FPL Gameweek 9 early Scout Picks: Newcastle pair among three double-ups

Price Change Predictions

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	Haaland	MCI	A, Vs
Up	Thiago	BRE	A
Down	Mateta	CRY	C
No Change	Welbeck	BHA	C, Rest
No Change	Woltemade	NEW	B

Risers

Fallers

Player	Team	Price	Progress	Tonight
Chalobah	CHE	5.2m	125.1%	Very Likely
Cash	AVL	4.7m	115.4%	Very Likely
Dewsbury-Hall	EVE	5.0m	113.6%	Very Likely
Saka	ARS	10.1m	107.5%	Very Likely
Gvardiol	MCI	5.8m	101.1%	Very Likely
Casemiro	MUN	5.5m	97.4%	Maybe
Rogers	AVL	6.9m	90.9%	Unlikely
Roefs	SUN	4.7m	88.6%	Unlikely
Burn	NEW	5.1m	87.3%	Unlikely
Truffert	BOU	4.5m	79.8%	Unlikely
Mitchell	CRY	5.0m	79.2%	Unlikely
Szoboszlai	LIV	6.6m	77.4%	Unlikely
Matheus N.	MCI	5.3m	77.6%	Unlikely
Sánchez	CHE	4.8m	75.9%	Unlikely
Cullen	BUR	5.0m	75.1%	Unlikely
Tavernier	BOU	5.5m	72.7%	Unlikely
O.Dango	BRE	6.0m	71.7%	Unlikely
Lacroix	CRY	5.1m	69.2%	Unlikely
Verbruggen	BHA	4.4m	68.2%	Unlikely
Livramento	NEW	4.9m	66.7%	Unlikely
Petrović	BOU	4.5m	66.5%	Unlikely
Foden	MCI	8.5m	60.5%	Unlikely
Muñoz	CRY	6.1m	65.7%	Unlikely
J.Palhinha	TOT	5.5m	64.1%	Unlikely
Wilson	FUL	5.2m	53.9%	Unlikely
Dúbravka	BUR	4.0m	62.7%	Unlikely
Amad	MUN	6.3m	57.2%	Unlikely
Merino	ARS	6.0m	53.6%	Unlikely
Ballard	SUN	4.6m	53.4%	Unlikely
Gordon	NEW	7.2m	51.0%	Unlikely
Tarkowski	EVE	5.4m	50.1%	Unlikely
Andersen	FUL	4.5m	47.9%	Unlikely
King	FUL	4.5m	50.1%	Unlikely
Sessegnon	FUL	5.4m	46.1%	Unlikely
Gusto	CHE	4.9m	44.7%	Unlikely
Barnes	NEW	6.4m	45.9%	Unlikely
De Ligt	MUN	5.0m	45.0%	Unlikely
Anderson	NFO	5.4m	44.8%	Unlikely
Thiago	BRE	6.9m	37.3%	Unlikely
Schade	BRE	7.0m	43.3%	Unlikely

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Player	Team	Price	Progress	Tonight
Gabriel	ARS	6.3m	110.9%	Very Likely
Enzo	CHE	6.7m	104.4%	Very Likely
Botman	NEW	4.9m	105.0%	Very Likely
Baleba	BHA	4.7m	103.4%	Very Likely
Maguire	MUN	4.4m	103.2%	Very Likely
Young	AVL	4.4m	102.3%	Very Likely
Mac Allister	LIV	6.3m	101.9%	Very Likely
Ngumoha	LIV	4.4m	99.8%	Likely
Pedro Porro	TOT	5.4m	100.8%	Very Likely
Alderete	SUN	4.1m	99.0%	Likely
Obi	MUN	4.3m	99.4%	Likely
Byram	LEE	3.9m	99.2%	Maybe
Boateng	BUR	4.8m	99.5%	Maybe
Matete	SUN	4.4m	98.0%	Maybe
Ortega Moreno	MCI	4.8m	98.3%	Maybe
George	CHE	4.9m	97.3%	Maybe
Arrizabalaga	ARS	4.2m	96.7%	Maybe
Akinmboni	BOU	3.9m	95.1%	Maybe
Knight	BHA	4.5m	93.5%	Maybe
Pinnock	BRE	4.3m	95.3%	Maybe
Travers	EVE	4.4m	94.8%	Unlikely
Anthony	BUR	5.4m	90.1%	Unlikely
Okafor	LEE	5.5m	94.3%	Unlikely
Gannon-Doak	BOU	4.9m	92.3%	Unlikely
McGill	BHA	4.0m	92.0%	Unlikely
Sonne	BUR	3.9m	92.4%	Unlikely
Spence	TOT	4.4m	90.3%	Unlikely
Cox	BRE	4.0m	90.9%	Unlikely
Gruev	LEE	4.8m	90.6%	Unlikely
Neave	NEW	4.4m	90.2%	Unlikely
Ndoye	NFO	5.6m	88.1%	Unlikely
Hato	CHE	4.7m	88.6%	Unlikely
Agbinone	CRY	4.4m	88.7%	Unlikely
M.Bizot	AVL	4.3m	87.6%	Unlikely
Elliott	AVL	5.3m	86.3%	Unlikely
Jordan	BUR	4.0m	86.9%	Unlikely
Abbott	NFO	3.9m	86.1%	Unlikely
Colwill	CHE	4.8m	86.5%	Unlikely
Carvalho	BRE	4.8m	85.7%	Unlikely
Kelleher	BRE	4.5m	85.6%	Unlikely

