Fantasy Football Tips 18/19: GW9 Options
A lifelong Birmingham City fan, Tom relocated to Germany for five years after graduating from university, where his interest in the Bundesliga developed. He began writing about and betting on German football for FST in 2016. He's also an avid fantasy football player and closely follows the Premier League and European competitions.
Premier League fixtures have never looked better after yet another international break… but at least that means we’ve had plenty of time to get together some fantasy football tips to help you rise to the top of your leagues and earn those bragging rights at the workplace! So, what have we got to look forward to?
Saturday kicks off with a bang as Jose Mourinho returns to his former stomping grounds as Manchester United travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. We’re then treated to as many as six 3pm matches before Liverpool travel to Huddersfield for the late game. Another match in each of Super Sunday and Monday Night Football rounds off the weekend in style!
So… what are we thinking in terms of fantasy football? Well, with most managers already having the likes of Sergio Aguero and Eden Hazard in their FPL teams, we continue to seek out the best alternate options available. Kick back and take a read of our ten player recommendations for Gameweek 9.
Be sure to bookmark and follow our weekly Fantasy Premier League blogs for fantasy football tips throughout the 18/19 season!
FST Gameweek 9 Line-up
GW8 Points: 71
Overall Points: 524
Overall Rank: 61,133
Total Players: 5,758,435
GW9 Fantasy Football Tips
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City, £11.1m)
You might have to do a bit of tinkering to get Raheem Sterling into your fantasy football team, but the Englishman could prove a valuable City differential in the coming weeks with Aguero seeing reduced minutes. He was the second-top scoring FPL player last season and it hasn’t taken him long to get going in 2018/19 either. Four goals, two assists and six bonus points since the season began see him as the 3rd highest scoring player in the game… and yet he’s owned by just 6.2%!
Notably, Sterling has scored in each of City’s last three home outings, so a visit to the Etihad from Burnley should give him a decent chance to maintain that output. No team has seen more shot on goal against them than the Clarets and Sean Dyche’s side have conceded six goals over their last three on the road. Manchester City top the Premier League table for goals scored and it’s hard to see Burnley stopping them (or Sterling after that England performance) on Saturday.
Read More: Premier League Gameweek 8 Team of the Week
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool, £6.3m)
Raiding left back Robertson has been one of the standout fantasy football defenders so far this season. His 13 key passes from from open play are three more than any other defender and only Mohamed Salah (15) has a better number within the Liverpool team. The Reds’ concrete defensive form has seen him tally five clean sheets from eight matches – joint top in the Premier League – along with his two assists and 7 bonus points. He now ranks second among defenders and joint 5th overall based on total FPL points.
Liverpool’s trip to Huddersfield Town begins a run of eight favourable matches that only furthers the Scotsman’s potential – in fact, away to Arsenal is the only fixture ranked higher than 3 on the Fixture Difficulty Ranking (FDR) over that streak. Huddersfield have failed to score in their four home matches this season and their 17 goals conceded is the second worst number in the English top flight. Robertson’s combined attacking and defensive proficiency make him one to watch this weekend.
Read More: Huddersfield vs Liverpool Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Preview
Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City, £6.2m)
World Cup winner Benjamin Mendy exploded in popularity following a few quality performances earlier this season, but a mysterious injury saw him drop out of favour with fantasy football managers after a few weeks without an appearance. The Frenchman finds himself in only 14% of FPL squads going into the weekend with his price having dropped from £6.5m to as low as £6.2m. Back on the teamsheet in City’s 0-0 draw away to Liverpool, he helped his side to their fourth consecutive clean sheet. We say now is the time to get him back in.
His role in Pep Guardiola’s system sees him make very advanced movement up the pitch from his official “left back” position – at times you’d have been forgiven for thinking he was a winger. His runs down the left hand side, and sometimes through the middle, open him up for huge potential for both goals and assists alongside clean sheets. He’s a player you’ll be happy to play in almost every fixture. Next up on City’s chopping block are Burnley, who have failed to score in 50% of their away matches this season.
Read More: Manchester City vs Burnley Predictions, Betting Tips, and Match Preview
Anthony Knockaert (Brighton, £5.5m)
Brighton ended their six match winless run just before the international break and are another team looking ahead to a favourable run of fixtures. And with German midfielder Pascal Gross sidelined and possibly out of favour, Frenchman Anthony Knockaert looks the go to Seagulls option in terms of fantasy football. He has one goal and three assists from eight starts so far and his total of 30 points sees him ranked 4th of all midfielders priced £6.0m or lower. Owned by just 2% of managers, he could be a tidy differential over the coming weeks.
Brighton’s run starts with an away encounter against Newcastle, who are without a win in the 18/19 season and without a clean sheet over their four matches at St James Park – their tally of eight goals conceded there is the 3rd worst home defensive record in the Premier League. Knockaert always looks a danger and his influence within Chris Hughton’s side is obvious: his 15 shots on goal and 14 chances created are more than any teammate.
Read More: How does Football Index work?
Matt Doherty (Wolves, £4.7m)
Wolves’ Matt Doherty has been consistently impressive in his role as a right wing-back in Nuno Espirito Santo’s 3-4-2-1 formation and looks a top budget defensive option. Like Chelsea’s Alonso, Liverpool’s Robertson, or City’s Mendy, he’s an attack-minded defender. In fact, no Wolves player has tallied more crosses from open play than the Irishman. Doherty has also been a significant goal threat in the eight matches so far, totalling the second-most shots on target among his teammates.
Wolves have recorded a clean sheet in four of their last five and host a Watford side that have failed to score in each of their last two. You can see where this is going. Wolves also rank low on the charts for allowing shots inside the penalty area and big chances against them – that is, opportunities where an opponent player is expected to score. At just £4.7m, Doherty’s strong defensive form and involvement in attack make him a MUST HAVE budget defender for us.
Read More: Wolves vs Watford Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Preview
More GW9 Fantasy Football Tips
Eden Hazard (£11.3m) vs Manchester United (H)
Callum Wilson (£6.4m) vs Southampton (H)
Raul Jimenez (£5.6m) vs Watford (H)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.2m) vs Huddersfield (A)
Alexandre Lacazette (£9.7m) vs Leicester (H)
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