What better way to mark the end of an interminably long international break than by having not only one but two Premier League derbies to sit back and enjoy this weekend?
Football fans and Fantasy Premier League managers alike can also look forward to a full fixture schedule for the first time in almost a month with 10 matches taking place.
On Saturday lunchtime, high-flying Arsenal host high-flying Tottenham in the north London derby at the Emirates, a fixture that has provided no shortage of entertainment in recent seasons. Just over 24 hours later, the Manchester derby will get underway at the Etihad with the division’s leading scorers City taking on a United side that has quietly risen to dizzying heights of fifth in the table after a sticky start.
Elsewhere, Graham Potter takes charge of his first Premier League match in charge of Chelsea, his successor at Brighton Roberto De Zerbi has a baptism of fire at Anfield and on Monday night two clubs in dismal form go head-to-head as 20th place Leicester welcome 19th place Nottingham Forest to the King Power in an early relegation six-pointer.
Gameweek 8’s top scorers
Goalkeepers:
- Begovic (Everton) – 9
- Ramsdale (Arsenal), Martinez (Aston Villa), Ederson (Man City) – 6
Defenders:
- Saliba (Arsenal) – 15
- Mings (Aston Villa), Cancelo (Man City) – 9
- Tarkowski (Everton) – 8
Midfielders:
- Son (Spurs) – 19
- Bentancur (Spurs) – 12
- Vieira (Arsenal), Ramsey (Aston Villa), Reed (Fulham), De Bruyne (Man City), Grealish (Man City) – 10
Forwards:
- Kane (Spurs) – 10
- Maupay (Everton), Isak (Newcastle) – 9
- Awoniyi (Nottingham Forest) – 6
Here is this week’s squad, containing two players from Liverpool and Manchester City apiece as well as attackers from both north London clubs ahead of the derby…
This week’s deadline is at 11am on Saturday!
Gameweek 9 fixtures
Saturday 1 October
- Arsenal vs Tottenham
- Bournemouth vs Brentford
- Crystal Palace vs Chelsea
- Fulham vs Newcastle
- Liverpool vs Brighton
- Southampton vs Everton
- West Ham vs Wolves
Sunday 2 October
- Man City vs Man Utd
- Leeds vs Aston Villa
Monday 3 October
- Leicester vs Nottingham Forest
Jose Sa (Wolves)
Admittedly the numbers are skewed as some clubs have played more games than others but it is still indicative of Wolves’ solidity that they have the joint-best defensive record away from home after conceding three goals in three games, while they also have the best expected goals against total too.
On the other side of the coin, West Ham have the worst attacking record at home, scoring just once at the London Stadium in three matches. The absence of Nathan Collins after his Karate Kid act against Jack Grealish is a blow, but Jose Sa offers both clean sheet and save point potential.
Price: £5.0m Points: 37 Gameweek 9 fixture: West Ham (a)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s ownership has dwindled in the past few weeks, partly due to his poor start to the campaign and partly because of Liverpool’s lack of games in that time. Ahead of the Gameweek 9 deadline, Alexander-Arnold is the fourth-most sold player in the game and his price tag has dropped by £0.1m.
Now could be a good time to go against the curve by buying rather than selling. Alexander-Arnold’s underlying stats are still pretty strong: he has created the joint-most chances (13) among defenders. And after playing no part of England’s Nations League fixtures, he should be raring to go against a Brighton side under new management.
Price: £7.4m Points: 24 Gameweek 9 fixture: Brighton (h)
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Graham Potter faces a potential banana skin in his first league game as Chelsea boss with Crystal Palace always capable of causing an upset.
But Potter’s arrival will hopefully be able to unlock Reece James’ attacking potential. James tended to play as a third centre-back under Thomas Tuchel at the start of the season, but was shifted back into his more natural right wing-back role in Potter’s first match against Red Bull Salzburg.
Price: £6.0m Points: 23 Gameweek 9 fixture: Crystal Palace (a)
Dan Burn (Newcastle)
Newcastle face a tricky test this weekend when they travel to the capital to face in-form Fulham. Eddie Howe will be wary of the considerable threat posed by one-time Magpie Aleksandar Mitrovic and will entrust Dan Burn to keep close tabs on the Serbian.
Judging by Howe’s last team selection against Bournemouth, Burn appears to be Newcastle’s first-choice left-sided centre-back ahead of summer signing Sven Botman. Burn offers points potential at both ends of the pitch as he has had six shots on goal so far this season.
