.
With those storylines and plenty more in mind, let's read into the Best XI for the upcoming round of Premiership action.
Goalkeeper:
Hugo Lloris
Despite missing the first game of the season, Lloris still ranks as the sixth-best goalkeeper on the Premier League's fantasy game. However, among those above him, only Manchester City's Joe Hart has conceded fewer than Lloris' seven so far. In fact, Tottenham are currently locked in a four-way tie with Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City for the fewest goals allowed this season. This weekend, Spurs and Lloris are pitted against a managerless Aston Villa outfit whose nine goals scored rank better than only two teams. The Villains have also failed to score in four of their past six games versus Tottenham across all competitions.
Defenders:
Aleksandar Kolarov
Clearly the best fantasy defender in England so far this season, Kolarov returned from a one-game absence for the Manchester derby last weekend and recorded his sixth clean sheet through nine starts. The Serbian has also scored once this season, and he remains one of the most attack-minded defenders in Europe. Come Saturday, the Citizens will host a Norwich City team whose offense has been sneaky good this season, but the Canaries have gone winless from 15 of their last 16 away Premier League matches. They also went scoreless against Man City during the 2013-14 campaign, which further improves Kolarov's outlook.
Brendan Galloway
Since teammate Seamus Coleman (illness) is doubtful for Sunday's game against Sunderland, we'll turn our attention to Everton's other fullback, who has performed admirably in Leighton Baines' (ankle) absence. At only 19 years old, Galloway has held his own defensively, while also offering a nice outlet down the Toffees' left side of attack. So far, the youngster supplied an assist versus Chelsea in Gameweek 5, which preceded his second clean sheet of the season the next week. Since then, Everton's defense has gone against the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal, so Sunday's home match versus Sunderland certainly represents a downgrade in competition that could result in another clean sheet for Galloway.
Cedric Soares
Like Everton, Southampton recently embarked on a tricky run of games, with their past five league matches coming against Manchester United, Swansea City, Chelsea, Leicester City and Liverpool. While that appears daunting on paper, Ronald Koeman's men prevailed with two wins and two draws from that span, and now can look forward to a home matchup against Bournemouth. The Cherries have lost their last three away matches in the league, scoring just twice along the way. That shapes up well for Cedric, who put together three straight clean sheets prior to Southampton's aforementioned five-game stretch.
Midfielders:
Kevin De Bruyne (C)
What more can you say about De Bruyne besides the fact that he's simply been on fire since joining Manchester City? To that point, KDB has accumulated seven goals and three assists in 12 competitive appearances, including two for his native Belgium, since making his Man City debut. That record also includes De Bruyne's goal in midweek League Cup play against Crystal Palace, which ended in a 5-1 victory for the Citizens. With another home game against Norwich City next on the schedule, De Bruyne could very well improve on his already impressive numbers, as City scored seven goals the last time Norwich visited the Etihad Stadium.
Dimitri Payet
One of De Bruyne's top competitions for signing of the season thus far, Payet served up his fourth assist in West Ham's win over Chelsea last weekend. That result brought the Hammers up to third on the table, a remarkable start that Payet, who now tops the Premier League's fantasy game in total points, deserves plenty of credit for. In fact, following last weekend's effort, the Frenchman has now put up at least one goal or one assist in West Ham's last six Premier League outings, bringing his current totals to five goals and four assists on the campaign. This weekend, Payet will aim to keep the ball rolling at promoted outfit Watford, who are tasked with stopping West Ham's league-best away attack.
Mesut Ozil
With an assist against Everton last weekend, Ozil secured lone position atop the Premier League's leaderboard in the category,with seven. However, Ozil has done much more than that, as this week it was widely revealed that he boasts the best assist rate in the history of the Premier League, notching one assist every 2.71 matches. Ahead of Saturday's match at Swansea City, the German genius has at least one assist in four straight league matches, and totes two goals and six assists across his last eight appearances for club and country. Surprisingly, Swansea beat Arsenal twice last season, so the in-form Ozil will have his eyes on revenge this weekend.
