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Premier League Fantasy Football: FPL injury, form and stats guide for Gameweek 9

De Bruyne ready for his FPL (and Manchester City) return: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
De Bruyne ready for his FPL (and Manchester City) return: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Another agonising international break is almost over with the Premier League back in action this weekend.

With the possible exception of the beleaguered Jose Mourinho, most managers are beginning to settle on what their best XI is, making life inherently easier for the FPL masses.

With World Cup stars getting back to full fitness, new signings growing more accustomed to life at their new club and the usual suspects rediscovering last season’s form, there is a wave of new selection headaches to contend with ahead of gameweek nine.


New signings at the ready?

New faces in the Premier League are often a risky bet. Acclimatising to a new club and country, becoming familiar with their manager’s system and getting match fit takes time but three months in, it might be time to roll the dice with some.

Barkley scored his first Chelsea goal days after earning an England recall. (Getty Images)
Barkley scored his first Chelsea goal days after earning an England recall. (Getty Images)

Bernard, a deadline day arrival at Everton, had to wait until October 6 for his first Premier League start but showed why he could be an interesting midfield option priced at just £5.9m with an assist against Fulham, creating three further chances for the Toffees.

Yerry Mina is finally available for selection at Goodison Park and, while Marco Silva is unlikely to throw him straight in at the deep end, is one to keep in mind given his threat from set plays, along with his rather paltry price tag (£5.4m).

Former Everton favourite Ross Barkley (21 points so far this season) is priced at a modest £5.7m. He registered a goal and assist against Southampton which saw him collect 13 points in gameweek eight, with an England recall underlining his recent return to prominence.

The 24-year-old represents a bigger goal threat than Chelsea team-mate Mateo Kovacic (£5.9m, 18 points so far this season) but the Croatian has so far shaded it in terms of starts – five to Barkley’s three.

Bringing in Barkley ahead of gameweek nine may present a slight risk given Maurizio Sarri is likely to prefer Kovacic’s ability to retain possession against Manchester United but, beyond that, the England man could be an interesting option in midfield.


Who has found form since the last international break?

Alexandre Lacazette is now Arsenal’s first-choice striker with four goals and two assists in his five Premier League starts – hauling in 12 points last time out against Fulham. At £9.6m with 48 points so far this term, he represents a considerably cheaper option than top-tier strikers and after another international snub, is well rested for the restart.

Lacazette has four goals in five league appearances. (Getty Images)
Lacazette has four goals in five league appearances. (Getty Images)

Should he directly displace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang? The Gabon striker (43 points this season) has been shifted to the left to accommodate his buddy but has still been involved in five goals in the last five gameweeks, despite not completing a game.

Danny Rose (28 points this season) is once again Mauricio Pochettino’s preferred choice on the left in the Premier League, starting the last four matches, notching two assists in that time. A season to forget last term saw the Tottenham star's price drop to £5.9m – he was 6.4m 12 months ago – and represents a cheaper option than both Andy Robertson and Benjamin Mendy (both £6.2m).

Gylfi Sigurdsson’s record of four goals, 15 goal attempts and 14 chances created in four appearances – plus an assist against the world champions for Iceland during the international break – will have many mulling over his inclusion. The 29-year-old has also collected six bonus points in his last two and with Everton resuming their campaign at home to Crystal Palace this weekend there could be more to follow.

Sigurdsson has been building serious momentum. (Getty Images)
Sigurdsson has been building serious momentum. (Getty Images)

Matt Doherty (£4.7m) is the most transferred player in ahead of the weekend having registered 47 points in the last five game weeks – more than Alexis Sanchez and Alvaro Morata's combined total all season. The Republic of Ireland international has become a fixture for FPL sides out of nowhere.

Felipe Anderson has been integral to West Ham’s recent improvement, laying on 13 chances and providing nine successful crosses in the last four gameweeks – a creative return second only to Sigurdsson. He’s yet to register an assist for the Hammers but with stats like those, surely they are on the way?


Bright starters fading?

Watford’s Jose Holebas was a dream in defence during Watford’s unbeaten start to the season – 34 points from the first four gameweeks – but a morbid performance against Bournemouth cost plenty of managers a point and he will miss out this weekend having picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in that 4-0 defeat. Just three points from three gameweeks prior to that means he has been in a slump for some time.

Owned by just 7.4% of managers, plenty have already abandoned Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku whose £10.9m price tag just isn’t representing his contribution on the pitch, when the Belgian failing to score or assist in his last three matches. He remains United’s top points scorer – one ahead of Paul Pogba – but that may not be saying too much.


Injury returns

Kevin De Bruyne’s knee injury just one week into the season prompted midfield reshuffles across the board but the Manchester City midfielder (£9.7m) is expected to return against Burnley on Saturday. Pep might prefer to ease his metronome back into the team but with huge games against away to Shakhtar Donetsk and Tottenham on the horizon, there may not be time for that.

Pep Guardiola will be able to field his strongest starting XI for the first time all season on Saturday with plenty of City names in line to profit.


Injury doubts

It wouldn’t be an international break without a spate of injury scares, would it? Liverpool trio Virgil van Dijk (£5.9m), Sadio Mane (£9.9m) and Mohamed Salah (£12.8m) have all returned with questions marks over their fitness.

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Van Dijk is currently being assessed having played through a rib injury for the past weeks, although Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has recently noted his early return to Merseyside was pre-planned and expects the defender to be fine for the weekend.

Salah’s early return to Merseyside isn’t expected to keep him out, but the same cannot be said about Mane (48 points so far this season), who landed back at John Lennon Airport with an injured hand. While Liverpool are yet to decide on whether he will be available for the weekend, 112,683 managers have already decided to take him out.

Wilfried Zaha’s (£7.0m) underwhelming form has seen him become the fifth most transferred-out player ahead of gameweek nine. The forward is another to return with a knock with Crystal Palace to assess their forward ahead of the weekend. Fears over an injury similar to the one that ruled him out against Southampton in September will raise some red flags.