FPL Gameweek 9 Preview

Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is back for gameweek 9! So, what the hell are you going to do about it?

We are here to help as you arouse out of your international break hibernation back to the wonderful world of fantasy football. In our FPL gameweek 9 preview we will look at the top talking points, the upcoming fixtures, captaincy and which players you should buy or sell.

In case you missed it, before you read our FPL gameweek 9 preview check out our International Break Review which was a review of the season so far looking at which assets were real.

We won’t be covering the international break and/or injuries in any great depth here and will wait for our news piece on Friday. But, of course, we have to start there…

Top Talking Points

I’m hoping you missed all the drama on FPL Twitter. In case you care, Benny Blanco started a “World Cup of most annoying FPL Twitter handles” and it all descended from there. We were pleased to not be involved but also pleased to see FPL Mate win haha.

Robertson Out, Tsimikas in?

Far more importantly, Andy Robertson looks set for a period on the sidelines after a dislocated shoulder. That makes Tsimikas a great pick. But only if we know Robbo is out for an extended period of time. He’s only 4.4 and pretty attacking when he has played for Liverpool in the past. Liverpool have good fixtures upcoming.

Mo, Mo, Mo

All the content creators are talking about Salah so I guess we will too. I covered it in the international break review so I’m just going to quote myself:

“He’s the best mid in the game. He delivers consistently and is the only nailed on Liverpool attacker. He is also way ahead of the others on xGI. He remains an excellent option and the only reason why you wouldn’t have him is budgetary. Right?

Well… No. People are still right that you can, in theory, beat Mo Salah with No Salah. A midfield of Saka, Son, Maddison, Bowen, Mbeumo would have got you 244 points for 40.1 in today’s prices. A midfield of Salah, Saka, Maddison, Mbeumo and Gordon would have got you 236 points for 41.6 in today’s prices (although Gordon didn’t play all the minutes in the first 8 games).

So, it is possible to go No Salah and be successful for cheaper. The thing is, Salah is consistent and you can trust him. All the other midfielders are less consistent. So, its more risky to go without him and you need to be agile with your transfers to secure the correct midfielders.

And if you had backed Fernandes, who has the fourth highest xGI among midfielders in the league, or Rashford, who has the eight highest xGI among midfielders, then you would have made a mistake. Not a foolish mistake, an informed one. But, nonetheless, you would be suffering now.”

Fixture Tickers

This is a regular stalwart of our pieces throughout the year. We will look at which teams have the best fixtures over the next five gameweeks to help you plan your transfers.

Teams in capitals are home fixtures and teams in lowercase are away fixtures.

There are some noticeable differences in the defensive and attacking fixture tickers ahead of FPL gameweek 9.

Defensive Fixture Ticker

Tottenham being at the top of the defensive fixture ticker is an interesting one. If you go and look at our international break review, you will see that Spurs are only the 9^th best defence in the league. They’re overperforming their xGC so I don’t think they’re actually a great defence to invest in, they’ve just been a bit lucky. The key thing is, that Udogie and Porro are good going forward too.

I’d trust Newcastle and Arsenal defenders way more to deliver clean sheets as the third and second best defences in the league respectively. Obviously, Trippier is the best of these guys with his attacking threat but he is bloody expensive.

Palace are super cheap and the seventh best defence in the league. I like them too for clean sheets but they have also been a bit lucky to get 4 cleans.

Finally, Aston Villa. Their defence is okay, not great. They currently sit 12^th in our defensive rankings. The gold you’re looking for though is Matty Cash. Cash tops the xGI chart among all defenders by a long way. He has 3.84 xGI and, importantly, most of that xGI is in goals, which obviously score more points than assists (3.00 vs. 0.84).

Attacking Fixture Ticker

And you see here why Cash is FPL gold. Villa top the attacking fixture ticker. So, besides Watkins and Diaby there is another route to Villa’s attacking returns.

