FPL GW9 Tips & Preview – Breaking Down The Key Dilemmas

Welcome to Insanely Football’s Dilemmas blog for Gameweek 9 of the FPL 2023/24 season. This blog will break down all the popular Dilemmas FPL managers have this week and offer FPL GW9 tips that will help you address the key dilemmas and maximize your FPL points.

The blog is written by Insanely Football. Do subscribe to his YouTube channel Insanely Football for more FPL-related content. You can also follow him on Instagram for daily FPL updates.

Let’s dive right into it. We will start with the first one.

Link to all our FPL GW9 blogs including Buy, Hold, Sell analysis, Differentials, Captaincy metrics, Best GW9 Wildcard Drafts, Tips, and more. Completely free to access as well!

FPL GW9 Tips – Key Questions/Dilemmas Answered

1) When to play your Wildcard? FPL GW9 vs FPL GW10

Wildcarding in GW9 is an option, but is it better than Wildcarding in GW10? Let’s find out!

To move ahead, you can choose to Wildcard in GW9, a week earlier than the popular Wildcard option in GW10. The biggest downside to a Wildcard this week is teams that you would target on a Wildcard in GW10 (Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton, Crystal Palace, etc.) have slightly trickier fixtures this week. The fixture swings from the next gameweek are better, and you can target players from the teams mentioned above immediately.

You can hold your current set of players and go aggressive this week before completely resetting your team in GW10. Unless you have 5-6 players with injury flags or are unavailable, saving the Wildcard this week and using it in GW10 is a better option.

Further Read: FPL GW9 Wildcard Guide- Best Drafts, Players to Target, GW9 vs GW10 Wildcard

2) Is it worth getting Kostas Tsimikas in defence?

Liverpool left-back Andrew Robertson picked up an injury during the International break while playing for Scotland. he is set to undergo surgery, potentially missing up to 12 weeks in total and will not feature again in 2023.

This likely means potential starts for Kostas Tsimikas for an extended period. Robertson has been the more defensive full-back in the Liverpool team, but that can easily change with Tsimikas being a better-attacking defender.

At £4.4m, I think he is a risk worth taking. Liverpool has only managed to keep a single clean sheet this season, but Tsimikas can do way more. He can provide serious value at that price point, especially with Liverpool having a great run of fixtures from now till GW16.

If you can’t go £4.5m or more and are looking for a budget defender, getting on Tsimikas early can be a great strategy to gain some points.

Further Read: Top FPL Gameweek 9 Differential Picks(<10% TSB)

3) Who are the best premium-ish players to own right now?

This is the million-dollar question right now. Most FPL managers are struggling to understand which premium-ish players to buy/sell/hold.

Starting with defenders, there are a couple of names to look at now. Kieran Trippier is my preferred pick here. He has 44 points in the last 4 games, getting 5 attacking returns and 3 clean sheets in total. He is also ranked 2nd for points scored and xGI among all defenders for the season. The fixtures from GW11 get tricky, but if you have the additional money, Trippier is still a great pick.

The next option is Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool full-back hasn’t looked the same player this season and paying £7.9m is a considerable risk. But with a suitable fixture run coming up, things can change fast for Trent, and it may be a great risk to take. For now, I would closely monitor his performance and see if he is worth a shot.

Coming to midfielders, I genuinely feel I can make a case to hold all Salah, Son and Saka. Salah is my pick of the lot, though. I’d recommend selling the likes of Rashford/Bruno or even Son if that helps you upgrade to a Mohamed Salah. For me, he is a must-have right now. He has been playing well, and there is merit in jumping onto him right away.

Man Utd pair of Rashford/Bruno Fernandes are okay holding this week. They are up against Sheffield United, a team who has not kept any clean sheets this season, conceding 22 goals in the 8 games played. Beyond that, selling both and going for players like Salah, Saka, or even Son is okay.

Though not super premium in price, I would sell players like Ødegaard, Sterling and even Foden. Better alternatives are available right now, and it’s okay to let these players go. It’s a great idea to double up on the Liverpool attack if you want to play aggressively. I prefer Diogo Jota over Luiz Diaz, who looks like a higher-ceiling player. Diaz may be more nailed right now, but Jota is a big-haul player.

Erling Haaland is the only premium forward in the game, and he is an excellent player to own despite blanking in his last 2 outings in the Premier League. Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa is the next premium-ish forward, and he is a great pick to own if you can afford him. I prefer him over the likes of Nunez or Alvarez, as 3 of Villa’s next 4 fixtures are at home, where they are solid.

Further Read: Teams & Players to Target From FPL GW9 | Fixture Swing Analysis

4) Which budget enablers to target in FPL GW9?

With so many good and slightly higher-priced picks, FPL managers must accommodate budget picks in their teams to balance the books. Suppose you want to go for a combination of Haaland, Salah, Son Saka, and Watkins. In that case, you must sacrifice your 5th midfielder spot or go cheap in defence. This also means that you will likely field 1-2 budget picks in your playing XI.

Suppose you are looking for value at the back. In that case, you can go for a goalkeeper combination of Turner and Areola, as it’s one of the cheapest player combinations in goal. Tsimikas from Liverpool is a great budget pick in defence. You can even look at one of the Crystal Palace defenders (Marc Guéhi) having good fixtures till GW15.

