If anybody was going to lift the dreaded early Saturday kick-off curse, it was always likely to be the Fantasy Premier League‘s MVP Mo Salah.
The 12.30pm game has not been kind to FPL managers this season. Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score in either of Manchester United’s Saturday lunchtime matches against Aston Villa or Everton in Gameweeks 6 and 7, while Salah’s only blank of the campaign came in the 2-0 win over Burnley in Gameweek 2 which was also scheduled before the traditional 3pm blackout.
However, Salah’s 13-point haul during Liverpool’s 5-0 thrashing of Watford last weekend appears to have broken the hex, just in time for Chelsea’s meeting with bottom of the table Norwich City.
That match is not the first to take place this weekend though as Arsenal host Aston Villa at the Emirates on Friday night, meaning an earlier deadline slot of 6.30pm. Avoid making a panicked, last-minute trolley dash by having a look at our latest FPL tips article, featuring the eleven best players to own in Gameweek 9.
It had looked set to be a straight shoot-out between Salah and Romelu Lukaku for the captain’s armband this weekend, but the latter’s ankle injury sustained during Chelsea’s routine win over Malmo on Wednesday night has muddied the waters somewhat.
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Jamie Vardy (Leicester)
Jamie Vardy has matched Salah for goals (seven) in the Premier League this season and moved ahead of Michail Antonio as the top-scoring forward in FPL at the weekend, yet is still owned by fewer than 20 per cent of managers. While Lukaku, Ronaldo and until last weekend, Kane have all struggled to justify their premium price tags, Vardy has been providing return after return for his savvy owners. Brentford will be a tough nut to crack, but Vardy comes into the game having scored in four successive league matches.
Price: £10.6m Points: 56 Gameweek 9 fixture: Brentford (a)
Mo Salah (Liverpool)
The case for putting the armband on Salah and leaving it there until the end of the season is growing with each passing week. Salah made history in Tuesday’s 3-2 win vs Atletico Madrid by becoming the first Liverpool player in history to score in nine games in a row and he is by a distance, the leading points scorer in FPL. Although Manchester United away looks a tricky game on paper, the performance of Harry Maguire and co against Leicester should give Liverpool’s free-scoring attackers plenty of encouragement.
Price: £12.8m Points: 83 Gamewek 9 fixture: Man Utd (a)
Kai Havertz (Chelsea)
Lukaku wasn’t the only Chelsea forward to limp off in midweek as Timo Werner also tweaked his hamstring. Thomas Tuchel acknowledged that his side will be without the pair for “some matches” after the game. The absence of Lukaku and Werner could lead to Kai Havertz becoming Chelsea’s main man up front for their plum run of fixtures. The Blues face Norwich, Newcastle and Burnley in their next three matches. Havertz scored after replacing Lukaku against Malmo and is currently owned by fewer than five per cent of managers ahead of Friday’s deadline.
Price: £8.1m Points: 19 Gameweek 9 fixture: Norwich (h)
Harry Kane (Spurs)
This weekend should provide clarity on whether Harry Kane really is getting back to form or was just the beneficiary of playing against a woeful Newcastle United defence last time out. Kane scored his first Premier League goal of the season with a deftly taken lob and then provided his first assist of the campaign for Son Heung-min at St James’ Park. Kane will be looking to build on that display against an opponent that he has had plenty of joy against; only Leicester have conceded more league goals (15) to him than West Ham (11).
Price: £12.1m Points: 21 Gameweek 9 fixture: West Ham (a)
Differential pick: Odsonne Edouard (Crystal Palace)
Opposition strikers have enjoyed themselves against Newcastle’s porous backline this season. Michail Antonio, Danny Ings, Cristiano Ronaldo, Hwang Hee-chan and Harry Kane, have all prospered against the Magpies so far this season and Crystal Palace’s Odsonne Edouard could be the latest to profit. The Frenchman has been clinical in front of goal for his new club, scoring 33 per cent of his efforts on goal, including a superb effort in the draw with Arsenal on Monday night.
Price: £6.5m Points: 24 Gameweek 9 fixture: Newcastle (h)
from Fantasy Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3aWF7kb
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