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After a long international break, FPL managers will be relieved to see the return of the Premier League this weekend, and with it the Fantasy Premier League. GW 8 was a moderate one in terms of high scores, but if you had Mohamed Salah as your captain, the Egyptian didn't disappoint.
Salah netted a brace to finish with a 15-pointer, with Raheem Sterling extending his stellar record against promoted sides, providing a 16-point FPL haul against Burnley. The rest of the main point-scorers, were, however, differentials.
I had a solid GW 8 after captaining Salah and finished with a rank rise of more than a million even though I didn't have any other returns apart from Salah and my double Spurs defence.
GW 9 marks another set of Wildcarders, but most FPL managers who still have their Wildcard are holding the powerful chip for GW 10, where fixtures begin to turn really good for Brighton and Arsenal.
Trending
As for this week, the top transfers in are Ollie Watkins and Mohamed Salah, as the injured Pervis Estupinan and the injury doubt Bukayo Saka are being shipped out in droves.
Whatever your FPL team is for this GW, ensure that it's locked in ahead of the deadline on Saturday morning UK time.
Gameweek 9 Deadline: Saturday, October 21 at 11:00 am (BST)/ 03:30 pm (IST).
FPL Gameweek 9 Fixtures
GW 9 kicks off with the Merseyside derby at Anfield on Saturday afternoon, followed by five 03:00 pm BST kick-offs, the pick of which is Manchester City's home encounter against Brighton. Chelsea and Arsenal face off at Stamford Bridge in the other marquee clash of the week later on Saturday.
Aston Villa hosts West Ham in the only fixture on Sunday. The GW concludes with a Monday night meeting between Tottenham and Fulham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
FPL team suggested for previous GW
Here's the suggested team for GW 8:
Goalkeepers: Andre Onana (MUN) (£4.9 m), Matt Turner (NFO) (£4.0 m)
Defenders: Manuel Akanji (MCI) (£5.0 m), Issa Kabore (LUT) (£4.0 m), Pedro Porro (TOT) (£5.1 m), Destiny Udogie (TOT) (£4.7 m), Matty Cash (AVL) (£4.9 m)
Midfielders: Jarrod Bowen (WHU) (£7.2 m), Moussa Diaby (AVL) (£6.6 m), Anthony Gordon (NEW) (£5.6 m), Son Heung-Min (TOT) (£9.3 m), Mohamed Salah (LIV) (£12.6 m)
Forwards: Erling Haaland (MCI) (£14.0 m), Rasmus Hojlund (MUN) (£7.1 m), Cameron Archer (SHU) (£4.5 m)
Captain/Vice-Captain: Mohamed Salah/ Erling Haaland
GW 8 Transfers made: 1
Points Scored (- hits): 59 (-0): 59
Overall Points: 428
Overall Rank: 4,205,444
Free Transfers available: 1
Transfers
1) Destiny Udogie (TOT) (DEF) (£4.7 m) - OUT | Konstantinos Tsimikas (LIV) (DEF) (£4.4 m) - IN
I really want to capitalize on the injury situation at Liverpool, and historically, whenever Tsimikas has had an opportunity like this to play for an extended period, he has taken it.
The left-back is an excellent crosser and is great at delivering set-pieces, possessing plenty of assist potential. Udogie, while providing terrific value, hasn't provided as much attacking threat as I would've liked, and with Pedro Porro already on the team, I have the Spurs defense covered and have the license to take this punt.
Best FPL Team for Gameweek 9
Gameweek 9 Bench: Matt Turner (NFO) vs LUT (H), Manuel Akanji (MCI) vs BHA (H), Issa Kabore (LUT) vs NFO (A), Cameron Archer (SHU) vs MUN (H)
With almost all of my players having solid fixtures this week, I am looking forward to a bumper FPL haul and a significant rank rise to kick off this 4 Gameweek stint of FPL between two international breaks.
Erling Haaland will want to break his mini-goal drought with a brace or more against Brighton, with Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-Min also having excellent home fixtures they will want to make the most of.
Manchester United players remain differential picks, and I'm still hoping that my two Red Devils will deliver, this time at Sheffield United.
I had half a mind to bench Onana for Matt Turner (LUT at home), but the underlying stats suggest that the Blades are less likely to score than the Hatters. Rasmus Hojlund has done well in Europe, but I'd love for this to be the game where he scores his first PL goal.
Anthony Gordon returns from suspension, and I'm hoping that he has an impact cutting in from that left-hand side at home to Crystal Palace. Konstantinos Tsimikas, Moussa Diaby and Jarrod Bowen are all differentials whose performances I'm relying on to move up the leaderboard this week.
Matty Cash does face the tough prospect of keeping a clean sheet against West Ham, but I'm hoping that even if Villa concede, he contributes on an attacking front.
Lastly, Pedro Porro has looked sprightly down that right flank for Tottenham, and I'm hoping that he gets some attacking returns to supplement his clean sheet potential.
Gameweek 9 - FPL captaincy
This Gameweek's captaincy is a three-way tie between Mohamed Salah (EVE at home), Erling Haaland (BHA at home) and Son Heung-Min (FUL at home), and fixture-wise, they're also filled with potential for FPL hauls.
However, for once, I'm leaning toward captaining Haaland in these kinds of situations precisely because he has been kept quiet in the last couple of GWs, and I expect him to return with a bang post the international break.
Brighton have conceded plenty of chances, and Haaland doesn't need too many either. Salah is an enticing pick at home to Everton, but anything can happen in a Merseyside Derby, and the curse of the early kick-off is also something that puts me off captaining the Egyptian.
Best FPL XI for Gameweek 9 - Summary
Starting XI
GK: Andre Onana (MUN) vs SHU (A)
DEF: Konstantinos Tsimikas (LIV) vs EVE (H), Pedro Porro (TOT) vs FUL (H), and Matty Cash (AVL) vs WHU (H)
MID: Jarrod Bowen (WHU) vs AVL (A), Moussa Diaby (AVL) vs WHU (H), Son Heung-Min (TOT) vs FUL (H), Anthony Gordon (NEW) vs CRY (H), and Mohamed Salah (LIV) vs EVE (H)
FWD: Erling Haaland (MCI) vs BHA (H) and Rasmus Hojlund (MUN) vs SHU (A). Cameron Archer (SHU) vs FUL (A)
Formation: 3-5-2
Bench: GK - Matt Turner (NFO) vs LUT (H), 1st Sub: Manuel Akanji (MCI) vs BHA (H), 2nd Sub: Issa Kabore (LUT) vs NFO (A), 3rd Sub: Cameron Archer (SHU) vs MUN (H)
Chips activated: None
Captain: Erling Haaland | VC: Mohamed Salah.
