Is Erling Haaland still an essential pick in Fantasy Premier League?
That was the main question rattling around the brains of FPL managers during the latest international break after the ultra-reliable Haaland extended his barren drought to, wait for it… two games following Manchester City’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.
Considering Haaland registered 45 attacking returns (a record-breaking 36 goals and nine assists) in his debut campaign, talk of his downfall seems more than a bit premature. But the debate over whether he remains an FPL must-have is not without some merit.
Despite reverting to his £14m starting price tag last week, Haaland remains by far the most expensive player in the game – and as demonstrated by his lofty position in the “most-sold” charts ahead of the Gameweek 9 deadline, some bosses are deciding to cut their losses and spread their budget around.
They are still in a brave minority, however, with Haaland selected in over 88 per cent of squads.
i‘s top scorers in Gameweek 8
- Mo Salah – 15 points vs Brighton: Those bold enough to back Mo Salah with the captain’s armband over Erling Haaland and Son Heung-min were handsomely rewarded after his double at Brighton.
- Kieran Trippier – 6 points vs West Ham: Newcastle conceded twice at West Ham, but Kieran Trippier still managed a decent score after providing an assist and scooping two bonus points. He has provided 36 points in the last three gameweeks.
- Pedro Porro and James Maddison – 6 points vs Luton: Micky van de Ven was Tottenham’s standout performer with 15 points, but both Pedro Porro and James Maddison also provided return for their owners.
Even those keeping the faith have a decision to make regarding the captaincy with a number of in-form options emerging to challenge the one-time automatic armband pick. Mo Salah, Son Heung-min and Ollie Watkins have all delivered double-digit hauls since Haaland managed 20 points in a 5-1 thrashing over Fulham in Gameweek 4. All three play at home this weekend.
Haaland is still a standout candidate, of course, and a home match against an expansive Brighton side could be just what he needs to rediscover his golden touch. Regardless of who you pick to lead your side, it is good for the game to have a bit of variety again after Haaland became a perma-captain in 2022-23.
It’s an indication of their current form that none of Manchester United’s players are in that particular conversation despite facing Sheffield United, but if you’ve held Marcus Rashford or Bruno Fernandes for this long you may as well give them one final chance to go big this weekend.
Here is this week’s side ahead of Saturday’s 11am deadline:
i newsletter subscribers will find out who our chosen captain is on Friday morning; sign up here if you haven’t already done so.
Gameweek 9 fixtures
3pm kick-off unless otherwise stated
Saturday 21 October
- Liverpool vs Everton (12.30pm)
- Bournemouth vs Wolves
- Brentford vs Burnley
- Man City vs Brighton
- Newcastle vs Crystal Palace
- Nottingham Forest vs Luton
- Chelsea vs Arsenal (5.30pm)
- Sheffield United vs Man Utd (8pm)
Sunday 22 October
- Aston Villa vs West Ham (4.30pm)
Monday 23 October
- Tottenham vs Fulham (8pm)
Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest)
Will this be the weekend that Matt Turner keeps a clean sheet when managers actually pick him? The budget-friendly stopper has been a source of frustration so far, conceding in promising fixtures (against Sheffield United and Burnley) and keeping clean sheets when not expected to (against Chelsea and Crystal Palace).
Turner hasn’t yet kept a shutout at the City Ground since his summer move from Arsenal but will be hoping to end that record against Luton. The Hatters are one of the lowest-scoring teams on the road, netting just three times in four matches.
Price: £4.1m Points: 21 Gameweek 9 fixture: Luton (h)
Pedro Porro (Spurs)
Pedro Porro’s first goal of the season surely can’t be far away… can it? The Tottenham right-back ranks third among defenders for shots (with 11) but is yet to score despite coming close to doing so on a number of occasions.
Despite his excellent form at club level, Porro was surprisingly left out of Spain’s squad for their Euro 2024 qualifiers against Scotland and Norway during the break meaning he should be refreshed and raring to go against Fulham on Monday night.
Price: £5.1m Points: 32 Gameweek 9 fixture: Fulham (h)
Kostas Tsimikas (Liverpool)
The sight of Andy Robertson trudging around the pitch in Seville with his sweat-soaked Scotland shirt acting as a temporary sling for his left arm would have made Jurgen Klopp wince.
If Robertson is sidelined for the foreseeable future, which seems likely, Kostas Tsimikas stands to benefit. The Greek has played just four minutes of league football this season, but could come into the side for a promising run of fixtures with Liverpool facing Everton (h), Nottingham Forest (h), Luton (a) and Brentford (h) in their next four.
Price: £4.4m Points: 1 Gameweek 9 fixture: Everton (h)
Matty Cash (Aston Villa)
Here’s a list of players that have an inferior xG total to Matty Cash so far this season: Kaoru Mitoma, Eddie Nketiah, Evan Ferguson, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, James Maddison, Pedro Neto, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Dejan Kulusevski, Phil Foden. Yes, that Matty Cash. The Aston Villa right-back.
