The International Break is over and we can look forward to Gameweek 9 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game. Here’s my regular list of captaincy options, match predictions and clean sheets based on what the bookies say.
Captaincy options
The names on the left hand side are the leaders in FFScout’s captaincy poll, while on the right are the bookies’ best bets to score.
- Kevin De Bruyne          1. Diego Costa (3/4)
- Alexis Sanchez             2. Alexis Sanchez (17/20)
- Graziano Pelle              3. Kevin De Bruyne (17/20)
- Diego Costa                  4. Graziano Pelle (21/20)
- Sergio Aguero         5. Eden Hazard (21/20)
- Daniel Sturridge            6. Harry Kane (11/8)
- Eden Hazard                  7. Daniel Sturridge (7/5)
- Harry Kane                     8. Sadio Mane (29/20)
- Sadio Mane           9. Dimitri Payet (14/5)
- Dimitri Payet                   10. Sergio Aguero (N/A)
Captaincy Analysis
Interestingly Diego Costa is the likeliest to score anytime, according to the bookies anyway. This clearly highlights their desire to price players (fixture over form) which gives hope to punters looking to back big name players. Sadio Mane (29/20) seems great value and I am willing to back him at a tempting price. Players who do not feature on this list but I fancy to do well this week are Crystal Palace’s Yohan Cabaye (21/20) and Newcastle man Aleksandar Mitrovic (6/4). Cabaye has collected 23 points in his last two FPL Gameweeks and with penalties, free kicks and a plum home fixture, he represents good value. Mitrovic is a bit of a gamble but he has looked good and shown signs of quality when not being sent off or yellow carded in the first few seconds.
Top Tip: Anytime goalscorer treble > Cabaye + Mitrovic + Mane @ 18/1
- Graziano Pelle (LEI) – The Southampton striker is in fantastic form at the moment, scoring 35 Fantasy Football points in the last three Gameweeks. The Saints take on a Leicester side who have conceded 15 goals already, the fourth worst in the league.
- Kevin De Bruyne (BOU) – The Man City striker is also in a rich vein of form, scoring 32 points in the last three Gameweeks. This fixture should have plenty of goals and with Aguero and David Silva injured, this could mean KDB plays in a more attacking role, certainly in the number 10 role. A great option (in my opinion) if you don’t fancy the Saints’ attack.
Clean sheets
In order – Chelsea (17/20) Man City (6/5) West Brom (13/10) Arsenal (13/10) Swansea (11/8) Southampton (6/4) Crystal Palace (8/5) Man Utd (9/5) Newcastle (2/1) Tottenham (11/5) Norwich (5/2) Stoke (11/4) Liverpool (13/5) Everton (13/5) Sunderland (13/5) West Ham (10/3) Leicester (19/5) Watford (5/1) Aston Villa (13/2) Bournemouth (7/1)
Clean sheet analysis
Chelsea are not in form and Mancherster City concede goals when their injured centre-back Vincent Kompany doesn’t play so I don’t fancy the top two in the market, unless of course the Manchester City skipper returns to fitness. The first team I fancy on the list to keep a clean sheet would be Swansea (11/8). This season, clean sheets have been hard to come by and the pattern could well continue this week with high-scoring games to be predicted.
The Matches
Tottenham (11/8) vs Liverpool (19/10) This match is all about new Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and how long it will take him to implement his ‘heavy metal’ style of expansive football. Tottenham got a draw against Swansea last time out with Eriksen particularly standing out for me. Something tells me that Liverpool will raise their game, with players trying to impress the new manager and I fancy an away victory. Prediction: Liverpool to win BTTS* @ 4/1
Man City (3/10) vs Bournemouth (9/1) At time of writing, Aguero and Silva are out and Aleksandar Kolarov completed a warm down which is a good sign and Kompany may be fit to return. These are crucial players for City, who will have to turn to Bony and especially KDB for goals. I’ve backed KDB to score in this game. Bournemouth have also suffered an injury crisis of their own and are likely to sit deep and counter-attack in this game. Prediction: Man City to win BTTS @ 7/4
West Brom (EVS) vs Sunderland (11/4)Â Sam Allardyce takes charge of his first Sunderland game, who weren’t actually that bad against the new manager’s former team. Unfortunately they look likely to be without key man Jeremain Lens. West Brom you can argue, have a good strike-force but they have only scored twice since the start of September which is a major worry. One player who will be key for Big Sam is Yann M’Villa, with 10 points and two assists in his last game. Prediction: draw and BTTS @ 16/5
Southampton (4/5) vs Leicester (16/5) These two teams have scored 14 goals in the last three Gameweeks! Both teams are exciting to watch and some of the most creative sides in the Premier League right now. As pointed out earlier in the article, Sadio Mane has 27 points in his last three (9, 7 and 11) and is priced kindly still at 7.9. Himself, Pelle and Dusan Tadic are working in tandem and with a nice run of fixtures, a double up could prove fruitful in the coming weeks. Prediction: I think this game is the tie of the Gameweek, end-to-end and plenty of goals. Over 3.5 goals @21/10.
Chelsea (3/10) vs Aston Villa (17/2) Jose Mourinho’s men have only won two games this season; his usual excuses cannot hide how bad his team have been this season. Will they finally turn it around against Aston Villa? Tim Sherwood supposedly has two games to save his job; they have shown attacking ability in games this season but the lack of real high-quality players is a real concern. Prediction: Chelsea to win BTTS (21/10)
Everton (23/10) vs Man Utd (6/5) Everton have been suprisingly consistent this season, only losing once against Man City. The lack of Europa League games is really improving their Premier League results and I think they will get something out of this one. United have gone from clean sheet masters to now needing to score two or three to win the game. Ross Barkley is the key man for me in this game, likely to exploit the space in front of the United defence, I think he will have a real impact in this match. Prediction: draw and BTTS @3/1
Crystal Palace (17/20) vs West Ham (14/5) A London derby with both teams sitting in the table with 15 points. Crystal Palace have back-to-back cleen sheets with Speroni on the verge of a return. West Ham are still undefeated away from home. Andy Carroll is back and we could see him heavily involved this week. Yohan Cabaye and Dimitri Payet are the key men, Cabaye has been talked about earlier but the latter is pivotal to the Hammers attack; he also seems to be linking up well with Victor Moses who has started to flourish. Prediction: draw with BTTS @ 16/5
Watford (5/1) vs Arsenal (11/20) Arsenal have scored eight goals in their last two games whilst conceding just twice. You feel it’s games like these that could really push them up the table. Watford have been impressive at home this season and won’t be a pushover by any means. Key man in this one is Alexis Sanchez; providing he is fit, he is likely to produce in this game (17/20), and I think Arsenal will have enough quality to see them through. Prediction: Arsenal to win BTTS @ 11/5
Newcastle (11/8) vs Norwich (19/10) The only Sunday game this weekend sees a bottom half of the table clash. Newcastle, last time out, resisted Man City for as long as they could before ultimately crashing to a 6-1 defeat. Norwich lost for the first time in four games against Leicester City last week but they certainly look more impressive this year compared to the Magpies. As stated above, Mitrovic is they key man for Newcastle; I think he will begin to find his feet but his team will ultimately lose. Prediction: Norwich to win BTTS @ 9/2
Swansea (EVS) vs Stoke (14/5) This mid-table clash is the Monday night showing this week and the Swans seem to have lost their way recently. They come up against a Stoke team which, in my opinion, should be a doing a lot better with the players they have brought in. I think there will finally be a clean sheet and I fancy Swansea to get it. Prediction: Swansea to win to nil @ 2/1
*BTTS – Both teams to score
