Following a two-week lay-off due to the international break, the Premier League resumes this weekend, and with it comes the return of Fantasy Football.
The Gameweek 9 transfer deadline is 11:00 (GMT) on Saturday, November 21, so make sure you have finalised your selections before Newcastle and Chelsea clash in the early kick-off.
Let’s start by looking at the weekend’s fixtures before discussing the top player picks for Gameweek 9.
• Newcastle vs. Chelsea
• Aston Villa vs. Brighton
• Tottenham vs. Manchester City
• Manchester United vs. West Brom
• Fulham vs. Everton
• Sheffield United vs. West Ham
• Leeds United vs. Arsenal
• Liverpool vs. Leicester City
• Burnley vs. Crystal Palace
• Wolves vs. Southampton
Leicester, Tottenham and Southampton will all be aiming to extend three-game winning streaks this weekend, while Sheff Utd, Burnley and West Brom are still yet to taste victory this term.
Spurs vs. Man City and Liverpool vs. Leicester are the obvious standout ties, with Leeds vs. Arsenal also set to be a tasty encounter.
Edouard Mendy (Chelsea) has kept three clean sheets in his first four Premier League appearances for his new club and has only conceded on goal in that time. With low-scoring Newcastle up next for the Blues, Mendy could be in line for another shutout.
After keeping a clean sheet last time out, Lucasz Fabianski (West Ham) is currently the highest scoring goalkeeper in FPL (41 points). However, Emi Martinez (Aston Villa) and Rui Patricio (Wolves) aren’t far behind (40 points).
Fabianski will be confident of keeping another shutout against off-form Sheff Utd this weekend, although Patricio may have his work cut out against free-scoring Southampton.
Matt Doherty (Tottenham) picked up 12 points in the previous round. He is one of the league’s in-form defenders, but he will miss the visit of Man City after returning a positive coronavirus test. If you have him in your team, make sure you transfer him.
Obviously, Chelsea defenders have been solid picks in recent weeks, with Frank Lampard’s side keeping so many clean sheets. Kurt Zouma and Ben Chilwell are ranked first and third respectively at the top of the defender points chart.
Burnley have only managed to score a measly three goals in seven outings this term. With Crystal Palace heading to Turf Moor this weekend, Scott Dann, Nathaniel Clyne and Patrick van Aanholt are all sensible picks.
The main news regarding midfielders in Gameweek 9 is that Mohamed Salah will sit out of Liverpool’s game against Leicester after testing positive for COVID-19.
In-form trio James Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd) and Raheem Sterling (Man City) are also injury doubts, so make sure you work around that.
Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Salah are the only two midfielders to have picked up more points than Jack Grealish (Aston Villa) this season. Grealish excelled on international duty with England, so he will be confident of adding to his already impressive tally of four goals and six assists in seven league games.
Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd) picked up a whopping 17 points last time out. The Portuguese star has five goals and three assists to his name in the Premier League this season.
Harry Kane (Tottenham) is head and shoulders above the other forwards in FPL at the moment. In fact, his seven goals and eight assists have seen him accumulate 80 points, with his nearest challenger – Jamie Vardy (Leicester) – on 59 points.
Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) has six goals and one assist under his belt, including a hat-trick against Liverpool. With Brighton up next for the Villains, Watkins could enjoy another successful Gameweek.
Patrick Bamford (Leeds), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton) and Callum Wilson (Newcastle) are all enjoying fruitful campaigns so far and are all relatively cheap options.
Unfortunately, Danny Ings (Southampton) looks set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Make sure you swap out the Saints striker.