FPL Gameweek 9 Preview – Talking Points, Buy/Sell, Captaincy

Gameweek 9 brings new opportunities and decisions for FPL managers. At this stage in the season, FPL ranks remain fluid, and with only a handful of points separating large swathes of the leaderboard, small tweaks in strategy can lead to significant gains. As we head into a pivotal run of fixtures, it’s essential to keep focused on fixtures, premium assets’ performances, and budget options that could emerge as key differentials.

In this preview, we’ll break down why rank isn’t yet something to stress about, discuss the ongoing dilemmas around premium assets like Haaland and Salah, and explore standout picks for the next few gameweeks. Let’s dive in and set up a plan to make the most of Gameweek 9.

Does Rank Matter Yet? No.

In the early stages of the FPL season, rank is a volatile metric, and this table highlights why. 

Here’s a breakdown of the key insights:

1. Narrow Points Gaps: The difference between a top 10k rank and a 1 million rank is only 66 points (552 vs 486). This gap might sound big at first, but in FPL terms, it’s often only a few gameweeks’ worth of returns. A good captaincy choice or a couple of differential players performing well can easily make up 15-20 points in a single gameweek.
2. Manageable Differences Between Ranks: Moving from 1 million to 500k, for instance, only requires a 14-point gain (486 vs 500 points), which is typically achievable with minor adjustments. This trend holds as you go further up the rankings. Even moving from 100k to 10k, a jump that would be massive later in the season, only requires a 27-point difference right now.

With over two-thirds of the season remaining, there are still numerous opportunities for point swings. So, keep the faith.

Haaland…

Premiums continue to be weird this year. I’m not feeling very good about Haaland. It obviously feels a bit knee-jerky to sell but he has been bad in a great run of fixtures. 0xG against Wolves is absolutely ridiculous. No KdB and no Rodri appears to be causing problems for them. And all the while Salah continues to perform.

The thing is, Haaland is about to play the absolute best fixture and he has some of the best fixtures of any of the premiums for the next few weeks. See the captaincy matrix below.

This whole season seems to be completely insane but after an existential crisis on Sunday night I have decided to trust the process, back the fixtures and keep him. I won’t be triple captaining him though. The doubts are enough to stop me there.

Captaincy Matrix

And here is my matrix as it looks right now. I have 5 free transfers right now so I can waste one or two on aggressive switches here.

• • Salah v.s. Haaland: Both are strong captaincy candidates across this fixture run.
  • Palmer: Has a good run from 12.
  • Son: Is the standout option for gameweek 11 but 
  • Saka: Is possibly injured and has the worst run here.

• Mbeumo: Is not a guy I normally would include but he has been so consistent and nobody has a standout fixture in 13 but him.

Cheap Forwards

I wanted to look quickly at the cheap forwards because I think there is a lot of value here.

I want Wissa the most. 5.9 and at points last year and the year before he was putting up great underlying numbers. He has excellent fixtures too. The thing is, I don’t know if he starts this week in the best fixture.

I would probably take Raul next. I am slightly concerned that he could just lose his spot to Muniz but he currently looks great. Again, excellent fixtures and Fulham are just good.

Strand Larsen and Cunha have a good fixture run for eleven games. So, if you want to spend no transfers I would back them. They aren’t my favourites because I just don’t rate them or Wolves as highly but I still like the picks.

Wood only has three good fixtures before playing Arsenal, Ipswich and City. Obviously you don’t want to play him against either Arsenal or City. So, he’s only really fine if you can figure out a plan to rotate him with someone like Rogers.

I own DCL and I think it was a mistake. He has been severely underperforming his underlying stats (probably because that’s who he his).

Best Attacking Fixtures

Here are the five sides with the very best attacking FPL fixtures, over the upcoming few gameweeks. 

Best Defensive Fixtures

Here are the five sides with the very best defensive FPL fixtures, over the upcoming few gameweeks.

Should I Buy?

Looking at the most-bought players in FPL, ahead of Gameweek 9, and don’t know whether you should buy one? We will tell you!

Gvardiol – No. You missed the boat if you wanted the good fixtures and Man City concede every game.

Son – Yes, if fit. Great player, decent fixtures.

Mbeumo – Yes. Why don’t you have him already!?

Palmer – Yes.

Keane – Yes. Feels ridiculous but Everton have good defensive fixtures, he is nailed and is only 4.2.

McNeil – Yes. Good fourth or fifth midfielder.

Rogers – Yes but not a priority buy.

Salah – No. Not this week. Arsenal away is one of the toughest fixtures.

Johnson – Yes. Fixtures are okay and he is good value at his price. Consider the next guy though…

Garnacho – Yes. Four 90 mins in a row now and some of the best fixtures in the league.

Konate – No. Not this week. I am starting to wonder whether he is the best value defender in FPL though.

Ait-Nouri – Maybe. After this week his fixtures are a sea of green but I don’t love playing Brighton away.

Porro – Maybe. The big brain models will tell you yes. And Spurs are one of the best defences in the league according to xGC this year. But we know they suck and give up HUGE chances. And, his xGI is only 0.22 per 90. I think I’m out.

Should I Sell?

And now let’s take a look at the most-sold players in FPL, ahead of Gameweek 9. 

Saka – Yes. Regardless of injury status he isn’t 100% and has a tough fixture.

Saliba – Yes. He is too expensive to sit on the bench.

Luis Diaz/Jota – Yes. They aren’t nailed.

Gabriel/Raya – No. Keep him because there isn’t really a marginal gain to be made selling one of the best defensive assets in the game. Just play him for 38 weeks.

Smith-Rowe – No. I’d be more tempted to buy! He just had 3 tough fixtures, that’s why he hasn’t returned.

Welbeck – Yes. Potentially not fully fit and has City and Liverpool after this week.

Eze – Yes. Palace are awful.

Alexander-Arnold – Maybe. I have him and I want to keep him but I can see why you might sell him to free up some funds and this week is a good week to do so.

Solanke – No. I’m not rushing out to buy him but he’s okay and the fixtures are too.

Gordon – Yes. Bad fixtures and a great time to get off.

Calvert-Lewin– Maybe. He sucks and there are better options (see Cheap Forwards above) but its not an urgent priority given his fixtures.

Captaincy Corner

Haaland is the overwhelming standout choice.

If you don’t have him, I actually quite like Mbeumo.

That’s It.

As we look ahead to Gameweek 9, it’s clear that while the big names are ever-present, there are also budget-friendly assets with impressive fixtures that could bring real value. With the season’s midpoint still far off, taking advantage of fixture swings and emerging players is a savvy way to boost rank without needing drastic changes.

Trust the process.