Sadio Mane
Another player picking up considerable steam lately, Mane has all three of his goals and all five of his assists over Southampton's last seven Premiership matches. Furthermore, his three goals have come in the Saints' past four ties, giving him great confidence in advance of Sunday's home game against Bournemouth. Sitting in 17th on the table, no team has surrendered more goals this season than the Cherries, who not only shipped five to Tottenham in Gameweek 10, but also gave up five goals in Gameweek 9 against Manchester City. Given Bournemouth's defensive woes, Sunday's match seems like a perfect occasion for Mane to keep his momentum going.
Forwards:
Harry Kane
Don't look now, but last season's breakout star just might have finally broken his sophomore slump. After scoring one goal and one own-goal through Tottenham's first 10 games, Kane netted a hat-trick as Spurs dismantled Bournemouth last weekend. For a player that scored in bunches last season following an anonymous start, Kane is certainly a player to monitor this Monday against last-place Aston Villa. Only the teams ranked 15-19 in the standings have conceded more goals than Villa, who will also be without a permanent manager Monday. Throw in the fact that Kane scored against the Villains last season, and the Englishman's prospects appear even brighter in Gameweek 11.
Jamie Vardy
Among the most extraordinary storylines so far this season is the amazing run of Vardy and Leicester City, who presently sit in fifth-place after miraculously avoiding relegation just last season. The Foxes' trot to the top has been paced by Vardy, who not only leads the Premier League with 10 goals through 10 games but has also found the back of the net in seven consecutive matches. A former eighth-division player, Vardy's ascent leads him into Saturday's meeting at West Brom, where he scored a 91st-minute winner in Leicester's trip to the Hawthorns last April. In unprecedented form, Vardy has personally scored more goals than five Premiership teams through the first quarter of the campaign.
Wilfried Bony
Although he was held at bay during Manchester City's scoreless draw at rivals Man United last weekend, Bony returned to the scoresheet in the Citizens' midweek League Cup win over Crystal Palace. In doing so, the Ivorian brought his tally to three goals and an assist in four starts across all competitions since taking injured teammate Sergio Aguero's (hamstring) place. Expected to lead Manchester City's high-flying attack once again this Saturday, Bony should be licking his chops at the opportunity to face Norwich City, whose defense has been run ragged by City in recent meetings. For perspective, the Canaries have conceded 24 goals in their last six matches against Manchester City, a record that makes Bony an obvious Best XI inclusion this week.
BENCH
GK: Jack Butland
After leading Stoke to a penalty-kick victory over Chelsea in the League Cup this week, Butland also carries two clean sheets in his past three Premiership games into Saturday's meeting at Newcastle, who were blanked by Sunderland last time out.
DEF: Aaron Cresswell
The Englishman grabbed his third assist of the campaign last weekend against Chelsea and now gets to play a Watford outfit whose eight goals are tied for the fewest in the league.
DEF: Chris Smalling
Quietly, Smalling ranks second among all defenders in the Premier League's fantasy game thanks to six clean sheets, including three in Man U's past four games, heading into Saturday's game at Crystal Palace.
MID: Georginio Wijnaldum
After his four-goal outburst, Wijnaldum came back to earth in Newcastle's scoreless defeat at Sunderland last weekend, but Saturday's home matchup against Stoke City represents a decent chance to return to the scoresheet.
MID: Riyad Mahrez
While Mahrez hasn't scored since Gameweek 6, he's provided an assist in back-to-back games in advance of this weekend's tie at West Brom.
FWD: Romelu Lukaku
The fourth highest-scoring striker in the Premier League's fantasy game, Lukaku has a favorable home matchup against Sunderland's fourth-worst defense.
FWD: Graziano Pelle
Scorer of five goals and five assists this season, Pelle is tasked this weekend with breaking down a Bournemouth defense that's allowed five goals in consecutive league outings.
