If you’re in a rush and need some last-minute Fantasy Premier League (FPL) advice, here’s a quick round-up of what you need to know about Gameweek 9.
EARLY FPL GAMEWEEK 9 DEADLINE – DON’T FORGET!
All transfers and team selections need to be done today, by 18:30 BST.
This is because Leicester City v Nottingham Forest will be the first Friday night match since Gameweek 1.
IS SAKA ACTUALLY “UNLIKELY”?
A very frequent cycle sees Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) pick up a knock, Mikel Arteta be nervous about it, only to then start the attacker as if it never happened. Except last week reversed the trend. The Spaniard was optimistic about Saka’s availability but didn’t name him in the matchday squad.
These deliberately misleading mind games are becoming tiresome for FPL managers and Gameweek 9 sees another round of it. Arteta labelled an appearance “unlikely” after Arsenal’s Champions League win but wouldn’t commit on Friday.
“He’s done a bit of training on the grass, how far we can get him to Sunday, that’s a different question. We have another day which is the good thing, that this week we have an extra day. We will see.” – Mikel Arteta
The England star wasn’t seen in Sky Sports’ training ground footage but they only get to see warm-ups – it’d be easy to just hold Saka back a few more minutes, especially if it creates uncertainty for Liverpool ahead of Sunday’s headline clash.
With such a big match following last week’s loss at Bournemouth, we assume Arteta will do everything possible to start Saka.
At least we know for sure that centre-back William Saliba (£6.0m) is out. He’s banned after picking up a red card and FPL Family’s Sam wonders what to do with him.
SON: LOST ASSIST + INJURY DOUBT
Last weekend brought mass hysteria when Son Heung-min (£9.9m) was controversially awarded an assist for Spurs’ third goal against West Ham United.
It was eventually removed on Monday, alongside an official FPL explanation of why.
Not only did it reduce his score from 12 points to eight but Ange Postecoglou revealed earlier today that the 32-year-old is “unlikely for the weekend” as he doesn’t feel right.
That’ll disappoint the 395,000 managers who’ve just brought him into their squads. Maybe Zophar’s look at premium midfielders will help those wanting to sell either Son or Saka.
HAALAND AS TRIPLE CAPTAIN?
Despite three successive blanks and the failure to record a single shot versus last-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers, Erling Haaland (£15.4m) is the recommended armband recipient of both Captain Sensible and our Rate My Team (RMT) algorithm.
In second place, they back Cole Palmer (£10.9m), with Bryan Mbeumo (£7.6m) and Phil Foden (£9.2m) splitting votes for third.
The bigger question regards managers’ Triple Captain chips. It can be used once per season – should it go on Haaland at home to newly-promoted Southampton?
FA Cup schedules are different from now on, leading to fewer and smaller Double Gameweeks. Therefore scheduling it for one of these won’t be as straightforward when there is also Bench Boost, Free Hit and the Mystery Chip available for usage.
Zophar has shared his thoughts on the debate in his usual weekly Q&A.
TEAM REVEALS
SCOUT PICKS + DIFFERENTIALS
Our weekly selection – which is essentially a Free Hit in all but name – goes all-in on Manchester City, plus double-ups of Brentford, Spurs and Nottingham Forest.
Meanwhile, forward Matheus Cunha (£6.5m) is in the trio of differential picks, after being the subject of a comparison article with cheaper Wolves team-mate Jorgen Strand Larsen (£5.5m).
PREDICTED LINE-UPS
We’ve predicted the starting XIs of all 20 Premier League teams.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck with FPL Gameweek 9!
