In an extraordinary weekend of football, Manchester City lost an unprecedented three league games in a row when they were beaten 4-0 at home by Tottenham Hotspur – and Erling Haaland (£15.1m) hidden again. He scored two goals in his last eight league games.

In the meantime, Mohamed Salah (£13.0m) scored two goals in his side’s 3-2 win at Southampton, keeping Liverpool eight points clear at the top of the league. His tally in the Fantasy Premier League this season is now 10 goals and six assists.

If you had captained Haaland from Gameweek 10 to Gameweek 12 (so far), you would have won 18 points. If you had captained Salah, you would have taken 72 points from the Egyptian in the same period. That’s a difference of 56 points – a tough swing, but that’s FPL for you.

Gameweek 12 ends today with Newcastle United and West Ham United (8:00 p.m. GMT; 3:00 p.m. ET), but here we’ll cover the key FPL talking points from the weekend’s action.

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It’s not just about Haaland – Manchester City’s players just aren’t worth it

It’s not just Haaland who has problems. Manchester City have been really out of form and this seems less of a blip and more of a bigger problem. They have lost their last five games in all competitions, the first time in Pep Guardiola’s career.

I think we first have to talk about Haaland again. If you still have the Norwegian, I think moving for Salah is a good move and this is a good week as they face Liverpool (A) next. It’s just too expensive and the money you save can really help your entire squad.

Plus, City are probably in the worst form they’ve ever had under Guardiola and are nowhere near as difficult as usual.

It’s time to get rid of all your assets. They have only kept two clean sheets this season, with an xGC (expected goals conceded) of 15.5 (10th best in the Premier League).

With Liverpool, Manchester United and Aston Villa playing in the next five games, I don’t see many goals conceded.

If yes Josko Gvardiol (£6.3m) or Rico Lewis (£4.8m)I would try to pass them off for Arsenal defenders.

Arsenal’s defense is worth your attention

Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 at home and are clearly a much better attacking team Martin Odegaard (£8.2m) in their starting eleven.

I would really try to target their strengths in the coming weeks, particularly in defense. They have conceded 12 goals (third fewest in the league) with an xGC of 12.3 (second best). They are still the best defense in the league and will probably keep the most clean sheets at the end of the season.

They also have good games coming up and a double-up on defense is a great thing and will make a nice difference.

Gabriel (£6.1m) And William Saliba (£6.0m) are most nailed and should play every game during the busy holiday season. However, if you are short on cash, then Jurrien Timber (£5.5m) is a great purchase.

With Ben White (£6.2m) was ruled out by his manager “for a few months” after surgery and Takehiro Tomiyasu (£4.8m) With him still out, Timber should be in the starting lineup for an extended period of time. Mikel Arteta used Thomas Partey (£5.0m) I recently served as a makeshift right-back but I can’t imagine something like this happening again at Timber Fit.

Bukayo Saka (£10.2m) is the one to bet on in attack and I would try to use him as soon as possible. He has now scored four goals and eight assists this season and is Arsenal’s clear talisman. As long as he stays fit, he is exactly the type of reliable player you want for the next few months.

Cheap strikers are in charge

We have a number of good striker options this season, but these are the two that should be at the top of our list Matheus Cunha (£6.9m) And Joao Pedro (£5.6m).

The former is now the second-highest scoring striker in the game with seven goals and three assists. The Wolves man has had a great run of fixtures and next plays against Bournemouth (H), Everton (A), West Ham (A), Ipswich (H) and Leicester City (A).

He is the most accurate attacker on his team and could well be the first penalty taker.

Meanwhile, Brighton’s Joao Pedro has been somewhat rested in the last two games following his return from injury, but that hasn’t stopped him from scoring a few double figures. Since his return he has scored two goals and two assists and for his price he looks almost indispensable – especially given the upcoming games.

Fabian Hurzeler’s side play against Southampton (H), Fulham (A), Leicester (A), Crystal Palace (H), West Ham (A) and Brentford (H) in their next six games.

Joao Pedro played 63 minutes in Brighton’s 2-1 win at Bournemouth on Saturday and should get even more minutes in the future. The Brazilian is also his club’s first penalty taker.

Both Cunha and Pedro are great enablers if you have Haaland and want to move to Salah.

Wait before choosing Manchester United players

Ruben Amorim’s first game as Manchester United manager ended in a 1-1 draw. He couldn’t have asked for a better start Marcus Rashford (£6.9m) The scoring opened in the first few minutes. Things weren’t great after that as Ipswich equalized and had the better chances. There will be a transition period, but his line-up at Portman Road has given us an indication of how he wants to line up.

Rashford played as No. 9 Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) And Alejandro Garnacho (£6.4m) forms the front trio in a 3-4-3.

Amad (£4.9m) played as a right wing-back and although he played well and made a great run to set up the first goal, that position is not good for his FPL prospects.

Fernandes dropped deep again as Amorim came on Joshua Zirkee (£6.6m) And Rasmus Hojlund (£6.9m) And that’s not ideal from FPL’s perspective as they would rather have him closer to goal, but he should still get a fair amount of minutes in the first three players.

In the future, the coach will probably play this formation, but the only outfielder who is really convinced is Fernandes. Rashford should keep his place after his goal, but he has competition in that position so he could be one for the future.

There may be cheap options in this system – including Rashford if he stays further forward, as he is rated as a midfielder in the FPL – but on the whole United’s assets should be avoided until we see improvement.

As of Gameweek 17, they have a decent number of games under their belt, so we might evaluate them again at that point.

(Top photo: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)