Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 9

With the international fixtures drawing to a close our attention now turns back to FPL, and being mindful that the 1st WC chip needs to be used (or lose-d ) prior to the World Cup we have asked Matt, Rosco and Smash to take a look at the players we may want to consider between now & then. Matt pairs up and compares the keeper and defender options, Rosco seemingly exhauts both the midfielders and himself and Smash reiterates us where our forward thinking intentions should be, along with a surprise punt.

Nick Pope (5.2) and Kieran Trippier (5.4)
The Newcastle goalkeeper is one of the most popular players in the game (although perhaps not in England after Monday night!) due to his ability to get returns from a number of sources. Clean sheets, saves, bonuses… I think we’re all just waiting for the Allison-style goal!
Pope has delivered two double digit scores so far this season with three clean sheets, eight save points and six bonus points. The upcoming fixtures on the FPL FDR are lit up bright green all the way to the World Cup with matches against United, Spurs and Chelsea the only changes. These fixtures might not be high for CS potential but do offer the shot stopper a higher chance of some save points. With Pope being the 2nd highest owned keeper in the game, behind only Ward, I can’t see him leaving many teams until the post-World Cup wildcard.

If you fancy the double up, then there isn’t a more consistent defender in the game than Kieran Trippier. He has got a goal, assist or clean sheet in five of his seven matches this season only blanking against Wolves and Liverpool. Being on set-pieces and having the talent and freedom to go up and down the field is a massive boost to managers who like their defenders to have attacking potential. Much like Pope, Trippier has a multitude of sources for points and I just don’t see him leaving teams before the World Cup.

Jose Sa (5.0) and Max Kilman (4.5)
The Portuguese keeper sits juts behind Nick Pope in the keeper ranks and is similarly priced but the big difference between them is their ownership. Sa is owned by only 5.6% of managers and yet has the same number of clean sheets, three less save points and three less bonus points. This just shows the little bit extra that Pope offers in terms of ways to get points, but Sa and Wolves are still a solid defensive unit.

Especially over their next few games Wolves come up against the bottom three sides in the league with games against West Ham, Forest and Leicester. Two teams who are struggling to score goals with Leicester having scored in all but one game but still holding up the league at the root of the table. Prior to the 3-0 loss to Man City, Wolves had only conceded four goals in six matches so I think they can do well defensively and are well worth a punt in the run up to the World Cup.

Someone who’s probably a bigger punt than Sa is Max Kilman, a player who was in everyone’s side last season and has really had to step up with the sale of Conor Coady to Everton but step up he has. Max has collected four bonus points in the three games that Wolves also kept a clean sheet. This would suggest that he is vital to Wolves’ CS potential. Not as prolific at the other end of the pitch as Trippier but Kilman can notch the odd goal or assist so coming up against sides who are conceding for fun in the next five games then a Wolves defensive option could be a shrewd move.

Vicente Guaita (4.5) & Joachim Andersen (4.5)
People all seem to be debating who had it right, GW8 Wildcarders or GW9 Wildcarders? The main argument seems to use Palace players to decide who was right. Palace blanked in GW7, GW8 and are now about to play Chelsea so you would be excused for being a little confused to see him included in this article or in any argument for WC superiority. The main reason most want a Palace player is due to their very appealing run after GW9 all the way to the World Cup. This run doesn’t see a single team above a two in the FPL FDR with Chelsea being the only top six side the Eagles face before the World Cup in November.

Palace may have conceded nine goals so far this season but six of those goals came against Arsenal and Man City who are flying at the top of the table. They have these two sides, Liverpool and Newcastle all out of the way and will also have Chelsea out of the way after this weekend so jumping on a Palace defender now before the rush could be a smart move. They were one of the best defences in the league last season and I can only see them improving over their next few games.

I will give one caveat to Gauita between the sticks as I have seen a lot of twitter talk about Sam Johnstone possibly replacing him at any point so I would lean towards Joachim Andersen instead.

Andersen has just been on fire in the last three games getting an average of 5 points thanks to a goal against City and a clean sheet plus bonus point against Newcastle. One of the best defenders for Palace both this season and last season I can see this momentum improving so if you are looking to improve your midfield or attack then this budget option who can score and has a favourable run is a brilliant option.

Let’s just move onto some premium single options for defenders right now. First up is Reece James (6.0) and with the arrival of a new manager who loves wingbacks I can’t see James being used at CB again like he was under Thomas Tuchel. James is one of the best attacking defenders in the league with seven shots and seven big chances placing him among the top four in Chelsea’s attacking stats this year. Having not played in the league for two weeks and having a favourable run in the league James should only get better and his potential for bigger hauls should improve.

