Gameweek 9 of the Fantasy Premier League turned out to be a relatively high scoring week with an average score of 54 and the highest being 117. The big names in the team of the week were Palmer, Gvardiol and Mbuemo while some of the differential picks in Fulham’s Iwobi, and Palace’s Chalobah also made the list.
Over 330k managers decided to use their triple captain chip on Erling Haaland who faced Southampton, but the Norwegian only managed one goal- underperforming his xG of 2.33 and disappointing his owners.
However, the biggest curveball from an FPL perspective was that, for the third consecutive week, the top scorer wasn’t a premium asset—a reminder of how unpredictable this season has been and how the enablers are more than just enablers now.
Heading into Gameweek 10, it’s getting increasingly important as to which premium options one picks and how the budget is spread across the rest of the team.
Fixtures to Watch
Liverpool face off against Brighton- an easier fixture compared to their previous two against Arsenal and Chelsea. As Haaland continues with his Jekyll and Hyde performances, this might be the right time to pivot to Mohamed Salah or other Liverpool attacking assets like Nunez and Diaz.
While Wolves have been abysmal this season, their terrible fixture run comes to an end and they play 3 of their next 4 at home, one of them being Southampton. Attacking assets like Strand Laarsen and Cunha have been amongst the goals for Wolves.
Teams to watch out for
As expected Liverpool once again gets a mention. Many pivoted away from Liverpool assets like Salah due to their tougher fixtures, but the Egyptian king continued to perform showing off his class against the big 6.
A left field take- Manchester United. After the sacking of ETH there is a high chance we see a new manager bounce, and United’s fixture from week 11-13 seem like the perfect punt for players like Garnacho and Bruno.
Transfer Targets
Yoane Wissa (vs Fulham)
Wissa returned to full 90 minutes action against Ipswich and how. The striker bagged a goal and assist in Brentford’s win over Ipswich. He heads into a golden fixture run with Fulham, Bournemouth and Everton- all possible high scoring games. Priced at 5.9m the striker is also great value for money.
Ait Nouri (vs Crystal Palace)
Ait Nouri scored his third goal of the season in GW9 and provides brilliant attacking value, 0.2 xGI per 90 minutes as a defensive option. He has great upcoming fixtures that rank as the easiest fixtures for defenders over the next six GWs.
Josko Gvardiol (vs Bournemouth)
When bringing in a City asset, there is always hesitation thanks to Pep’s rotation. But one man who seems immune from it for now is Gvardiol. While he is priced 1.5m higher than counterpart Rico Lewis , over the last 4 gameweeks Gvardiol (29) has outscored Lewis (14) by 15 FPL points with the duo both starting all four matches.
Mohamed Salah (vs Brighton)
With many managers growing tired of Haaland’s lack of hauls to justify his price, many managers are looking to shift those funds to more premium midfielders such as Salah, Saka, Palmer, etc.
Salah is a great option moving forward, as Liverpool has good upcoming fixtures and is a captaincy option in the upcoming GWs. The Salah to Haaland switch is a good idea for managers looking to spread funds.
Captaincy Picks
Mohamed Salah
Maybe it’s time to pivot from captaining Haaland every week as Salah faces off against Brighton who have showed signs of defensive fragility in their game against Wolves. Brighton also have only a 10% chance for keeping a clean sheet.
The Reds also have the home advantage, something the next two picks don’t have.
Erling Haaland
One of the most common captaincy choices- it always feels risky captaining anyone other than Haaland, all because of his high ceiling for attacking returns. If the Norwegian brute gets going it’s often impossible to stop him. City face off against Bournemouth away from home- who have a slightly higher 14% chance to keep a clean sheet.
Cole Palmer
One of the more left field options in this list is Cole Palmer who’s Chelsea side faces off against a crumbling Manchester United. Either United pickup thanks to the new manager bounce or they look open and exposed- allowing for Palmer and his men to exploit United- making him a differential captaincy option.
Gabriel Replacements
Although Arteta has said that Gabriel’s knee injury doesn’t look too serious, we’re still here to provide some replacement option.
In a similar price bracket, his defensive partner Saliba returns from suspension but doesn’t offer nearly the same attacking threat. Someone who does offer attacking value is Gvardiol- also priced at 6m. But it’s important to note that City have struggled to keep clean sheets this season.
In a lower price bracket to enable funds- Ait Nouri (4.5m) and Antonee Robinson of Fulham (4.5m) both offer decent attacking value and also are nailed on to start. Although clean sheets cannot be guaranteed for both Wolves and Fulham.
In conclusion to this preview, it’s important to note that with cup fixtures midweek, the later you make transfers the better it is, purely to avoid any injury setbacks and make sure we’re making informed moves.