FPL Gameweek 9 Overview: Players to Watch, Captain Alternatives & Replacements

The Gameweek 9 picture in short

The deadline is Saturday 31 October at 11:00 UK. The early deadline catches people out every season — get your moves done before it, not after.

The fixtures that stand out from the difficulty ratings:

• Sunderland visit Coventry City — Saturday 31 October at 15:00 UK, attacking FDR 2.
• Hull City host Ipswich Town — Saturday 31 October at 15:00 UK, attacking FDR 2.
• Spurs host Crystal Palace — Saturday 31 October at 17:30 UK, attacking FDR 2.
• Aston Villa host Fulham — Saturday 31 October at 20:00 UK, attacking FDR 2.
• Bournemouth host Leeds — Saturday 31 October at 15:00 UK, attacking FDR 3.
• Brentford host Nott'm Forest — Saturday 31 October at 15:00 UK, attacking FDR 3.

Regression watch: expected output, no returns

These players have piled up expected goal involvement without the goals and assists to match, and they are playing consistent minutes — so the situation has not changed, only the luck. The returns are late, not cancelled.

• Gonzalo (FUL, FWD, £6.1, 6.5% owned) — 4.19 xGI against 1 actual goal involvement across 595 minutes — the underlying numbers are fine, the finishing is not.
• Bobb (FUL, MID, £5.5, 0.3% owned) — 2.62 xGI against 0 actual goal involvements across 495 minutes — the underlying numbers are fine, the finishing is not.
• Rayan (BOU, MID, £6.3, 1.5% owned) — 2.12 xGI against 0 actual goal involvements across 612 minutes — the underlying numbers are fine, the finishing is not.
• Delap (NFO, FWD, £5.5, 1.9% owned) — 3.03 xGI against 1 actual goal involvement across 528 minutes — the underlying numbers are fine, the finishing is not.
• Iwobi (FUL, MID, £5.4, 1.4% owned) — 3.01 xGI against 1 actual goal involvement across 584 minutes — the underlying numbers are fine, the finishing is not.

xGI gaps are a shortlist for your eye, not an auto-transfer. The scatter charts show the same relationship over a longer horizon.

The quiet picks: form, minutes, and nobody on them

Every player here is available, has played regularly, and is owned by under 10% of managers — the moves that win mini-leagues long before the template catches up.

• Henderson (CHE, MID, £4.9, 1.4% owned) — form of 7.0 over the last five gameweeks, 7.0 xPts projected this week, and it hosts MUN with an attacking FDR of 4.
• Neto (CHE, MID, £6.6, 3.5% owned) — form of 6.7 over the last five gameweeks, 6.7 xPts projected this week, and it hosts MUN with an attacking FDR of 4.
• Evanilson (BOU, FWD, £6.2, 6.0% owned) — form of 6.3 over the last five gameweeks, 6.3 xPts projected this week, and it hosts LEE with an attacking FDR of 3.
• Vuskovic (BHA, DEF, £5.1, 6.2% owned) — form of 6.3 over the last five gameweeks, 6.3 xPts projected this week, and it visits MCI with an attacking FDR of 5.
• Ayari (BHA, MID, £5.4, 0.7% owned) — form of 5.3 over the last five gameweeks, 5.3 xPts projected this week, and it visits MCI with an attacking FDR of 5.
• O'Shea (IPS, DEF, £4.0, 2.8% owned) — form of 5.3 over the last five gameweeks, 5.3 xPts projected this week, and it visits HUL with an attacking FDR of 2.

DEFCON defenders who are actually scoring

Defensive contribution has quietly changed which defenders are worth owning. A centre-back who makes twelve tackles and clearances a game now gets paid for it whether or not the sheet holds.

• Mendy (HUL, DEF, £4.1, 5.1% owned) — 13.8 defensive contribution per 90 and 28 points this season — clean sheets are no longer the only route to defender returns.
• Fofana (CHE, DEF, £5.0, 0.2% owned) — 13.6 defensive contribution per 90 and 8 points this season — clean sheets are no longer the only route to defender returns.
• Schuster (BRE, DEF, £4.5, 0.5% owned) — 13.3 defensive contribution per 90 and 22 points this season — clean sheets are no longer the only route to defender returns.
• Thomas (COV, DEF, £4.0, 9.8% owned) — 12.3 defensive contribution per 90 and 31 points this season — clean sheets are no longer the only route to defender returns.
• Mukiele (SUN, DEF, £5.4, 1.8% owned) — 12.2 defensive contribution per 90 and 19 points this season — clean sheets are no longer the only route to defender returns.

Captaincy: the default and the ways out of it

De Cuyper is the armband for the 42.2% who own them at 7.0 xPts — nobody should lose sleep over it. The alternatives matter for everyone else, and for anyone playing a chip:

• Henderson (CHE, MID, £4.9, 1.4% owned) — 7.0 xPts, form of 7.0, hosts MUN (FDR 4).
• Neto (CHE, MID, £6.6, 3.5% owned) — 6.7 xPts, form of 6.7, hosts MUN (FDR 4).
• Evanilson (BOU, FWD, £6.2, 6.0% owned) — 6.3 xPts, form of 6.3, hosts LEE (FDR 3).
• Vuskovic (BHA, DEF, £5.1, 6.2% owned) — 6.3 xPts, form of 6.3, visits MCI (FDR 5).
• Rice (ARS, MID, £7.3, 12.1% owned) — 5.3 xPts, form of 5.3, visits LIV (FDR 4).

The full model, with expected minutes and rotation context, is over on the captaincy page.

The crocked list, and who replaces them

Availability straight from the official data. Check Team News again before the deadline — these can flip with the last press conference.

• Calvert-Lewin (LEE, FWD, £6.1, 22.7% owned) — Foot injury - 50% chance of playing. 50% chance of playing at 22.7% ownership. The stand-in is Evanilson (BOU, £6.2, form 6.3).
• Szoboszlai (LIV, MID, £6.8, 16.2% owned) — Hamstring injury - Unknown return date. Injured at 16.2% ownership. The stand-in is Henderson (CHE, £4.9, form 7.0).
• Saka (ARS, MID, £9.5, 10.2% owned) — Thigh injury - Unknown return date. Injured at 10.2% ownership. The stand-in is Neto (CHE, £6.6, form 6.7).
• O'Reilly (MCI, DEF, £6.3, 8.7% owned) — Back injury - 75% chance of playing. 75% chance of playing at 8.7% ownership. The stand-in is De Cuyper (BHA, £5.3, form 7.0).
• Semenyo (MCI, MID, £8.2, 8.7% owned) — Knee injury - Unknown return date. Injured at 8.7% ownership. The stand-in is Rice (ARS, £7.3, form 5.3).
• N.Williams (NFO, DEF, £5.0, 6.2% owned) — Arm injury - 75% chance of playing. 75% chance of playing at 6.2% ownership. The stand-in is Vuskovic (BHA, £5.1, form 6.3).

Before you go

Rolling a free transfer into the fixture swings is underrated in weeks where the obvious moves are sideways. If your squad is healthy, the Decision Lab will tell you whether a hit pays for itself across the next five gameweeks rather than just this one, and the fixture planner has the FDR grid if you would rather look further out yourself.

Related tools

• Team News — official availability before the deadline
• Captaincy model — xPts with differentials
• Scatter charts — xGI vs returns, the long view
• Fixture planner — 5-gameweek FDR grid
• Decision Lab — hit-adjusted transfer planner