Now moving onto the most popular defender in the game, Joao Cancelo (7.2), who is in 51.4% of squads at the time of writing. Sitting just behind William Saliba as the highest scoring defender, the Portugal left back is very much like Trippier for the Citizens. Cancelo has many avenues to get points, he can score, he can assist and he has CS and bonus point potential. He might not be as free-scoring so far this season but he still has a goal and an assist along with four clean sheets and seven bonus points across seven games. The biggest downside for Cancelo is playing Man United and Liverpool before a blank GW12 so selling him could be an option or benching him could be a better one. I don’t really think there is a right answer here as we all play the game differently but I will tell you I am considering selling… so you lot might want to keep him!

Midfielders – Rosco

At the top end of the budget, we have suddenly seen movement in ownership, perhaps instigated by the emergence of Erling Haaland becoming an almost ‘perma-captain’ option. Indeed, many like myself chose to ditch Mo Salah (£12.9m) on our GW8 wildcards with Liverpool blanking on GW8 and fixtures away to Arsenal in GW10 and City at Anfield in GW11, with KDB (£12.3m) and less so Son (£11.7m) coming into many managers GW8 team because if nothing else, at least they had a game. Of course, those who went with the out-of-form Son (who had blanked 5 matches in a row) were instantly rewarded with a 31-minute hat-trick off the bench (19pts), whilst new KDB owners were more than happy to take his 10pt return.

So where does that leave us? Well, if you’re on a WC you have a difficult decision to make. Salah’s numbers are certainly down this season and his return of 2 goals and 3 assists is perhaps underwhelming for a player who costs so much. Whilst Salah’s shots are also down on last season (2.83 vs 4.47 per game), he still tops the tables for chances created (24), and whilst 6 players have bettered his 17 goal attempts thus far, it will be hard to ditch him with a home game this coming game week. That said, Brighton are no slouches and if you were ever going to sell Salah, now is probably the time.

You also have a decision to make if you have already sold him. Stick to the plan? Well, if you went with Son it’s going to be difficult to sell given the goals and no doubt confidence, he gained in GW8. It’s also worth noting that whilst the blanks were certainly concerning, his underlying numbers were still strong; his 21 goal attempts joint top (with Martinelli) amongst all midfielders. And if you went with KDB you’ve backed a player with 7 attacking returns on the season (1 goal, 6 assists) and the underlying data to match, but perhaps you’ll also have one eye on Southampton (H) in GW10 with a niggling doubt that he may get rested for UCL duty, and then is he arguably the weaker option vs Salah in GW11 and of course a blank in GW12? Decisions, decisions. We’re in coin flip territory, if I were on a WC this week, I’d probably keep him. If I’d already sold him and I had no other fires in my team, I’d probably buy him back.

Regarding that GW12 blank. If on a WC I’d limit your Arsenal and City contingent to 3, perhaps 4 at a push. If KDB is one of those then he’s an easy switch to Salah for all the reasons above. If you’ve used your WC I imagine you’ve already made that decision and for you and anyone not planning their WC this week, I’d swerve players from both sides. Unless of course, you plan to dead-end your team into the blank that is. Still with me? Great! Let’s move on!

If you find yourself with £10m burning a hole in your skyrocket then you could take a punt on Raheem Sterling who boasts 3 goals in his last 3 games. He also sits second amongst mids for big chances (4) and looks at times to have been the most advanced Chelsea player in new manager Graham Potter’s flexible 352 formation in the UCL against Salzburg last week. The upside of Sterling is a decent(ish) fixture run and low ownership (9.5%), the downside is you’ll likely be batting against other highly owned premiums who could really hurt you if Sterling fails to deliver.

Let’s speed things up a touch. James Maddison (£7.9m) is the most transferred in midfielder (163k and counting) this game week with his next two games against Forest and Bournemouth (who have conceded 17 and 19 goals respectively) looking particularly enticing. Leicester may have looked rubbish this season, but Maddison has not. 20 goal attempts (second best amongst midfielders) with 4 attacking returns (3 goals, 1 assist) in the 6 games he’s played. Favourable fixtures through to GW16, it’s a thumbs up from me.

Look past Chelsea this week and it’s obvious why Wilfred Zaha (£7.2m) is the second most transferred in midfielder this week (153k and counting). No midfielder has more than the 5 big chances afforded to Wilf, he’s had 5 starts and has 4 goals and once the Eagles get Chelsea out the way, they face no teams in the top half of the table from now till GW16, which includes games against all 4 teams at the foot of the table. Champion.

A lot of managers brought Jared Bowen (£8.1m) into their GW8 wildcards. It was a case of no stats just fixtures as thus far the Hammer’s number 20 has done absolutely nothing to suggest he can come close to replicating his 2021/22 form that saw him score 12 goals and grab 17 assists. Yes, the fixtures are good, but would I pick him over cheaper players like Maddison and Zaha? No, I would not.

Best of the rest

Anthony Gordon (£5.6m) is another player worthy of inclusion on a WC although it should be noted that the player who sits top amongst midfielders for shots on target (13) also sits right up there on yellow cards. Young Anthony is a naughty boy and just one card away from a ban. Proceed with caution!

