In this article…
Haaland, Haaland, Haaland. With the blanking of the goal-scoring robot for an unprecedented third time, many can now see there is light at the end of a non-Haaland team tunnel. Let’s discuss the fallout from GW8 and what this means for your teams moving forward. This is the best place to find all the critical information you need to know, to continue your march towards top spot in that work league!
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⚔️ Gameweek 8 Review – 44 Points (36 Average)
We continue the rank climb! Only slightly above average but the more GW’s you attain this, the higher your overall rank. Defence this season is not gathering many points and GW8 followed suit. Double Liverpool’s defence fell short with Robertson & Trent (2 pts each) and with Man City still unable to keep a clean sheet, Rico Lewis (2pts) only scored the minimum.
Midfield is often my strong point though it was mixed this week with Mbeumo & Semenyo (2 pts each) both blanking but Foden (4 pts) & Buonanotte (6pts) steadying the ship with goals and assists. Owning Haaland (2pts) for the first time this season ended in pure disappointment!
Luckily though, we always have a bench, and this is the reason why! Konsa and Saka both missed out meaning our heroes of the hour Evanilson (5pts) & super Michael Keane (14pts) sub in for a huge 19 points, almost half my full score. Always ensure your bench is a good standard because you will need it.
📋 Gameweek 8 Transfer Recap
So you know @FplVeteran is doing the demanding work for you, we revisit key decisions from last week’s review. This GW we revisit my transfers Out. As the song goes 2 out of 3 ain’t bad but Salah reminded us what he can do against ANY team at ANY time. Indeed, it was risky so remember; respect the Egyptian King or pay the price!
| Out | Points |
| Porro | 2 |
| Semenyo | 2 |
| Salah | 16 |
| Total | 20 |
✅ The Best 3 Transfers IN for Gameweek 9
🇳🇴 Erling Haaland – Man City (£15.4m, 73%)
It’s Haaland v Southampton
It’s Haaland v Southampton
It’s Haaland v Southampton
It’s Haaland v Southampton
It’s Haaland v Southampton
Not much more to say to be honest!
🇭🇷 Josko Gvardiol – Man City (£6m, 24.8.0%)
The last time we featured this player, he was only a lowly 10% owned, but things have changed. Since then, he has surged up to 25% and has been brought in by over 415,000 FPL managers, here’s why. A certain starter in a Pep team that often rotates at any given time which WILL start to pick up clean sheets shortly with Southampton (H), Bournemouth (A) & Brighton (A)all in the next three.
But it’s his high positioning and ability to strike the ball that has temped so many managers into selecting him. He scored his second goal of the season against a deep-lying Wolves team & the fact Southampton will be even deeper camping in their penalty box, results in being afforded more opportunities to shoot and collect attacking returns. With Southampton having virtually zero chance to score, he could be set for a monster haul!
🇦🇷 Alejandro Garnacho – Man United (£6.2m, 8.0%)
A Man United asset, really? Yes team, really. Ok, I know the Red Devils are in what seems like constant disarray with multiple distractions but for me there is one shining light and viable asset. Data wise its good – 0.58xGI (goal involvements) per 90 mins, 2 goals and 1 assist in five starts but it’s watching him play for the vital eye test that has made me sit up and take notice.
Whenever he plays, he adds so much to the attacking portion of the team which more often than not results in him being heavily involved in goals. Yes, his numbers aren’t clinical but factor in that he’s producing this in a dreadful Man Untd team, and you start to realise that’s actually a good return. With West Ham up next and Ipswich, Leicester, and Everton in the next five, he’s not only good for GW8 but the foreseeable at a steal of a price.
❌ The Best 3 Transfers OUT for Gameweek 9
🏴 Bukayo Saka – Arsenal (£10.1m, 31%)
Is he fit, or isn’t he? It was a huge controversy this GW within the FPL Community that delved as deep as guessing Saka’s height to see if he was in the Arsenal squad. In the end, he wasn’t and the main reason why he is a Transfer out this week is his injury seems worse than first thought. Factor in a tough fixture run of Liverpool(H), Newcastle(A), Chelsea(A) and even an in-form Nottingham Forest(H) leaves me feeling that for £10.1M you can have more bang for your buck.
Saka so far this season has been consistent with assists and 5-8 pointers but only has 2 double-digit hauls to his name. Palmer, Son, Johnson, Mbeumo, Jota, the list of replacements is endless and with many thinking he won’t play for a while, move him on and use that money!