If you are going premium-heavy in midfield, you may have to go with a cheap 5th midfielder. We have players like Pedro Neto (£5.8m) from Wolves and Anthony Gordon (£5.6m) from Newcastle. Out of two, I prefer Neto as he is nailed and more of a talisman among the two. Yes, he looks more like a supplier than a goal scorer, but is the safer play here.

If you can’t afford both, you can even look at enablers like Tomáš Souček and Cole Palmer (both £4.9m). Souček is a regular starter, even playing as a no in the last couple of games for West Ham. He is a great long-term enabler pick. Chelsea’s Cole Palmer is another decent pick if you are okay with being aggressive. Fixtures are tough, and calling him a nailed starter is tricky. Still, he costs pretty much less and is a risk worth taking.

Coming to forwards, Julián Álvarez from Man City is still one of the best budget strikers out there. He is a little pricey (£7m) than your average enabler but is a great shout. Even with players like Bernardo Silva and Grealish returning, I believe Álvarez is nailed in the Man City lineup and is the 2nd best attacker after Haaland.

If you can’t afford Álvarez, it’s better to go super cheap in attack, get in someone like Cameron Archer from Sheffield Utd. He is £4.5m and allows you to play a 3-5-2 with Haaland and one of Watkins/Alvarez up top.

Further Read: FPL GW9 Scout Picks Based on Stats, Analysis, and Matchups

5) Should you go without Haaland ahead of FPL GW9?

Erling Haaland has been the best FPL player for slightly over a season now. He had a great last season, scoring 272 points and getting 45 attacking returns. This season, too, he has started strongly, scoring 8 goals in 8 games. The last two games have been blanks, making a few, question his place in their playing XI. Also, managers are contemplating whether to sell Haaland for a better team balance because of the need/FOMO to fit in players like Trippier, Salah, Son, Saka, Watkins, etc.

For me, the time to sell Haaland has gone. A lot of managers sold him last gameweek against Arsenal, which was the correct call. This week, the situation is quite different. Man City is up against Brighton, a team which has conceded many goals this season. Brighton plays attacking front-foot football, likely to suit Man City and Haaland.

The upcoming fixture run is a bit tricky, but this is Man City we are talking about. The team will be fired up, especially after dropping points in their last 2 games. Haaland is the leading goal scorer in the City attack and will likely be involved whenever City scores. His ownership is 88%, and he is going to be one of the popular captaincy choices this week.

Taking a few risks in FPL is generally okay, but this is one position I won’t take a chance on. I would look for other ways to fit in more premium picks and keep Haaland in my team.

Further Read: FPL Gameweek 9 Transfer Tips- Players to Buy/Hold/Sell

6) Who are the best one-week punts to go for ahead of FPL GW9?

One-week punts will interest you, especially if you are Wildcarding in GW10. There are a few good shouts this week.

If you want to get a defender pick, Kostas Tsimikas is an excellent choice. He is expected to fill in for the injured Robertson and can do well against Everton. Tottenham’s Pedro Porro has looked very sharp going forward and is expected to start against Fulham. There is potential for a huge haul this week.

In midfield, you can look at Bruno Fernandes from Man Utd. He is up against the worst defence in the league (Sheffield Utd). Morgan Gibbs-White faces Luton Town at home. Luton has conceded 9 goals in 4 away matches, and there is potential in going for the Forest attacker.

Pedro Neto is another excellent one-week punt facing a struggling Bournemouth defence. You can even go aggressive by doubling up on your Tottenham attackers by getting Richarlison. His underlying stats from recent games look terrific, and you may get lucky this week.

Regarding forwards, Rasmus Højlund is an excellent one-week punt if you have the funds available. He looks nailed in the United attack and should do well this week. If we get some information about Darwin Núñez starting against Everton, he is another excellent one-week punt for GW9. Liverpool is still an elite attack, and Núñez can do serious damage this week.

That will be all from my side for this week! All the best for FPL Gameweek 9, and I will see you all next week.

You can subscribe to my YouTube channel Insanely Football for more FPL-related content. Follow me on Instagram for daily FPL updates.

Further reads from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL GW9

When to play your first Wildcard?- Best Windows and Analysis
FPL GW9 Tips & Preview – Breaking Down The Key Dilemmas
Top FPL Gameweek 9 Captain Picks Based on Analysis & Metrics
FPL GW9 Scout Picks Based on Stats, Analysis, and Matchups
Top FPL GW9 Differential Picks(<10% TSB)
FPL GW9 Wildcard Guide- Best Drafts, Players to Target, GW9 vs GW10 Wildcard
Best FPL Budget Enablers to Consider From FPL GW9 Onwards 
FPL GW9 Transfer Tips- Players to Buy/Hold/Sell
FPL GW9 Transfer Targets & Watchlist Based On Eye Test & Stats
Teams & Players to Target From FPL GW9 | Fixture Swing Analysis
Confirmed & Likely FPL Double/Blank Gameweeks | 23/24 Season
FPL GW9 Ultimate Guide: Tips, Differentials, Captaincy & More 

Link to all our FPL GW9 blogs including buy, hold, sell analysis, differentials, captaincy metrics, transfer targets, and more. Completely free to access as well!

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