Marcus Rashford (£6.6m) is still flagged but that GW6 18-pointer is still fresh in many managers’ heads. The pros are that he’s cheap, Man Utd look much improved and they have a decent fixture run through to GW16. The cons? That yellow flag and a game against City this week.

For a moment those Brighton boys sure looked like the real deal. Great stats, passed the eye test and most importantly, picked up FPL points aplenty. Then they lost their manager and had both their GW7 and GW8 matches postponed. When it rains IT pours. Liverpool (A) this week, and City (A) in GW13 stand out on their upcoming fixtures like the two big red flags they are. I wouldn’t be getting any on a WC but if you have the transfers to spare, dipping your toe in when they face Forest (GW12) could really pay off. If you do then I’d look to Pascal Groß (£6.0m) and Leandro Trossard (£6.5m) over the cheaper Alexis Mac Allister (£5.6m) who may have the points, but his 4 goals from 5 shots sound far from sustainable.

If you’re looking for a punt with absolutely nothing to support it then this week’s name from me is Mason ‘cos he was good last season’ Mount (£7.6m). Mount gets a mention for all the same reasons I stated above for Sterling, minus of course any underlying data to support his claim. He is cheap mind. Then again, Zaha is cheaper. Mount has a knack for doing zip and turning up with 19pts from nowhere, he’s done it before, he’ll do it again. You have to buy a lottery ticket to win the lottery.

I’ll also throw in Leeds Luis Sinesterra (£6.5m) who has 2 goals in his last 2 games, looks a canny little player and Leeds face a Villa side who may or may not be absolute garbage (depending on which Villa side turns up). Leeds also has a decent fixture run and with a 0.8% ownership, even his 2-pointers will do you a solid if all else fails.

Down at the cheaper end of the budget are names most will be familiar with, and a lot will own already. If you’re looking to fill out your bench, then Fulham midfielders Andreas Pereira (£4.6m) and Harrison Reed (£4.5m) still look the best options. If you have a little more then Leon Bailey (£4.7m) could be better. Depending on budget and formation two of the three are certainly viable for those on a wildcard.

That’s your lot, I’m spent. Good luck, I wish you all well and I sure wish I had another Wildcard this week!

Smash – Forwards

Harry Kane (11.4)

We are 8 games into the season Harry Kane has not blanked since GW1 yet he only has an ownership of 19%. This is quite staggering really. Yes Haaland has come in and made the weekly captains article redundant so far but that’s not a reason not to own the main man at Spurs. Nailed on to play 90 mins every week, 6 goals and 2 assists so far mean Kane is a set and forget pick and watch the points roll in. Kane has the second highest xG of 4.7 and the third most goal attempts of any player in the game with 24. Spurs have a mixed run of fixtures as they face Arsenal (A), Brighton (A), Everton (H) and United (A).

Ivan Toney (7.2)

Only three blanks in eight fixtures for Ivan Toney so far this season. Similar to Kane and Mitrovic here here is on penalties and pretty much nailed onto play 90 mins every week. Toney’s xGI/90 of 0.77 is higher than Salah’s (0.72), now that’s a stat you would not be expecting to hear at this point in the season. Toney has missed 4 big chances this season (2nd most) and has the 4th highest xG so far this season behind Haaland, Kane and Mitrovic. Brentford continue to have good fixtures with bou, new, BHA, CHE, avl.

Aleksandar Mitrović (6.9)

Aleksandar Mitrovic has played Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool this season yet he’s still managed to score 6 goals. Mitrovic is on fire and confidence will be a sky high after the Serbian machine notched an international hat-trick against Sweden last week. For Fulham Mitrovic has 49 goals in his last 49 games and for Serbia he has 38 goals in his last 42 games. Mitrovic is top for all players this season for Goal attempts (31) , big chances missed (5) and is third for xG (4.38). If you watch Fulham play they are basically set up to serve him and him alone. Fulham have a run of matches that you could easily see Mitrovic returning in as they play Newcastle (H), West Ham (A), Bournemouth (H), Aston Villa (H) and Leeds (A). Fulham also have no games vs the big six till GW15. Like Kane you just know Mitrovic is going to play 90 mins each week.

Dominic Solanke (5.7)

There is not much to go on here in terms of how Bournemouth have performed this year. Going into pre-season it was said if Bournemouth are going to score, it’s likely that Dominic Solanke (£6m) will be involved. His 29 goals in the Championship last season were 39% of all of their goals. This has not really changed. Bournemouth have had a rough start as they have played City, Liverpool and Arsenal already this season but we have been given a glimpse of what Solanke can do when facing favourable opposition. He came away with a goal and assist against relegation rivals Forest, this could continue as Bournemouth now have a favourable run of matches as they face Brentford (H), Leicester (H), Fulham (A), and Saints (H). In fact they have a really good run up until the World Cup with Spurs in GW14 the only top six opposition Bournemouth will face. so if you are a fixtures person Solanke could be a good budget enabler.

Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 9. This article was written by Matt, Rosco and Smash.

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