Liverpool began Gameweek 8 by putting on a clinic against Watford, beating the Hornets 0-5 with their front three playing a starring role. Roberto Firmino (£8.8m) netted a hat-trick for the Reds, whilst Mo Salah (£12.8m) continued his excellent run of form with a seventh league goal of the campaign, including an assist. Sadio Mane (£11.9m) also found the net in a rout for Jurgen Klopp’s men. Later in the weekend, Leicester defeated Man Utd 4-2, further piling the pressure onto United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in a match that saw Jamie Vardy (£10.6m) score for the fourth consecutive Premier League game, whilst Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.5m) blanked for the third straight match.
Chelsea largely had goalkeeper Edouard Mendy (£6.1m) to thank for them triumphing 0-1 away at local rivals Brentford, the only goal coming from Ben Chilwell (£5.7m), whilst Sunday began with West Ham beating Everton by a goal to nil at Goodison Park through Angelo Ogbonna (£5.0m). Spurs then spoiled the party at St. James’ Park, inflicting a 2-3 defeat upon Newcastle, their first loss under new ownership with Harry Kane (£12.1m) scoring his first Premier League goal of the season and Heung-Min Son (£10.1m) also finding the net. Gameweek 8 ended with a thrilling 2-2 between Arsenal and Crystal Palace that saw the Gunners on the verge of defeat before a last-gasp equaliser from Alexandre Lacazette (£8.3m).
Moving onto Gameweek 9, we cast our eye over those fixtures that contain the most potential in regards to accruing a large number of FPL points, highlighting some key players in the process.
GAMEWEEK 9 FIXTURES
Friday 22nd October
Arsenal vs Aston Villa (20:00)
Saturday 23rd October
Chelsea vs Norwich (12:30)
Everton vs Watford (15:00)
Leeds vs Wolves (15:00)
Southampton vs Burnley (15:00)
Brighton vs Man City (17:30)
Sunday 24th October
Brentford vs Leicester (14:00)
West Ham vs Spurs (14:00)
Liverpool vs Man Utd (16:30)
DILLY DING DILLY DOWN?
Whilst many will argue that you can’t read much into Watford’s 0-5 hammering by Liverpool in Gameweek 8, it cannot be denying how poor the Hornets looked in Claudio Ranieri’s opening match in charge. The Italian may be a Premier League winner, but he also failed to arrest Fulham’s poor start to the season in his most recent spell here in England’s top flight, with the Cottagers ultimately going down. Watford, like Fulham are another newly promoted team and Everton will be looking to inflict further punishment upon Ranieri’s men as the Toffees’ look to bounce back following their 0-1 defeat against West Ham.
It will be important to monitor team news ahead of this Gameweek 9 encounter as we await news regarding the fitness of Everton forwards Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£8.0m) and Richarlison (£7.4m). Should either be available for this match then they represent a viable FPL option. Another player worth serious consideration is winger Andros Townsend (£5.7m), who has scored three goals in his last five league games for Rafa Benitez’s side, gaining 36 FPL points in the process. From Watford’s perspective, their main threat continues to come via Ismaila Sarr (£6.3m), the midfielder having scored four times already this season.
CHELSEA TO ROM RIOT AGAINST NORWICH?
Daniel Farke’s Norwich recorded their second Premier League point of the season last time out courtesy of a second successive 0-0 draw, this time at home to Brighton, but they are in for a long afternoon away at Stamford Bridge in Gameweek 9. Chelsea will be looking to keep up the pressure on League leaders Man City with a convincing victory here and with the Blues having scored three times in three of their four Premier League home games to far this season, FPL managers owning Chelsea assets may be set to reap the rewards.
Following four consecutive league matches without scoring, Romelu Lukaku (£11.7m) will be determined to put that right in some style against the Canaries and it would take a brave FPL manager not to own the Belgium forward. A sixth Premier League clean sheet of the campaign is also expected from Thomas Tuchel’s men and a double up on Chelsea defensive assets is expected to prove popular, with goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, captain Cesar Azpilicueta (£6.2m) and full-back Ben Chilwell all expected to be popular, the latter having now acquired a goal in successive gameweeks.
LIVERPOOL SET TO PILE MO PRESSURE ON OLE
Man Utd’s 4-2 beating at the hands of Leicester in Gameweek 8 was their second Premier League defeat of the season and the fourth time that the Red Devils have now dropped points. With no wins in their last three domestically, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s is facing calls for his sacking from angry United fans. Liverpool head to Old Trafford in Gameweek 9 and would dearly love to make it nine league games unbeaten this season, turning over their fierce rivals on their own patch in the process.
In Mo Salah, Liverpool boasts the most potent FPL asset of the 2021-22 campaign so far, with the Egyptian having accrued a whopping 83 fantasy points, the most of any other player. However, he’s not the only Liverpool asset worth owning in Gameweek 9. Sadio Mane has quietly gone under the radar whilst Salah takes the spotlight and with goals in four of the last five gameweeks, it would be no surprise to see both of these two players on the scoresheet against a United side with just one league clean sheet this season. Roberto Firmino is coming off the back of a hat-trick, whilst both Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) and Virgil van Dijk (£6.6m) offer the potential of both defensive and attacking point-returns. From a Man Utd perspective, they’ll be hoping that Cristiano Ronaldo produces a star-studded performance in front of goal, as will his vast FPL ownership who will have no doubt been disappointed with his contribution in recent weeks.
