FPL Tips - Best FPL Team for Gameweek 9

We're in for some Friday night football action in the PL, with FPL Gameweek 9 kicking off on Friday, 22nd October.

This Gameweek comes after a middling Gameweek 8, which had an average score of 49 FPL points. Mohamed Salah rewarded the record-breaking number of FPL managers who gave him the armband even as Ronaldo and Lukaku recorded blanks.

It was also a Gameweek filled with high-profile benchings, with Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish, Reece James and Adam Armstrong getting benched. There was also some pre-Gameweek confusion, with Son Heung-Min rumoured to have contracted COVID-19. However, it turned out to be false, as he returned to reward his owners with a goal against Newcastle.

I was one of the FPL managers impacted by Son possibly missing out, and I didn't want to roll the dice. As a result, I brought in Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV) (£7.5 million), Phil Foden (MCI) (£8.0 million) and Ollie Watkins (AVL) (£7.3 million) to replace Nelson Semedo, Son and Raul Jimenez, respectively.

It turned out to be an excellent Gameweek for me, as I recorded 76 FPL points, thanks to hauls from captain Mohamed Salah and Ben Chilwell, and clean sheets from four defenders. I'm on the cusp of breaking into the top 100K FPL managers, and I'll look to carry on this momentum over the coming Gameweeks.

Jamie Vardy's excellent FPL form has made managers think twice about owning Romelu Lukaku and Cristiano Ronaldo. With rotation setting into the season, FPL managers should factor that into their transfer plans. As usual, there are lots to consider for FPL managers ahead of the Friday night deadline for Gameweek 9.

Gameweek 9 Deadline: Friday, 22nd October, at 06:30 PM (British Summer Time)/11:00 PM (Indian Standard Time).

FPL Gameweek 9 Fixtures

Gameweek 9 kicks off with a meeting between Arsenal and Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on Friday night. Chelsea host Norwich City in the early kick-off on Saturday. Manchester City travel to the Amex Stadium later in the day to take on Brighton.

Spurs will go up against West Ham at the London Stadium in one of two BST 02:00 PM kick-offs on Sunday. The Gameweek will conclude with a marquee clash between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Click here to view the full fixtures for FPL Gameweek 9.

FPL Team suggested for the previous Gameweek

Here's the suggested team for FPL Gameweek 8:

Goalkeepers: Vicente Guaita (CRY) (£4.5 million) and Ben Foster (WAT) (£4.0 million).

Defenders: Ruben Dias (MCI) (£6.1 million), Tino Livramento (SOU) (£4.2 million), Joao Cancelo (MCI) (£6.2 million), Ben Chilwell (CHE) (£5.6 million) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV) (£7.5 million).

Midfielders: Mohamed Salah (LIV) (£12.6 million), Phil Foden (MCI) (£8.0 million), Raphinha (LEE) (£6.6 million), Bryan Mbeumo (BRE) (£5.5 million) and Josh Brownhill (BUR) (£4.4 million).

Forwards: Ollie Watkins (AVL) (£7.3 million), Romelu Lukau (CHE) (£11.7 million) and Adam Armstrong (SOU) (£6.0 million).

Captain/Vice-Captain: Mohamed Salah/ Romelu Lukaku.

GW 8 Average score: 49.

GW 8 Transfers made: Wildcard Played.

Points Scored (- hits): 76 (-0): 76.

Overall Points: 530.

Overall Rank: 112376.

Free Transfers available: 1.

Money Remaining: £0.0 million.

Note: Prices of players reflect their current saleable values (at the time of writing,) and not their market values.

FPL Transfers

Odsonne Edouard has netted three goals in five appearances (two subs) for Crystal Palace.

1) Odsonne Edouard (CRY) (FWD) (£6.5 million) - OUT | Ollie Watkins (AVL) (FWD) (£7.3 million) - IN.

It's never ideal making a transfer immediately after a Wildcard, but Adam Armstrong's benching in GW 8 and Che Adams also ruled out raises questions about his security of starts. While I'd like to move him up to Ivan Toney, I don't have any funds in the bank. With the rest of my team locked in, I plan to transfer Ollie Watkins out and get Toney in for GW 10.