As for Liverpool and West Ham then look no further than Salah and Bowen. Both of these guys are the talismans (Talismen?) for their teams. Naturally, Salah is better but both are good options. I even like Ward-Prowse as an option for cheap.

I don’t think you can reliably pick any attacking players for Crystal Palace or Wolves. Eze is injured for another month which means I am worried about all of Palace’s attack. Neto is fine as a pick for Wolves but he is just that, fine. Yeah, he could be a bargain and he has returned reliably with good underlying numbers but I just can’t get past the fact that he plays for Wolves…

Should I Buy?

In this section, we will look to answer the most basic question. Should I buy this player ahead of FPL gameweek 9?

Watkins – Sure. Great player, great team, great fixtures.

Salah – The FPL King. Great pick, great fixtures.

Maddison/Son – I don’t see them as a priority. The fixtures aren’t great between 10 and 12 and even Fulham at home in FPL gameweek 9 isn’t fantastic.

Andersen – I wouldn’t. Pick up Guehi or Mitchell instead for cheaper.

Cash – Yep. FPL gold as covered above.

Trippier – Yep. Great fixtures and significantly outperforms other Newcastle defensive assets in terms of goal involvement. Burn and Schar also fine. Botman might be back this week.

Isak – No. He’s possibly injured and rotates with Wilson.

White – Yeah fine. Good defence. Saliba cheaper.

Neto – Sure as an enabler. But don’t be too disappointed if he fails to deliver. Prefer Gordon at Newcastle as he plays for a better attack.

Bowen – As above, talisman and great player.

Jensen – No. His underlying numbers point to him just being incredibly lucky.

Should I Sell?

In this section, we will look to answer the second most basic question. Should I sell this player ahead of FPL gameweek 9?

Estupinian – Fine. Also fine to hold if you have the funds.

Saka – Not if he is fit – wait for news. Sheffield United at home is about as good as a fixture as you can get in FPL these days and he is the best Arsenal attacker.

Mitoma – Ooof, hard one. Dreadful fixture this week but after that he has the best stats and second best fixtures of the 7.0-6.0 midfielders. Worth waiting to see if he is fit.

Rashford/Fernandes – No. They play the worst defence in the league in FPL gameweek 9. Man United suck but if you still have them then just wait one week.

Mbeumo – I wouldn’t do it with them playing Burnley this week. But, Brentford are crap now thanks to this injury crisis so I don’t hate it.

Haaland/Alvarez – No. This is one of the best fixtures for Haaland and Alvarez – Brighton don’t defend!

Awoniyi – Yes, he is injured for like a month.

Botman – No. He is close to being fit.

Chilwell – Yes. Too expensive and too shit to bench.

Eze – Yes, he is injured.

Captaincy Corner

Captain Haaland. That’s it. He is class, Rodri is back and Brighton can’t defend.

Salah is being considered an option but Everton’s defence is much better than it appears at the moment. Plus, they will be up for it for the Liverpool derby.

And neither Son nor Maddison have Haaland’s ceiling this week. Still, I’d rather take them than Salah. Son is the better choice of the two as he has a higher ceiling, Maddo just ticks along.

James’ Moves

Unless something changes, I will probably hold my transfer. I foolishly bought in Lascelles last week when I thought Botman would be injured more long-term and I needed a makeweight for Trippier. I might end up with Nakamba starting if Mitoma isn’t fit. But, I can’t think of a transfer that improves my team in the medium term so the best thing is to probably just wait.

The only thing I might change is Pickford for Areola and only if it looks like one will rise in price and the other will fall (which is very plausible).

That’s It

Hopefully the insights and recommendations for FPL Gameweek 9, focusing on player options, fixture analysis, and captaincy choices were helpful to you! Key takeaways include the value of Mohamed Salah, the importance of fixture analysis, and the potential for standout performances from players like Matty Cash and Erling Haaland in the upcoming gameweek.