Price: £4.5m Points: 19 Gameweek 9 fixture: Fulham (a)
James Maddison (Leicester)
If there is one Leicester player immune from criticism this season it is James Maddison. Despite playing in a team that has lost six matches in a row, Maddison has scored more league goals than Mo Salah (three to two) and created more chances than Martin Odegaard (13 to 10).
Leicester’s defence might be record-breakingly bad – they have conceded more goals (22) than any team in Premier League history after seven games – but Nottingham Forest’s isn’t much better. Steve Cooper’s side have shipped an alarming 14 goals in their previous four matches.
Price: £7.9m Points: 29 Gameweek 9 fixture: Nottingham Forest (h)
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Bukayo Saka justified his place in our Gameweek 8 picks by registering two assists in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Brentford and reclaims his place following a lively cameo for England against Germany on Monday night.
After a slow start to the campaign, Saka is beginning to find his top form. In the past three Gameweeks, Saka is joint-top in Arsenal’s squad for both shots (10) and chances created (seven). Saka managed a goal, assist and 13-point score in the corresponding fixture with Spurs last season and could cause the attack-minded Ivan Perisic defensive problems this weekend.
Price: £7.8m Points: 37 Gameweek 9 fixture: Tottenham (h)
Luis Diaz (Liverpool)
Can Luis Diaz really cover Mo Salah? That’s a question that plenty of FPL managers are grappling with considering there is a £4.7m price difference between the two. In terms of creativity, there is no contest: Salah has created 24 chances to Diaz’s four.
But when it comes to shots it is much closer: Salah has had 17 shots compared to Diaz’s 16, but the Colombian has been more accurate, hitting the target seven times compared to the Egyptian’s five. The returns of Diogo Jota (from injury) and Darwin Nunez (from suspension) could complicate matters, but Diaz will expect to keep his place given he has been one of Liverpool’s better performers so far.
Price: £8.2m Points: 32 Gameweek 9 fixture: Brighton (h)
Bernardo Silva (Man City)
Since returning to Pep Guardiola’s starting line-up in Gameweek 3, Bernardo Silva has ticked along nicely in FPL combining two goals with three assists in five appearances. He has only blanked once during that run, against Aston Villa in Gameweek 6.
Silva has a decent record against United too, scoring twice and registering three assists against them in eight games. While not as exciting an FPL pick as either Kevin De Bruyne or Phil Foden, Silva offers great value at only £7.0m.
Price: £7.0m Points: 39 Gameweek 9 fixture: Man Utd (h)
Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth)
To say that FPL managers are generally apathetic to Bournemouth assets would be something of an understatement: Lloyd Kelly (£4.5m) is the Cherries’ most popular player in the game with an ownership of just 1.1 per cent.
But considering they are unbeaten in three games since that defeat to Liverpool and top FPL’s fixture difficulty rating chart over the next few weeks, perhaps they should come under consideration. Dominic Solanke has a goal and assist from five appearances and is a cheap and cheerful option given his price tag has dropped by £0.3m from Gameweek 1.
Price: £5.7m Points: 19 Gameweek 9 fixture: Brentford (h)
Erling Haaland (Man City)
Since Erik ten Hag consigned Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw to the subs bench, Manchester United’s defensive record has improved considerably: after letting in six goals in their opening two games, United have since conceded two in their last four. That being said, Lisandro Martinez and co didn’t have to worry about Erling Haaland in any of those fixtures…
Increasingly, Haaland’s failure to score in City’s 4-0 win against Bournemouth in Gameweek 2 is looking like some sort of glitch in the matrix considering he has scored at least once in every other game. Not only is Haaland already five clear of the chasing pack in the Golden Boot race, but he has also registered almost twice as many big chances than any other player with 14 (Mitrovic is second on eight).
Price: £12.0m Points: 73 Gameweek 9 fixture: Man Utd (h)
Harry Kane (Spurs)
Sorry, sorry. We’ve only gone and selected Erling Haaland and Harry Kane as our strikers again this weekend. Please forgive our lack of imagination. In fairness, it is a tactic that has generally worked out pretty well, including in Gameweek 8 when both players scored (subscribers to our Fantasy Football newsletter may also recall that Kane was our chosen captain and proceeded to outscore Haaland by four points).
Son Heung-min has enjoyed a popularity surge off the back of his 13-minute hat-trick against Leicester, but Kane has been the reliable pick so far this season scoring six times in seven games. He has an excellent record in the north London derby too, netting 13 goals in 15 Premier League games against Arsenal.
Price: £11.4m Points: 50 Gameweek 9 fixture: Arsenal (a)
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