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This article provides a preview of what Gameweek 9 has in store for fantasy managers, including top captain selections and strong picks for the weekly FPL Challenge game.
Gameweek 8 saw lots of FPL action as Son Heung-min returned to form for Tottenham, contributing to a 4-1 victory against West Ham, while John Stones scored a last-minute winner for Manchester City against Wolves. However, what does Gameweek 9 hold in store? More about that later.
The FPL Challenge --- Test Lab series introduces this week's new task titled 'Playmakers,' where key passes and crosses are worth 2 points. As always, we’ll offer weekly breakdowns of the top assets to target and help you maximize your points potential.
The Gameweek 9 deadline of the 2024-25 Fantasy Premier League season is Friday, October 25, at 1:30 p.m. EDT, when Leicester City and Nottingham Forest battle under the lights. Also, check out the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the squad gets you all set for every EPL and UCL slate with our EPL DFS lineup picks and betting picks.
Are you ready for Matchweek 9? 🚦 pic.twitter.com/K6wyw4rNUt
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 24, 2024
Gameweek 9 Tips
London's Finest: Eyes on Chelsea and Brentford's Attacking Assets
Chelsea and Brentford have emerged as two of the most attacking teams in the Premier League, scoring a combined total of 31 goals (17 for Chelsea and 14 for Brentford) in their opening eight matches.
As we approach Gameweek 9, investing in attacking FPL assets from these two London clubs presents an opportunity to make optimal gains in your mini-league.
Based on goal projections, Chelsea and Brentford are expected to generate 2.10 and 2.00 xG (expected goals) against their opponents in Gameweek 9.
💹 PL GW9 matchups
First, look at projected goals and clean sheet odds for the upcoming round of Premier League games via spread betting markets pic.twitter.com/ofVFC9bjnZ
— Rob T (@robtFPL) October 23, 2024
This Week's Recommended Targets
For Gameweek 9, consider the following attacking assets:
- Brentford's Yoanne Wissa, Mikkel Damsgaard, and Bryan Mbeumo have all been crucial in helping their club score goals. Particularly, Mbeumo and Damsgaard have nine goal contributions, and Wissa, who has four goals, might be crucial if he is selected to start by the weekend.
Four home matches. Five goals scored 🔥
Brentford host Ipswich in GW9, could Bryan Mbeumo be a differential captaincy pick? ©️#FPL pic.twitter.com/8rZpzYEeub
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) October 24, 2024
- From Chelsea, focus on attacking players like Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, and Noni Madueke, who are the main channel of goals for the Blues.
Under-The-Radar: Chris Wood's Newfound Form
Five goals were scored in eight matches, accumulating a total expected goals of 3.39 xG for Nottingham Forest. Chris Wood has gone relatively unnoticed by the FPL populace, racking up 46 FPL points this season.
With Nottingham Forest's next three matches against Leicester, West Ham, and Newcastle, the 32-year-old veteran could be a prime asset for FPL managers, especially if he continues in this rich vein of form.
Fine goalscoring form for Chris Wood 😤
He has the joint-third highest amount of goals scored since December 2023 🗓️ pic.twitter.com/fgsVYgcH93
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 21, 2024
Gameweek 9 Top Captain Picks
The weekend fixtures present a list of fascinating options for your captaincy choice. Players like Chris Wood facing Leicester, Bryan Mbeumo at home to Ipswich, and Mohamed Salah against an injury-stricken Arsenal all present strong cases. However, my top two picks would be:
Erling Haaland (£15.4m) - Manchester City
Erling Haaland may have scored twice in the Champions League this week, but he has gone goalless in his last three EPL appearances. However, the Norwegian might have a hat trick in the locker with a home matchup against a recently promoted team.
Haaland's six out of 10 Premier League goals at the Etihad show he has a significant home advantage. Playing an out-of-form Southampton side, RotoBaller backs Haaland as the top captain of the week as the 24-year-old aims to break his dry spell this weekend.
Cole Palmer (£10.9m) - Chelsea
In 686 minutes played in the Premier League, Chelsea talisman Cole Palmer has contributed 11 goals (six goals and five assists), amassing 0.52 non-penalty expected goals per 90 minutes in those outings.
