Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 9 Preview – Which Leeds United player should you avoid

In the week where we received news of a possible coronavirus vaccine, popular FPL assets dropped like flies as Mo Salah and Matt Doherty picked up Covid on international duty, ruling them out of this weekend’s games.

It will be wise to leave your transfers until after the managers’ press conferences to look out for any late injuries as the international break’s intense fixture list overworked more players.

Transfer deadline – 21 November at 11am.

Follow the in-house Yorkshire Post Fantasy Football expert John Mount (@Gameweek38) on Twitter for more FPL insight and enter his 5,000 follower giveaway here!

Captain Picks

Bruno Fernandes (£10.6m) vs West Brom (H)

Although Man United are winless at home this season, you’d still back them to beat West Brom at Old Trafford as the Baggies remain firmly in the relegation zone.

On penalty duty and set pieces, Bruno has picked up three goals and two assists across the last four gameweeks and no midfielder has taken more shots across the same timeframe.

Timo Werner (£9.4m) vs Newcastle (A)

Werner’s recent goals for Germany takes his goal tally to ten goals in ten games which is encouraging ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Newcastle for the weekend’s early kick-off.

Over the last four gameweeks, no team has conceded more shots than Newcastle and with Werner taking the lion’s share of Chelsea’s shots, it could be wise to hand him the armband.

Jamie Vardy (£10.1m) vs Liverpool (A)

With Liverpool missing Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold, Salah, Gomez, Fabinho and Thiago this weekend, now may be the perfect time to captain a Leicester player as they look to extend their lead at the top of the league.

Vardy has three goals and two assists across the last four gameweeks and with games against Fulham, Sheffield United and Brighton up next after facing this butchered Liverpool team, you can count on him being a popular captain choice for the next few weeks.

The Form Guide - Who’s Hot?

Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea, £8.2m)

Having being eased into the Chelsea starting line-up, Ziyech rewarded patient FPL managers with 25 points across the two games before the international break by scoring one goal and providing two assists. With Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic out injured, the Moroccan’s starting spot seems secure. If you do bring Ziyech in, don’t expect him to score too often as it’s his assist potential you’d be bringing him in for. Despite only having one shot on target over the last two gameweeks, he created four big chances for teammates, the joint most in the league in this timeframe.

Ollie Watkins, Jack Grealish & Ross Barkley (Aston Villa, £6.0m-£7.5m)

Villa’s generous upcoming fixture run against Brighton, West Ham and Newcastle will lure many managers into their attacking trio for very good reason: across the last four gameweeks they have five goals and four assists between them.

For a slight differential, FPL managers may be tempted by Ollie Watkins who has six goals in eight games and takes the team’s penalties.

The Form Guide - Who’s Not?

Helder Costa (Leeds, £5.6m)

After a 14-point display against Fulham in gameweek two, many managers brought Costa in as their prize Leeds United asset hoping for more of the same.

Since then however, the Portuguese international has failed to score, contributed just one assist and netted an own goal against Crystal Palace last time out. With Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea up next, it’s time to move him on.

Heung-Min Son (Tottenham, £9.5m)

In contrast to Hakim Ziyech’s form before the international break, Son blanked in his last two games and with Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal up next, many are looking to sell the South Korean however this may be an error.

In the games against Man United and Southampton this season (who are arguably their strongest league opponents so far), Son has scored six and assisted once.

If Jose looks to keep it tight at the back and to counter with pace, Son will be most likely to lead the Tottenham attack.

Ones to Watch (Less than 5% ownership)

Richarlison (Everton, £7.8m, 3.9%)

Having served his three-game ban for his red card against Liverpool, Richarlison is due to return to the Everton starting line-up in hope of picking up where he left off.

Across the five games he’s featured in this season, the Brazilian has bagged one goal and provided three assists and to put it frankly, Everton don’t look the same without him as they’ve failed to win either of the three games he’s been banned for.

Up next for the Toffees are Fulham, Leeds and Burnley.

Harvey Barnes (Leicester, £6.9m, 3.9%)

With a favourable fixture run and a couple of goals to his name already this season, Barnes’ stats suggest that he’s due a haul or two over the next few weeks. Behind Vardy, no Leicester player has taken more shots or had more chances from open play than Barnes this season so for £6.9m, he could be a bargain.

The Explainer

Transfers

After picking your initial squad, you receive 1 free transfer each Gameweek. Each additional transfer you make in the same Gameweek will deduct 4 points from your score.

If you do not use your free transfer, you are able to make an additional free transfer the following Gameweek. If you do not use this saved free transfer in the following Gameweek, it will be carried over until you do. You can never have more than 1 saved transfer.

For example, since you get 1 free transfer per gameweek, if you make no transfers between gameweeks, you will have 2 free transfers in preparation for the next gameweek. You will incur a 4 point hit per transfer over your free transfer allowance.

Point Scoring

During the season, your fantasy football players will be allocated points based on their performance in the Premier League. Remember, every week your captain scores double points, so pick them wisely!

Points Action

1 For playing up to 60 minutes

2 For playing 60 minutes or more (excluding stoppage time)

6 For each goal scored by a goalkeeper or defender

5 For each goal scored by a midfielder

4 For each goal scored by a forward

3 For each goal assist

4 For a clean sheet by a goalkeeper or defender

1 For a clean sheet by a midfielder

1 For every 3 shot saves by a goalkeeper

5 For each penalty save

-2 For each penalty miss

1 to 3 Bonus points for the best players in a match

-1 For every 2 goals conceded by a goalkeeper or defender

-1 For each yellow card

-3 For each red card

-2 For each own goal

For more information on the rules of the game, visit https://fantasy.premierleague.com/help/rules

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