FPL Scouting Notebook: GW9 Review

3 slots for 4 players?

Hello, and welcome to the return of the FPL Scouting Notebook!

Catching back up after a couple of busy weeks in my #RealLife job with my FPL takes on GW9 and beyond. Let’s get started.

Leicester 1-3 Forest

Chris Wood with 2 goals on 3 shots (taking him to 7 goals on the season and the 2nd overall spot for FPL forwards. A big lad who doesn’t cost that much and scores whenever he’s got a decent chance? Is he, in fact, the perfect fantasy asset?

You probably have to avoid Leicester entirely, but Buonanotte (5.1m, 3 goals, 2 assists) takes a ton of shots and is on set pieces. A good pick-up if you need a cheap midfielder with Ipswich ahead in GW10.

Aston Villa 1-1 Bournemouth

Konsa from 9 to 2 points in the waning seconds of the match? Gross.

No goal involvement for Watkins, Rogers, or Semenyo. Gross x3.

Bournemouth has been involved in some ugly matches this season (FPL-wise and generally). Still, they’ve proven to be a tough match-up every week—lots of experienced, unexciting dudes, a la Crystal Palace under Hodgson. Something to keep in mind as you consider Haaland vs. the other © options this weekend.

Brentford 4-3 Ipswich

A lofted cross that goes in for an unintended goal is so fun—it’s like watching someone make a trick shot in pool. Everything is going right for Mbeumo right now.

Delap has been decent, but Ipswich give up so many goals (20 conceded through 9 matches, second only to Wolves) that he will struggle for bonus points even when he does score. Like with Vardy and the other cheapies, the move is to find the money to get Chris Wood.

Brighton 2-2 Wolves

6 goals from Welbeck on a totally decent 4.5 xG and I continue to believe that he’s not a good long-term asset in fantasy. Maybe the joke is on me (it is so far), but the last time Welbeck scored more than 6 goals in a season was 2014. Credit to Welbeck for playing so well in his 17th Premier League season, but I think his great run will come to an end soon.

As for Wolves, a heartbreaking goal conceded to Man City followed by a dramatic brace after the 88th minute vs. Brighton. I’m avoiding all of them, though Ait-Nouri (4.5m, 3 goals) might be a fun option down the line.

Man City 1-0 Southampton

One of the reasons I prefer game weeks (to the extent we still have them) for the triple-captaincy is not so much the doubled points as the hedge against bad luck. Triple Captainers were unlucky, but by the standards of epic triple captain fails, I’d say this is more like a 2 out of 10.

My point is that TC fails are pretty much the norm, and I look forward to rationalizing my own TC fails later this season.

Everton 1-1 Fulham

Beto’s goal wrapped up a trio of post-88th minute clean sheet losses on Saturday. So hard to find any value in defenders this season — the expensive ones haven’t really delivered and we haven’t seen a reliable cheap option either (Aina, Robinson, etc are all fine, not great).

The shine is maybe off a little for McNeil and Smith-Rowe, but they’re still the top 2 sub-6m midfield options in fantasy. No reason to move either one if you have them.

Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle

Cole Palmer’s underlying stats weren’t impressive this match (one shot and one chance created, though he was involved in the first Chelsea goal), but like all the great fantasy assets, he still found a way to sneak an attacking return and bonus points. I don’t think I’d move Saka or Salah for him this particular GW, but his consistency and cost-savings over Salah and Haaland may make him the best “value” premium asset in FPL. Approaching must-own territory in the weeks ahead.

6 goals, 3 assists, 9 bonus boints for Jackson and he still barely gets discussed. It’s hard for a lot of us to get over how bad he looked at the start of last season, but the consistency is there, even going back to the end of the 2023-2024 campaign.

Crystal Palace 1-0 Spurs

It’s easy to remember, after a match like today, why everyone was so high on this Palace team going into the season. A nice assist from Eze (who I’ve probably been too harsh about on the pod) and four shots from him in the match—more goals for him are coming.

Spurs have lost the last two PL matches they played without Son—they feel a bit chaotic, both in the PL and in fantasy. With a home match vs. Villa on Sunday and no clear transfers for Solanke/Porro/Johnson, I’d start them all and re-evaluate before GW11.

West Ham 2-1 Man United

It was a nice home win for West Ham, but I don’t see fantasy value anywhere in this squad right now. Even Bowen doesn’t seem much better than the 5.5m-7m options you can get for cheaper.

Will Man United get a new manager bump after the ETH sacking? It’s possible, but I feel like the better chance of that happening is after they do some January housecleaning and move some of their aging assets to PSG or Bestikas or wherever to free up more minutes for the younger guys. Rashford with 1 goal and 1 assist on the season—have we ever had a good explanation for what happened there?

Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool

I’m opting to stick with Haaland over Salah, despite Salah costing 2.7m less and outscoring Haaland by 9 points on the season. It’s a little bit of stubbornness and a little bit of not wanting to play 3 premium midfielders, as I don’t want to drop Palmer and want Saka for his strong holiday fixture run.

Speaking of Saka, he returned and immediately resumed being one of the steadiest options in FPL—the ultimate vice-captain pick, given his high floor.

Two blanks in a row and two tough fixtures ahead for Havertz. Moving him on for Wood (or, if you already have Wood, someone like Jimenez) is fine, though more of a thing to do if the rest of your squad is settled.