Despite Watkins posting impressive numbers and topping the xG charts for Aston Villa, I went with him in a last-gasp decision only because I couldn't afford Raul Jimenez. While I'd like to hand him an extended run in my team, the fact that he's not highly owned makes it easier to sell him.

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While I considered getting Edouard for Gameweek 8, I wasn't sure how nailed-on he was in that Crystal Palace team. However, as he can play anywhere in the front three, he looks guaranteed to start every game. Considering Palace's good upcoming fixture run, Edouard could be another good bargain FPL forward.

Best FPL Team for Gameweek 9

Gameweek 9 Bench: Ben Foster (GK) vs EVE (A), Adam Armstrong (SOU) vs BUR (H), Tino Livramento (SOU) vs BUR (H), and Josh Brownhill (MID) vs SOU(A).

While I'm a bit frightened at the prospect of Watkins hauling against Arsenal, Edouard should match him, with Crystal Palace taking on Newcastle. This transfer was the only point of contention in my GW 9 plans, with the rest of my FPL team looking in good shape.

To avoid any benching mishaps, I've decided to use Tino Livramento exclusively as a bench option and play my four premium FPL defenders, as they're pretty fixture-proof. I've also named Adam Armstrong on my bench, as I'm unsure whether he will start, and don't want to risk him getting a one-pointer.

My backline should deliver this Gameweek, with Chilwell going up against Norwich and my Man City double defence taking on Brighton. Guaita also has a reasonable chance of keeping a clean sheet against Newcastle.

In midfield, the in-form Mohamed Salah faces a stern test in Manchester United. Meanwhile, Phil Foden looks set to start after being subbed off in the second half against Club Brugge.

Raphinha should be raring to go after missing the 1-0 defeat to Southampton last week, and he stands a good chance of providing some FPL returns. Bryan Mbeumo has hit the woodwork a whopping six times, and he should surely return on these underlying stats soon enough.

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Romelu Lukaku has blanked in his last four outings, and has been outperformed by his teammate Timo Werner in recent games. He'll desperately look to break his goal drought, and has the perfect fixture to do so. Meanwhile, Edouard looks like an exciting FPL differential for the run-in, and I'm backing him to deliver against Newcastle.

All in all, barring the Edouard transfer, it's the same team that I backed to deliver over this run-in, and I'm hoping that my good run continues in Gameweek 9.

Gameweek 9 - FPL Captaincy

Can Romelu Lukaku find the net against Norwich City?

Amidst the cries of permanently captaining Salah, I can't look past Romelu Lukaku as my captain this week if he's likely to start. Norwich at home is among the best fixtures on paper, and you'd expect a player like Lukaku to come good. I got him in my team precisely for this fixture run, and I will be backing him with my FPL captaincy in GW 9.

Best FPL XI for Gameweek 9 - Summary

Phil Foden is someone to watch out for this Gameweek.

Starting XI:

GK - Vicente Guaita (CRY) vs NEW (H).

DEF: Ruben Dias (MCI) vs BHA (A), Joao Cancelo (MCI) vs BHA (A), Ben Chilwell (CHE) vs NOR (H), and Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV) vs MUN (A).

MID: Mohamed Salah (LIV) vs MUN (A), Raphinha (LEE) vs WOL (H), Bryan Mbeumo (BRE) vs LEI (H), and Phil Foden (MCI) vs BHA(A).

FWD: Odsonne Edouard (CRY) vs NEW (H) and Romelu Lukau (CHE) vs NOR (H).

Formation: 4-4-2.

Bench: GK - Ben Foster (GK) vs EVE (A), 1st Sub: Adam Armstrong (SOU) vs BUR (H), 2nd Sub: Tino Livramento (SOU) vs BUR (H), 3rd Sub: Josh Brownhill (MID) vs SOU(A).

Chips activated: None.

Transfers made: 1.

Points Hits taken (if any): None.

Captain: Romelu Lukaku | VC: Mohamed Salah.

FPL 2021-22: Best Fantasy Team for Gameweek 9 | FPL Tips