Sure, West Ham could quite conceivably score at Villa Park given the attacking talent they possess, but when a defender is posting such promising attacking stats, the loss of a clean sheet doesn’t sting quite as much.
Cash has had 16 shots in total, of which eight have been on target. No other defender in the game can better those numbers.
Price: £5m Points: 36 Gameweek 9 fixture: West Ham (h)
Mo Salah (Liverpool)
Haaland ended Salah’s reign as the undisputed king of FPL in spectacular fashion last season, but the Egyptian is looking to reclaim his throne after an exhilarating start to 2023-24.
Salah is level with the red-hot Watkins at the top of the FPL leaderboard having supplied at least one attacking return in all eight of his appearances so far. And had Luis Diaz’s goal against Tottenham not been wrongfully ruled out, with Salah having provided the assist, he would have had a 100 per cent hit rate.
Liverpool’s kind upcoming schedule until next month’s international break (yes, there is another one on the horizon) makes Salah near essential to own.
Price: £12.6m Points: 59 Gameweek 9 fixture: Everton (h)
Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd)
Manchester United assets have been a source of major frustration to FPL managers so far this season, so much so that Rashford and Fernandes are among the most sold players ahead of this week’s deadline, despite facing the league’s leakiest defence.
You don’t need us to tell you that that is a big mistake. Sheffield United have conceded 22 goals in their opening eight games, including eight in their most recent home game. Fernandes, meanwhile, ranks third for chances created (with 22) and equal fifth for shots on goal (25) after the first eight gameweeks.
Price: £8.4m Points: 33 Gameweek 9 fixture: Sheffield Utd (a)
Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest)
Morgan Gibbs-White’s goal contributions don’t make for great reading. Nottingham Forest’s talisman has registered two assists and no goals in his opening eight appearances, with both of his returns coming in the same game against Manchester United back in Gameweek 3.
The points haven’t been there for Gibbs-White but he has still posted some encouraging underlying numbers with 15 chances created and 14 shots in total. Owned by less than two per cent of FPL managers, he could be a strong differential for Forest’s home game against Luton.
Price: £5.8m Points: 22 Gameweek 9 fixture: Luton (h)
Son Heung-min (Spurs)
Feast or famine sums up Son Heung-min’s FPL season to date. The Tottenham captain has provided two double-digit hauls (20 points vs Burnley and 14 against Arsenal) as well as a respectable seven in the win over Liverpool but has blanked in all five of his other matches.
Another way of spinning it is that Son has outscored every other player since being moved up front for Spurs’ 5-2 win over Burnley in Gameweek 4. Spurs have a strong record against upcoming opponents Fulham, winning seven of the last eight league meetings between the clubs.
Price: £9.5m Points: 54 Gameweek 9 fixture: Fulham (h)
Anthony Gordon (Newcastle)
Newcastle’s yellow card magnet returns this weekend after serving a one-match suspension for picking up five cards in his opening seven appearances. That’s some going for a winger.
Anthony Gordon’s disciplinary issues might be more concerning if he wasn’t producing on the pitch, but following a slow start to his Newcastle career, the Liverpudlian is certainly beginning to find his feet.
Gordon ranks second in Eddie Howe’s squad for shots (with 15) and is level with Kieran Trippier for big chances created on five. And with Harvey Barnes injured until the new year, his starting place should be secure.
Price: £5.6m Points: 37 Gameweek 9 fixture: Crystal Palace (h)
Erling Haaland (Man City)
One of the remarkable stats to emerge from the opening weeks of the campaign is Haaland’s xG total across his previous two Premier League appearances: Haaland registered a combined xG of 0.06 against Wolves and Arsenal despite playing the full 90 minutes in both.
Concerning as that is, Haaland’s goalless streaks don’t tend to last too long and it would be no surprise if he rattled in a goal or three at the Etihad on Saturday. Rodri’s return from suspension should not be overlooked either as City are a far more cohesive unit when he is in the team, highlighted by their poor results without him.
Price: £14m Points: 55 Gameweek 9 fixture: Brighton (h)
Ollie Watkins (Aton Villa)
Watkins is responsible for the best individual score of the season with 23 points during Aston Villa’s 6-1 thrashing of Brighton and while that monster haul accounts for almost 40 per cent of his overall total, he has been extremely reliable from week to week.
Like Salah, Watkins has only failed to provide attacking returns in one of his eight games so far, a 3-0 loss to Liverpool in Gameweek 4. Watkins’ consistency sets him apart from virtually every other forward in the game and given Villa’s promising run of fixtures he should be a priority transfer for those yet to snap him up.
Price: £8.2m Points: 59 Gameweek 9 fixture: West Ham (h)