FPL GW9 Fixture Wise Stats and Eye Test-Based Review

FPL GW9 proved to be a high-scoring one for FPL managers & here in this blog, we review the stats and key numbers from FPL GW9 that caught our eye.

Before going further, Do vote in this week’s FPL GW10 allaboutfpl captaincy poll. The same will be available in the captaincy analysis and metrics blog written by @AK_FPL1. The metrics has an 8/9 record this year. Last week the metric predicted Salah as the best captaincy candidate and he returned once again in GW9 with a double-digit haul. Stay tuned for the GW10 Captaincy metric to see who tops it. Link to all our FPL Gameweek 10 blogs.

[Total_Soft_Poll id=”19″]

The results and the captaincy metric blog will be published soon based on the votes.

FPL GW9 Fixture wise Review

Manchester United (1.50) 0 – 5 (3.44) Liverpool

Wow. Where to begin with this? Sunday’s clash between two fierce rivals saw Manchester United produce one of the poorest big-game team performance that I can remember. Manchester United set up in a 4-2-3-1 and the attacking trio were instructed to press high and hard, resulting in acres of space for the McTominay-Fred pivot to cover when the ball bypassed this initial line of press (which happened fairly often) and allowed Liverpool to often get into situations to run at the back 4 with ease.

FPL GW9 Review ~ Liverpool vs Man United

Liverpool were without the injured Fabinho while Jota and Konate replaced Mane and Matip in the starting XI. Maguire and Shaw especially had poor performances and they just couldn’t deal with Salah, Keita, and Alexander-Arnold on their side of the defense.

Keita opened the scoring from a press-bypass situation within 5 minutes of kickoff. Jota tapped in for 2 from a Trent sliding pass across goal from a defensive giveaway before Salah scored 2 before the break to all but the end of the contest before halftime.

Within 5 minutes of coming back out, substitute Pogba lost possession cheaply and Henderson played a great ball down the middle which Maguire couldn’t deal with and Shaw had already allowed Salah to get goal side who made no mistake to make it 5-0 and complete his hattrick. The game further had a Ronaldo goal ruled out for offside before a terrible challenge from Pogba on Keita led to a sending off at 60′ minutes in. Liverpool moved the ball around and kept complete control till the end of the game to round up an incredibly one-sided affair.

Key player stat review

Salah (12.8, MID) continued his absolutely sensational start to the season. The Egyptian King took all 3 goals brilliantly amassing 7 shots, 5 in the box, 4 big chances, 2 chances created, 1 big chance created, an xGI of 2.00 and xG of 1.80. Breathtaking numbers from the midfielder at Old Trafford. Side note, his 24 pointer is another ringing endorsement for the hugely impressing Captaincy metric from FPL AK posted on this website before every Gameweek – personally will avoid going against the metric too often, its results are irrefutable.

Jota (7.5, MID) got a start on his favored left-wing in place of Sadio Mane (unclear as yet if unfit or just rotated/dropped) and took full advantage. 2 shots, 1 in the box, 1 big chance, 2 chances created, 1 big chance created for an xGI of 0.86 and xG of 0.72 – elite numbers from the wideman. That Jota produces premium underlying numbers in his minutes on the pitch is not in doubt, only the certainty of those minutes when the entire attacking quartet are fit. When given enough minutes, Jota will continue to produce at a high rate and is worth monitoring his role in the hierarchy over the next couple of weeks.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (7.5, DEF) is one of my favorite FPL assets ever and he’s consistently throwing up numbers worthy of attacking players at a higher price tag. The right-back had a shot well saved by De Gea and created 3 chances and 1 big chance racking up an xGI of 0.73 with an xA of 0.70. Another assist, another bonus point, and another double-digit haul for a player that’s looking worthy of his premium price even in a season where we’re lucky to have some terrific defensive value around.

Naby Keita (5.0, MID) went off injured from an awful Pogba challenge and while I wouldn’t be in any rush to bring in the midfielder, in this particular game he managed to exploit the right-sided overload time and time again to produce a goal, an assist, 4 chances created including a big chance and an xGI of 0.99 with xG of 0.36.

Cristiano Ronaldo (12.5, FWD) did produce 4 shots, all from inside the box including a big chance to rack up a fairly decent xG of 0.46 but with Salah looking primed for a set-and-forget captaincy strategy and a difficult fixture set upcoming, doubts remain surrounding the value offered by the premium forward.

Marcus Rashford (9.4, MID) might’ve been the only silver lining from this United performance FPL-wise. In 64 mins on the pitch, Rashford took up an average position furthest forward of all United players and had 3 shots, 2 from inside the box with an admittedly subpar xG of 0.15. Potentially one to monitor.

West Ham (1.42) 1 – 0 (0.63) Tottenham

Both teams lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. For West Ham, Benrahma took up good positions centrally while Antonio spent a great deal of game time working the channels and was a nightmare to deal with for opposition defenders especially Romero. Fornals’ quality was on all-show all game, the midfielder a standout on the eye test while Soucek looked back to his last-season performances taking up great positions in the box and putting a header wide on one of the best chances of the game.

