In our weekly chip poll, around one in six of responders (17%) say they are planning to use their Bench Boost in Gameweek 9.
That makes it the most popular chip of the week.
In this article, we ask: is now the time to hit ‘play’ if you haven’t already?
Many of those intending to use the Bench Boost will no doubt have already made their minds up, and have tailored their squads accordingly. You’ve heard of ‘team-dependent’; this is ‘bench-dependent’.
But for those on the fence, we look at the considerations. This is a reworking of an article we published in Gameweek 8 but, given the popularity of the Bench Boost this week, we felt it was worthwhile to update and revisit it for Gameweek 9.
GAMEWEEK 9 BENCH BOOST V OTHER WEEKS
Looking at other possible windows in which you could use the Bench Boost, we’ve isolated the fixtures of Burnley, Leeds United and Sunderland above.
Why? Simply because many of our squads will contain one, two or maybe three £4.0m goalkeepers and defenders. It’s usually these types of players, ie the bench fodder, that we ‘boost’ when using the chip.
And the majority come from the newly promoted clubs. The only current £4.0m starting goalkeepers do, as do all seven of the eight top-scoring £4.0m-ish defenders.
Even four of the five top-scoring £5.0m-and-under midfielders are on the books of the Premier League new boys.
Here is a quick overview of the pros and cons of Gameweeks 9, 11 and 18, when the fixtures look favourable for Burnley, Leeds and/or Sunderland.
| Pros | Cons | |
|---|---|---|
| GW9 | Favourable fixtures for Leeds and Burnley Got Leeds and Burnley players, rather than those from Sunderland? Here’s a big window of opportunity, with the Whites and the Clarets facing the sides currently 19th and 20th in the division. Unlike in Gameweek 8, they’re not facing each other – so there’s no ‘conflict of interest’ here. Gets it out of the way! Not everyone likes the Bench Boost; some FPL managers view it as a bit of an albatross around their necks. At the back of your mind, with an unplayed Bench Boost, you’ve got the nagging reminder that you’re going to ideally need four playing substitutes at some point. Get it out of the way now, and the focus is just on the starting XI for maybe as long as the next six months. Game-time for Guiu + Kroupi? If you’ve still got Marc Guiu (£4.3m), his game-time prospects are looking rosier. His 45-minute outing off the bench in Gameweek 8 was his longest of the season, and he impressed Enzo Maresca in the process. There are no guarantees of a start in Gameweek 9; Maresca said afterwards that having a second striker alongside Joao Pedro (£7.5m) was a viable tactic when the Blues are up against a five-man defence, which Sunderland don’t operate with. But he’s getting minutes of some variety now, at least, and owners can pray for a start on Saturday. As for budget forward Eli Kroupi Junior (£4.5m), his Gameweek 9 minutes look even better with Evanilson (£7.0m) a big doubt. Kroupi scored twice on his full league debut against Crystal Palace on Saturday. Good fixture for cheap defenders from West Ham + Wolves They may cost £4.0m but defenders from West Ham and Wolves, such as the DefCon-accumulating Konstantinos Mavropanos (£4.4m) and assist machine El Hadji Malick Diouf (£4.4m), aren’t too pricey. While the Hammers are struggling, there’s hope that Nuno Espirito Santo’s appointment can stiffen the backline and lead to an upturn in clean sheets. | No favourable game for Sunderland It’s not so good if one or more of your budget bench options play for Sunderland, who are away at Chelsea this week. That said, the likes of Nordi Mukiele (£4.0m) are capable of bagging DefCon points in any fixture. Crystal Palace away at Arsenal It’s not just the fixtures of the newly promoted clubs we have to consider when Bench Boosting. If you own the likes of Maxence Lacroix (£5.1m), for instance, Crystal Palace are away at Arsenal in Gameweek 9. In a normal, non-Bench Boost week, you may consider benching Lacroix and starting someone like Maxime Esteve (£4.0m) or Joe Rodon (£4.1m) instead. A Bench Boost means including Lacroix’s score – which, of course, could be supplemented by DefCon points. Can’t Wildcard beforehand In years gone by (and still), a popular play would be to set up your squad ready for a Bench Boost by Wildcarding the week beforehand, giving you the best possible chance of getting 15 starters out. In this case, the time for that was Gameweek 8, which has now passed. If you’ve got a squad littered with injuries or out-of-favour players, being able to field a full squad of 15 in Gameweek 9 might be tricky. |
| GW11 | Decent – but not as good – fixtures for Leeds and Burnley Again, some decent fixtures for Leeds and Burnley – albeit probably not as good as Gameweek 11 and both on the road. Struggling Nottingham Forest, who the Whites face, may be buoyed by a new manager, too. Allows a Wildcard in Gameweek 9/10 If you’re not in a good position to Bench Boost now, say because of injuries or a bench containing non-starters, a Gameweek 9/10 Wildcard allows you to clear out the dead wood and prepare yourself for a Gameweek 11 Bench Boost immediately after. West Ham at home to Burnley As above, it’s another favourable fixture – probably the best all season – for West Ham’s cheap defenders. Anderson at home to Leeds If Elliot Anderson (£5.4m) is your ‘eighth attacker’, the Forest midfielder has a favourable fixture at home to Leeds. | Man City v Liverpool – might a Free Hit be better? Gameweek 11 also sees the hard-to-call meeting of Manchester City and Liverpool. While you’re not going to bench Erling Haaland (£14.6m) for this, especially with the Reds in defensive disarray, might a Free Hit be the better chip this week? It allows cherry-picked double/triple-ups on clubs with favourable fixtures, such as Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham and a Nottingham Forest side that may be rejuvenated by a managerial change. No favourable game for Sunderland And again, the same caveat as Gameweek 9 regarding Sunderland, who are at home to Arsenal in Gameweek 11. |