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FPL Fixture Ticker

Watchlists

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	Raya Martin	ARS	C
No Change	Alisson	LIV	C, Vs
No Change	Donnarumma	MCI	C, Vs, Sus
No Change	Ramsdale	NEW	C
No Change	Sels	NFO	B
No Change	Dubravka	BUR	C, £

Last updated: 6 Dec, 2025 12:36am

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	van Dijk	LIV	B, Vs
No Change	Muñoz	CRY	A, Sus
No Change	Jurriën Timber	ARS	C
No Change	O’Reilly	MCI	B, Vs
No Change	de Ligt	MUN	B, Inj
No Change	Thiaw	NEW	A
No Change	Andersen	FUL	B
No Change	Milenkovic	NFO	B
No Change	van Hecke	BHA	A, £
No Change	Mukiele	SUN	C, £

Last updated: 6 Dec, 2025 12:41am

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	Saka	ARS	A
No Change	Bruno Fernandes	MUN	B
No Change	Foden	MCI	A, Vs
No Change	Semenyo	BOU	C
No Change	Gakpo	LIV	B, Vs, Rest
No Change	Minteh	BHA	B
No Change	Bruno Guimarães	NEW	A
Up	Schade	BRE	C
No Change	Anderson	NFO	A, £
Down	Fernández	CHE	B

Last updated: 6 Dec, 2025 12:48am

	Player	Club	Factors
No Change	Haaland	MCI	A, Vs
Up	Thiago	BRE	A
Down	Mateta	CRY	C
No Change	Welbeck	BHA	C, Rest
No Change	Woltemade	NEW	B

We have put together an early draft of our Scout Picks for Gameweek 9 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).

As ever, we will finalise our selection much closer to Friday’s deadline.

Naturally, plenty can change between now and then.

The upcoming Scout Squad nominations will help shape our final Scout Picks. The midweek European ties and the pre-match press conferences will also influence our thinking.

But this ‘bus team’, at the very least, offers an insight into the players and teams who will be under consideration.

ABOUT THE SCOUT PICKS ‘BUS TEAM’

There are, as ever, certain restrictions for our squad:

An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
An overall squad limit of £100.0m
No more than three players per team

GAMEWEEK 9 FIXTURES

Above: The Gameweek 9 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker.

THE LIKELY LADS

FPL Gameweek 6: Saturday’s goals, assists, bonus + ‘DefCon’ points

Erling Haaland (£14.6m) currently sits atop the FPL points table after the opening nine Gameweeks. Having scored 11 times already, he has nearly doubled the goal output of any other player in the 2025/26 season so far.

Manchester City’s opponents, Aston Villa, are on an upward trajectory, having won five in a row in all competitions, but there won’t be any reservations about including Haaland in the Scout Picks.

An Arsenal defender seems likely, too.

Crystal Palace will offer a threat (they scored twice in this fixture last season), but Mikel Arteta’s side have conceded just three goals and five big chances in eight league matches this season. Therefore, an Arsenal defensive asset will once again be central to this week’s selection.

For now, we’ve settled on Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.3m), but a midweek breather for Jurrien Timber (£5.9m) and/or Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m) would undoubtedly enhance their credentials.

Above: Teams sorted by big chances conceded (BC) in 2025/26

Bruno Fernandes (£8.9m) produced his first assist of the season against Liverpool on Sunday, and the penalty-taking playmaker will surely be in the Scout Picks running alongside Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) this week. Manchester United face Brighton and Hove Albion, who are one of just three teams yet to keep a clean sheet.

Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest are bottom for big chances conceded so far, so Antoine Semenyo (£8.0m) will fancy his chances. Additionally, defensive contribution (DefCon) magnet Marcos Senesi (£5.0m) is also included in the ‘bus team’. Will a new Forest manager, Sean Dyche perhaps, bring the bounce with them, however?

