Hello there FPL managers. Another gameweek bites the dust. Each week is getting stranger than before in FPL terms with this season proving to be one of the most unpredictable we have ever seen. I am here with another article about my observations from GW9.
1. West Ham are not a team with many options.
Another Friday game was played this week as Brighton travelled to the London Stadium. With Antonio returning and the Hammers having got a hard earned point at Burnley, it was expected that Antonio would be a source of FPL points for his owners.
In spite of this, a very unconvincing performance in front of the home fans saw them lose 3-0 to a Glenn Murray brace and a Jose Izquierdo screamer. It has very much put “Super Slav’s” future in doubt, and makes it extremely risky to own West Ham assets at the moment due to their inconsistent form.
2. Watford are the “REAL DEAL”.
The first game of Saturday saw Watford travel to Stamford Bridge to take on champions Chelsea. With Pedro’s early goal it looked like it would be an easy day at the office for Antonio Conte’s men, but a rejuvenated Watford under Marco Silva came back and with two goals either side of the break stunned the champions to put them 2-1 up at Stamford Bridge.
Richarlison was on fire though managed to miss two sitters, though he assisted the second from an FPL point of view. Also under the radar is Abdoulaye Doucoure who scored his 4th goal in 9 games and having dismissed him as “This Season’s Capoue” I am being forced to reconsider. Kiko Femenia is also a very good option in defence, despite Watford losing the match eventually.
3. “Shock” result as Huddersfield Town beat Manchester United.
Jose Mourinho after having nicked a point at Anfield was looking to make it worth it with a win at The John Smith Stadium with a win against Huddersfield Town. But living up to their name a “dogged” display by the Terriers saw them take all three points and leave United five points adrift of league leaders Manchester City. It all started as highly owned Phil Jones picked up an injury (What a Surprise) and in came Victor Lindelof.
Embed from Getty ImagesUnited then conceded a goal on the counter, scored by Aaron Mooy, and moments later the situation was compounded as a massive mistake by the newly introduced central defender Lindelof lead to Laurent Depoitre clean on goal. He did the rest which lead to dreamland for the Terriers and another assist for a goalkeeper this time Jonas Lossl. A late Marcus Rashford effort wasn’t enough as United suffered their first defeat of the season. This game probably is a one off but just shows that nothing is certain in the Premier League.
4. Manchester City win again, a club-record 11 on the bounce.
Many things changed this gameweek as Manchester United suffered their first loss, Harry Kane scored at Wembley but some things never change as the rampant league leaders got another emphatic win under their belt. Goals from Sergio Aguero, Nicolas Otamendi and Leroy Sane saw them extend their lead to five points at the summit of the Premier League table.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut this game saw many FPL in shock as the highest transferred in player, Raheem Sterling, played 0 minutes while Gabriel Jesus got benched which made many managers unhappy with Pep Guardiola. With Aguero back there is a good sign for FPL managers as on his day the Argentine is as good as anyone, so many will be looking to bring him in and hope that Pep doesn’t trouble them anymore with his rotation antics.
5. Crystal Palace taste defeat once more.
After the return of Wilfried Zaha and a shock win against the champions, it looked like Crystal Palace were on course to revive their season. A trip to Newcastle seemed like the perfect opportunity to build on that win, but Palace returned to their old ways and lost 1-0 to a Mikel Merino goal from a set piece and didn’t score again in a dull game at St. James’ Park. What next for Palace? I guess time will tell.
6. Bournemouth did it on a cold, windy afternoon at Stoke.
One win in 8, 19th on the table, four points on the board and both Josh King and Jermain Defoe out. It didn’t look very good for Bournemouth as they headed to the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday, but an inspired performance from Eddie Howe’s boys with a stunner from Andrew Surman and a penalty from Junior Stanislas helped them come away with an important away victory.
Embed from Getty ImagesMama Biram Diouf’s late goal in the end was only a consolation for Stoke, it was not a consolation, however, for @Ross_FPL who took a bold move and put the armband on the Senegalese forward it was a calculated risk and certainly a great success.
7. Vardy kept quiet but “Manager-less” Leicester find a way to win.
Craig Shakespeare became the second managerial casualty of the season despite the way his team played poetic football but one win in eight was enough for him to get the axe. Leicester City travelled to the Liberty Stadium to took on Swansea under caretaker manager Michael Appleton (delicious name).
Embed from Getty ImagesRiyad Mahrez’s cross deflected off Federico Fernandez for the first and soon in the second half doubled by Shinji Okazaki, a goal by Alfie Mawson wasn’t enough for Swansea to claw themselves back into the game as Leicester ran out 2-1 victors. It was another disappointing day though for Jamie Vardy owners as he couldn’t provide the returns.
8. Southampton actually kept a clean sheet.
Saints have been trolling us all season with their ability to not keep clean sheets. I pointed that out in the last article based on which my friend @NymfriaTV took out Maya Yoshida from her team and guess what a poor West Brom performance and a great individual goal from Sofiane Boufal handed them a 1-0 win and made myself look stupid.
Embed from Getty ImagesI still reiterate that I do believe that over the long term Saints defender would prove to not be a very good option for your defence given the availability of better options at lower prices.
9. Rooney scores against Arsenal again but the Gunners get the job done.
On to the Sunday games, Everton welcomed Arsenal in the first of the Merseyside vs London games. Arsenal began the game strongly but Wayne Rooney stole the show with a long range stunner much like the one by which he announced himself 15 years ago.
Embed from Getty ImagesArsenal were much of the strong team and ran out easy winners with goals from Nacho Monreal (again), Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette. Sead Kolasinac again failed to make much of an impact in an attacking point of view with many managers considering selling and moving onto better options.
10. Harry Kane and Spurs hammer Liverpool.
Harry Kane was sold by many FPL managers as he was looking like suffering from the Wembley Curse but surely it had to end? And so it did as Liverpool made the trip to Wembley. A goal early on from the Englishman settled any nerves as Spurs went on to batter Liverpool 4-1 as Kane got a brace and an assist to get a massive 16 points and made his owners and especially his captainers (including me) very happy and proved once again that @FPLEditor was right when he said “Kane-less is Brainless’.
In the end I would first like to give my condolences to friends and family of Phil Goldring (@FPL_Loon) after his sudden passing which was a big loss to the community. He was a massive Spurs fan so he would have been very happy this week. May his soul Rest in Peace. I would also like to wish @NymfriaTV all the best in her life after she lost her beloved dad. There has been some bad news in the community these days but I am sure everyone will be there to help each other out.
I will be back with another one of these next week. Hope you like it. And may all your arrows be green.
I AM OUT.
Written by @Varun_esque