Spurs’ played with the two wingers quite narrow and tucked in allowing the full-backs, especially Reguilon, to overlap. Ndombele’s quality playing as a #10 has freed up Harry Kane from his deep-lying hybrid 9/10 role but Spurs’ in general are struggling for attacking fluency. West Ham always look a threat from set-plays and it was a corner from Cresswell that Antonio managed to edge past a passive Harry Kane to knock home the only goal of the game, late on.

Key player stat review

FPL GW9 Review ~ West ham and spurs key stats

Soucek (5.8, MID) leading the xGI charts with 0.66 mainly from a huge headed chance that he put wide. He had 2 shots, both in the box including a big chance and 2 chances created en route this xGI tally made up of an xG score of 0.53.

Michail Antonio (8.1, FWD) is just terrific. He worked hard all game, bullied defenders and even managed to score from a corner. Identical to Soucek, he had 2 shots, both in the box, 1 big chance and 2 chances created. He had an xGI of 0.61 and an xG of 0.44. The forward has been a consistent producer of strong underlying numbers and despite tricky fixtures, he’s likely to stay untouched in my team till he remains fit.

Pablo Fornals (6.0, MID) looked like the best player on the pitch. For FPL purposes, his 3 shots, 2 in the box, 3 chances created, 1 big chance created and xGI of 0.28 with 0.13 xG are pretty decent numbers.

Heung-Min Son (10.2, MID) had 1 shot which was inside the box and was a ‘big chance’ that was saved by Fabianski in addition to 2 chances created for a healthy xGI of 0.51 and xG of 0.31. Cold, hard numbers show us that Son is an elite finisher who can sustain a goal output above his ‘expected goals’ number and he racks up chances created from also being on set-pieces. Even though Spurs have struggled for fluency in attack in general this season, I fully expect Son to continue to tick along at a healthy rate given his quality and multiple avenues to points.

Ndombele (5.8, MID) had 2 shots, 1 in the box and created a big chance for a very respectable xGI 0.29 and xA of 0.19. Both him and Fornals might’ve been far more interesting options at their price tag had we not been lucky enough to have multiple very strong options around the 6m midfielder price point.

Brentford (1.06) 1 – 2 (0.94) Leicester City

A second game on the bounce against quality opposition that Brentford have outscored their opponent on expected goals and lost. Both teams lined up in a 3 at the back set up with Brentford options for more of a flat midfield 3 while Leicester had Maddison taking up positions between the lines of midfield and attack.

Jamie Vardy had picked up a problem in the warmup and was subbed off at halftime after an ineffectual showing while another popular FPL asset, Mbeumo, also picked up a knock and was taken off before the 60 min mark. A truly stunning hit from Youri Tielemans from outside the box gave Leicester the lead.

Brentford, a side who’s methods rely on data and work on any ways to gain an advantage, have produced the highest xG per corner of any side this season and they equalized from one here, an excellent glancing header from center-back Zanka.

Moments later, Schmeichel released Iheanacho early from another Brentford set play who did well to find Tielemans, the silky Belgian slide a line-breaking pass through to Daka for an unselfish pass and tap-in for Maddison. Leicester’s buildup was visibly lopsided, developing down their right flank but while further forward, Ricardo Pereira didn’t accumulate any significant FPL underlying of note as a result of this so isn’t of added significance at this time

Key player stat review

FPL GW9 Review ~ Brentford vs Leicester key stats — **Ivan Toney (6.5, FWD)** worked hard all game and despite not producing any strong underlying expected data, his heat map below shows that he did take up some good positions in the box and with his teams quality process, the points are likely to follow. He had **3 shots, 2 in the box and 3 chances created but still a low-looking xGI of 0.18 an xG of 0.16**.

FPL GW9 Review ~ Toney heatmap — Ivan Toney threatening heat-map from BRELEI

Bryan Mbeumo (5.6, MID) again playing OOP, passed the eye test and had 3 shots, 1 in the box and an xG of 0.12 before being subbed off with a knock on 57 mins. Expected to be a mild problem but one to watch out for.

James Maddison (6.7, MID) has returned to the line up and had a good showing here. He had 3 shots including 1 ‘big chance’ tap in goal from inside the box for an xG of 0.53.

Youri Tielemans (6.4, MID) may not be the best option for FPL but he’s currently one of the finest midfielders in the league and his quality should benefit the attacking players around him. Nonetheless, he scored yet another screamer on top of his 3 chances created which account for a total xA of 0.43 for him.

Patson Daka (7.1, FWD) came on at half time for the injury-carrying Jamie Vardy and following on from a 4 goal showing midweek, Daka showed again why he’s going to be an underlying-data monster when given minutes on the pitch. In 1 half, he had 3 shots, 2 in the box and 1 big chance created for an xG of 0.17 and an erroneously low looking xA of 0.16 (his ‘assist’ should’ve added atleast double that xA alone). He’s expected to be eased in to the league by Rodgers but will immediately become an option of high interest should he cement a first team spot on merit or due to injury to another forward.

Further Reads from ALLABOUTFPL Ahead of FPL Gameweek 10:

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