IN CONTENTION

Chelsea assets ought to be in the conversation this week, but they do face an opponent who may cause them a problem or two. Sunderland share the same record as Enzo Maresca’s team after the first eight matches, having won four, drawn two and lost two. They’ve also kept four clean sheets.

That said, with Malo Gusto (£4.9m) suspended, Reece James (£5.4m) is a possible candidate. He’s FPL’s joint-leading defender for goals and assists combined this season, and with Sunderland 18th for key passes conceded from their left flank, he will be pushing hard for inclusion.

Above: FPL’s leading defenders for attacking returns in 2025/26

Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m), provided he is fit, and Joao Pedro (£7.5m) are also in the mix; however, the Brazilian’s lack of goal threat, with only three shots in his last five matches, raises concerns. He should at least start, as he’ll miss Wednesday’s European tie against Ajax due to suspension.

Elsewhere, representation from Newcastle United seems likely. With doubts around Joachim Andersen’s (£4.5m) fitness, this could be a good time for Nick Woltemade (£7.4m) to face Fulham. The German has scored in four of his five Premier League starts since his move from VfB Stuttgart, and notably, no Newcastle player has had more shots in the box in that timeframe.

Additionally, Nick Pope (£5.2m), Dan Burn (£5.1m) and Kieran Trippier (£5.0m) are of interest at the back.

In midfield, Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) and Cody Gakpo (£7.4m) have both got strong cases this week. Saka was Arsenal’s most dangerous attacker at Craven Cottage on Saturday and now has 15 points in his last two matches, while Gakpo has five attacking returns in eight appearances this season. He’s also Liverpool’s leader for both shots and chances created in 2025/26.

At this early stage, it certainly feels like these two are ahead of others at Arsenal and Liverpool, such as Eberechi Eze (£7.6m), Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m), Mohamed Salah (£14.4m), Alexander Isak (£10.6m) and Hugo Ekitike (£8.7m).

Above: No FPL midfielder has registered more shots than Cody Gakpo in 2025/26

El Hadji Malick Diouf (£4.4m) and Jarrod Bowen (£7.8m) are on the radar against a Leeds United outfit that have scored just four goals on home turf so far. A poor West Ham United performance against Brentford on Monday could potentially boost the appeal of Leeds’ budget-friendly assets, however.

Meanwhile, Wolverhampton Wanderers v Burnley is a tricky one to call. Vitor Pereira’s side are in really poor form, and given Jorgen Strand Larsen’s (£6.4m) fitness issues, which you can read more about here, it’s maybe likelier that a Clarets defender or Jaidon Anthony (£5.7m) make the Scout Picks cut.

THE LONGER SHOTS

FPL Gameweek 4 Free Hit: Pros, cons + best team

There probably won’t be too many takers in Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m), given Liverpool’s ropey recent form, but the Dutchman has at least produced DefCon points in three of his last four appearances.

In-form striker Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.6m) could feature, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Scout Squad panel view him, but this fixture at Arsenal is about as tough as it gets.

Danny Welbeck (£6.3m), Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m), Jack Grealish (£6.9m) and Mohammed Kudus (£6.8m) all have their merits, without being stand-out Scout Picks candidates.

Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United defenders carry some potential, but they probably won’t dislodge the options currently selected in our ‘bus team’.

GAMEWEEK 9 EARLY SCOUT PICKS

Hazz

1 month, 18 days ago

Honestly I am surprised by those responses given each team's GW8 fixture. I wouldn't have responded that.

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Hazz
1 month, 18 days ago
Fail reply last page lol.
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dennis the menace

Diouf on the pitch for me and has been benched by Nuno. Mukieles 17 points ready to sub on. Waiting for the 5 min 1 point cameo

KLOPPS AND ROBBERS... the s…

Bench boost this?
Dubrav, Xhaka, Richards, Rodon

Drop Dead Tsimikas
1 month, 18 days ago
I wouldn't.
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Feanor

Wish I could reverse my last transfer of Gakpo to Gordon.

Gordon has no returns all season - stuck at 98% to go up.

Hutchiniho

More important to keep in mind with regards to transfers?
A. Collect the price rises/falls
B. Wait until after the midweek European fixtures in case injuries/forms impact decisions.

Early sales/buys likely to hit me for 0.4m but crazy to transfer before a whole suite of fixtures?

Mr_Boof
1 month, 17 days ago
Unfortunately the answer to almost everything is it depends... It's easy to get burned by mid week adventures, and frustrating when it happens especially if the price change might impact your ability to buy them. Personally, if players I have/ are targeting are involved I prefer to wait, and if players are not playing mid week then get them in before prices change
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Drop Dead Tsimikas

Could really use a Bowen return here to take me over a century for the GW. Already my best WC ever by a distance, but that'll just be a nice cherry on top.