If you are looking for a Bukayo Saka replacement for your fantasy team, Palmer could provide an excellent alternate route for Gameweek 9 and also an optimal captain option when Chelsea faces Newcastle on Sunday.
Ollie Watkins (£9.1m) - Aston Villa
With 49 FPL points this season, Ollie Watkins has tallied seven goal contributions (five goals and two assists) in just eight Premier League games for Aston Villa.
After playing for only 25 minutes in the midweek Champions League tie against Bologna, FPL managers can expect Watkins to be fully ready, which makes him a strong captaincy pick when the Villans host Bournemouth at Villa Park this weekend.
Differential Gameweek 9 Captain (<10% ownership)
Karou Mitoma (£6.6m) - Brighton
Despite a tough fixture shift after Gameweek 9 with matches against Liverpool and Man City, I can't help but recommend Brighton's key player Kaoru Mitoma as a standout option this week against Wolves at the Amex Stadium.
The Japanese international has contributed a goal and two assists this season, and his underlying stat of 2.03 xG (expected goals) suggests he could deliver more. Gameweek 9 is an excellent opportunity to go differential and consider Mitoma as an alternate captain pick.
FPL Challenge: Test Lab
The FPL Challenge section for the 2024-25 season is back, and RotoBaller remains your go-to source for valuable insights on selecting the right assets for any challenge.
The eighth challenge, "Ball Winners," focused on selecting a team of five players, paying close attention to players strong in interceptions, tackles, and ball recoveries. This week brings a fresh task, and we’ll spotlight our top assets to help you maximize points for the new challenge.
In case you missed it, here is a breakdown of what is expected from the FPL Challenge: Test Lab event.
Fantasy Challenge is LIVE for 2024/25 🚨
Build your squad for Gameweek 1 now 👇#FPLChallengeAccepted
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) July 24, 2024
The Test Lab is a four-gameweek run where the future of Fantasy Premier League will try out a few experiments for our fantasy teams. This series covers four tests focusing on earning points through different players and play styles.
- Gameweek 8: Ball Winners - Interceptions and tackles are worth 1 point. Three recoveries are worth 1 point.
- Gameweek 9: Playmakers - Key passes and crosses worth 2 points.
- Gameweek 10: Foul Play - Fouls won are worth 2 points. Fouls conceded are worth -1 point.
- Gameweek 11: Accuracy - Shots on target are worth 3 points.
Test Lab FPL Challenge: Playmakers - Players to Target
Week 9 of the FPL Challenge highlights Playmakers, where players earn two points for every key pass and cross completed. Managers can select five players with an unlimited budget but stand a bigger chance of fantasy points when selecting creative players.
RotoBaller's top five picks for this week's Challenge are:
- Manchester City's Ederson in goal, who not only offers clean-sheet potential but can also contribute to City's transitional build-up and accumulate a few key passes.
- Tottenham's wingback, Pedro Porro, who has completed 12 successful crosses, will be pivotal in our defense with his high attacking involvement for Spurs.
- Aston Villa’s Lucas Digne joins him in defense, offering an attacking threat with six crosses completed.
- Chelsea's talisman, Cole Palmer, takes a central role with his 3.15 chances created per 90 minutes and a favorable home matchup against Newcastle. He's also our captain for this week's challenge.
- Manchester City's Erling Haaland rounds off the lineup in a 2-1-1 formation as our single forward, poised to deliver the final punch for the challenge.
Feel free to select any other top FPL Challenge alternatives not mentioned above. Best of luck to everyone participating in this week's challenge!
Join the RotoBaller FPL League
Fancy pitting your wits against fellow RotoBallers? Then, join our free league to compete against the team and our dedicated FPL fans. Head to the official FPL site, click the Leagues and Cups tab, and enter the RotoBaller league code: b278pa.
Go head-to-head against your friends and family in mini-leagues 🏆
Pick your squad and compete for #FPL glory now! ⬇️
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) July 18, 2024
Stick around for more 2024-25 Fantasy Premier League content coming soon. Hit us up on X @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!