🇪🇬 Robert Sanchez – Chelsea (£4.7m, 12%)
At no point did I ever think this player was a good option. Granted, Chelsea have what seems like three players for every position and in actual fact an astounding five goalkeeping options in FPL this season to choose from, but I wouldn’t select any of them. Chelsea’s squad is in actual fact, under rated and exceptionally strong but only once the manager stops rotating every single game and brings some consistency.
Sanchez had a run of two good games bringing home 15 and 10 points back-to-back against West Ham and Bournemouth, but this gave hope that a cheap goalkeeper was a good option, false hope. The Chelsea backline has conceded 10 goals in 8 games and many times this has been due to a mistake from Sanchez. This season the bonus points are geared towards favouring strikers and goal scorers, and the current lack of clean sheets (even for Arsenal and Man City) show that you should get a medium-priced keeper that doesn’t concede many and stick with them throughout.
For me, Sanchez is not good enough to stay at Chelsea and I would expect a replacement to arrive in January, get him out ASAP.
🇧🇷 Gabriel Magalhaes – Arsenal (£6.3m, 27.0%)
🇫🇷 William Saliba – Arsenal (£6m, 29.0%)
Its amusing how quickly one FPL gameweek can alter our decisions. One minute, these are both must-haves the next they are not. Arsenal’s once solid defence has taken a slight dip in form with NO clean sheet in four conceding almost 2 per game in that run (7 total). A critical stage of the season has now begun with tough league & Champions’ League games with the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle, Inter Milan and Sporting all paying Arsenal a visit over the next 6 weeks.
Sprinkle in games every 4-5 days, and a few walking wounded in the defensive backline and the result you get is more goals conceded and ultimately, fewer points. I have included both defenders in this Transfer out section as it applies to both, it just depends on which one you have currently in your team. Yes, Arsenal will still be a tough team to beat but my advice is to look elsewhere.
Top Tip – Hop on, Hop off! Yes, we have a multitude of premium players at our fingertips this season but it’s impossible to fit them all in at once. Earmark those potential high-scoring fixtures against the lower-ranked teams and attack. Rotating the top premium assets including the golden trio of Haaland, Salah and Palmer is a feature we must get used to this season, remember Hop on, Hop off!
🦸 Gameweek 9 Captaincy Selections
🇳🇴 Erling Haaland – Man City (£15.4m, 73%)
Last GW I said the following ‘Warning. Do NOT go against the Scoring robot’. This GW I can not emphasise enough, the same words but in even more stronger terms. With Haaland blanking an unbelievable three times in a row, he will be out for redemption more than ever! With the opponents Southampton, quite possibly being the worst team to ever grace the Premier League and the fact that it’s a home fixture at the Etihad for Man City I don’t see any outcome other than an absolute battering.
Take out the Fulham game where he blanked, he has never scored less (at home) than 9 points, the other two games scoring 13 & 17 points in monster hauls. This may well be his biggest score of the entire season, and I would not be surprised if he hits 20+!
Alternative Captain Options
If you still think you want to choose a different captain this week (I beg you, please don’t) the field is limited this week. Solanke or Son V a poor Crystal Palace side, Ollie Watkins V Bournemouth at home or Cole Palmer V a leaky Newcastle side at Stamford Bridge. If you don’t own Haaland the best alternative captaincy choice goes to a player we have discussed in the Transfers In section above, Man City’s defender Josko Gvardiol.
👁️ FPL Veteran’s Vision and Verdict
Veteran sees a vision of Haaland goals! For the last of Haaland’s two games I own him for, I will consolidate my team, bank the Free Transfer (FT) & assess the upcoming results. Champions League returns midweek so that is also a consideration worth noting, quite possibly alternating any current thoughts and plans I have. I might move out Robertson but more likely with Saka’s large price tag, he makes way for a spicy differential. With Haaland exiting next GW I would much prefer to have 2 FTs to mini-wildcard and attack! Remember with GW9 deadline being at 1830 on Friday, follow and visit my X for final team selection & my Saka replacement!
Conclusion
For my final gameweek nine team and football insights/analysis throughout the 2024-2025 season. Look out for my special articles, next up is Haaland Triple Captain. follow me on X @FplVeteran_ for daily fantasy football content.
Written by an Andy verified content writer
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