| GW18 | Favourable fixtures for all three promoted clubs This is the only remaining week in which all three new boys have decent fixtures. And, like in Gameweek 8, two of them face each other. Burnley, meanwhile, are at home to Everton. Transfer top-up The transfer top-up in Gameweek 16 allows managers extra leg-room to stock up on players to boost in advance of Gameweek 18. It means the Wildcard – which is frequently used close to the Bench Boost – doesn’t have to be saved for so late in the day. Better week for some budget midfielders Whether your budget midfielder (if you have one) is Granit Xhaka (£5.0m), Anton Stach (£5.1m), Kiernan Dewsbury–Hall (£5.0m) or even Josh King (£4.5m), there are favourable fixtures in Gameweek 18. The one exception is Elliot Anderson (£5.4m), but then he doesn’t have a good fixture in Gameweek 9 either. | Gameweek 18 is way off It’s a long way to go before we get to Gameweek 18, which is still two months away! While the three promoted sides have started fairly well this time around, will they still be a force come Christmas time? And will the likes of King still be regular starters? Rotation Gameweek 18 is the Boxing Day round of games, which could see rotation and minute management in operation. As it’s the first (rather than middle) game in a three-match week, the carnage might not be so widespread as in previous years, at least. Lack of team news information? Perhaps more pertinent to the seasonal round of games is the unreliability of press conferences around this time of year. Any that will take place (and it should be most managers facing the media) will be done well before the Gameweek 18 deadline, perhaps as long as 3-4 days before the game – so there’s always the chance of undisclosed/late-developing injuries occurring in the interim. As with the above point, we want a full squad of 15 players out when using our Bench Boost. Suspension tightrope There’s no chance of any Burnley, Leeds or Sunderland players missing out with a suspension for yellow card accumulation in Gameweek 9. That will likely not be the case come Gameweek 18, as the bookings steadily rack up throughout the season. Players might have already reached five bookings and be out of the other end by Christmas, of course, but there’s a greater risk of some of your picks – from not just the promoted clubs but elsewhere – being on the suspension tightrope going into Gameweek 17. |
PLAYERS TO CONSIDER IF YOU’RE PLAYING THE BENCH BOOST IN GAMEWEEK 9
Again, as we mentioned in the introduction, many of you playing a Gameweek 9 Bench Boost will already have your boostable budget picks in place.
For those in the market for a new name or two, however, here are the leading picks.
BURNLEY
Fresh from a nine-point haul in Gameweek 8, Martin Dubravka is the only completely secure £4.0m goalkeeper at present.
Burnley’s clean sheet potential is perhaps inferior to the other two promoted clubs, despite Saturday’s shut-out. They rank 20th for expected goals conceded (xGC), for instance, and have yet to keep a clean sheet on the road.
Maxime Esteve (£4.0m), however, can potentially compensate with DefCon/DC points. He’s gained those in four of his eight outings and wasn’t far away on another two occasions.
In midfield, Luis Florentino (£5.0m) has banked DefCon in all four starts and leads the way for clearances, blocks, interceptions, recoveries and tackles (CBIRTs) per 90 minutes among Fantasy midfielders who have made more than one start in 2025/26. He admittedly offers no goal threat, with not one penalty box touch all season, but a floor of three/four points is more than acceptable for a £5.0m midfielder.
Top scorer Jaidon Anthony (£5.7m) obviously appeals higher up the price list, although it should be noted that he’s failed to have a single shot in the last two Gameweeks.
LEEDS UNITED
While Karl Darlow (£4.0m) is under pressure now from Lucas Perri (£4.5m), defenders Joe Rodon (£4.1m) and Gabriel Gudmundsson (£4.0m) should be safe in their respective positions.
Rodon surprisingly only has four DefCon points to his name but he averages 8.5 clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles (CBITs) per game, so he’s always there or thereabouts the threshold. He’s also demonstrated an attacking threat in recent weeks, racking up seven shots – one a goal, one hitting the post – in the last three Gameweeks.
Further forward, Anton Stach (£5.1m) is the most owned but Sean Longstaff (£4.9m) is currently outstripping him for DefCon, chances created (thanks to taking over set-piece duties from Stach) and even shots.
This is a comparison of the pair over the last three Gameweeks:
CHEAP OPTIONS FROM OTHER CLUBS
Looking at other teams with favourable fixtures this week, Wolves had picked up in the two matches before Gameweek 8 and very nearly shut out Spurs and Brighton.
Santiago Bueno (£4.4m) has been a big part of that improved backline, banking DefCon points in two of his four starts. Away from DefCon, Hugo Bueno (£4.4m) has the fifth-best rate of chance creation among FPL defenders (one every 49 minutes) this season.
Midfielder Andre (£5.4m), who features on the CBIRTs list above, has banked DefCon point in all four of his starts that lasted 70+ minutes.
A reminder, however, that opponents Burnley are party-poopers when it comes to defensive contributions.
Can Nuno Espirito Santo work his defensive magic at West Ham? A favourable fixture against Leeds will certainly given the Hammers the chance of a clean sheet.
El Hadji Malick Diouf (£4.4m) has been involved in 12 chances (seven created, five shots), while the improving Konstantinos Mavropanos (£4.4m) has delivered DefCon in three of his five starts.
As mentioned towards the top of this piece, Marc Guiu (£4.3m) and especially Eli Kroupi Junior (£4.5m) are looking better bets for game-time of some variety now. On top of that, they have good-looking fixtures in Gameweek 9.
Keep an ear out for the press conferences later in the week, which may give more of an indication of whether these two budget forwards are likely to start this weekend.
