FPL GW9 Tips- Haaland Dilemma, Solanke Situation and More

Welcome to StatsmanFPL’s Weekly Tips & Preview for FPL GW9 of the FPL 2024/25 season. This blog will provide FPL GW9 Tips and advice to address key dilemmas and maximize your FPL points.

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

FPL GW9 Tips – Key Tips & Questions Answered

1. Faulty Haaland

Haaland has blanked three games in a row. I am not stressed and neither should you be. 

He scored two goals this morning in the Champions League which is nice but not too important. 

In FPL we have to make assumptions and decisions on small sample sizes all the time. A premium player blanking three weeks in a row is not ideal but is something that I expect to be possible and not let it stress me out. 

Haaland went four games without a goal during the middle of last season. He then scored a brace the week after.

Being the #9 in a Pep Guardiola system will always provide chances in the long run and Haaland is a generational striker. Rodri being out is not a concern but personnel wise, Foden returning to full fitness will be a positive for Haaland. Dont forget the chance of a penalty for a team like Manchester City who camp in the opposition box is always one of the highest in the league. 

Even with his recent struggles, Haaland has amassed 10 goals from almost 7 xG in 8 matches. If you offered me that before the season started, I’d take it any day. 

Southampton Defense Rank this season:

• xGC- 19th
• Big Chances Conceded- 18th
• Goals Conceded- 19th

Further Read: Top FPL GW9 Differential Picks to Consider Ahead of Deadline

2. Trusting The Process

Solanke, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mbeumo, Gabriel. These are some high ownership assets who have underwhelmed in recent weeks. 

Similar to the Haaland reasoning above, don’t let a sample size of two to three games make you rip up your team. The last thing you want is to jump on the next bandwagon, abandon these top tier assets and watch them score a bucket load of points in the coming weeks. 

If the player looks fit, the team is in at least decent form and the fixtures are good, there is no reason to drop any of the above plus other assets in the same category. 

There has been a lot of talk about Dominic Solanke not scoring in Tottenham’s 4-1 win over West Ham. Due to West Ham’s sit deep and crowd the box play style, this was never going to be ideal conditions for a Solanke haul. 

After posting healthy Expected Goal Involvement numbers for three games in a row, he plays a slightly different role for the team against West Ham and suddenly people are looking to sell. Hold him. 

• Solanke in Last 2 games: 1 Shot, 0.08 xG, 0 Big Chances
• Solanke in 3 Games before that: 10 Shots, 3.08 xG, 7 Big Chances

Further Read: FPL GW9 Transfer Targets & Watchlist Based on Eye Test & Stats

3. Team Structure and Composition

We are coming to the busy part of the season where most teams have a fixture every three days. Especially for those teams playing in Europe, expect the first team to be playing the majority of these fixtures and have sore or potentially injured bodies as a result. 

You need to understand that your team will have injuries at some point. It’s a question of “when” rather than “if”. You need to be prepared.

Having your team constructed in a way that each player has transfer options at a similar price point is sometimes underrated but can save you when things are looking grim in your lineup. You won’t have the luxury of multiple free transfers saved across the whole season and avoiding points hits is always a good strategy. 

Similar to this, you want to focus on players who are nailed on to start every week and ideally play out the full 90 minutes. There has been enough fixtures across multiple competitions for each team to now understand which players will start 95% of matches. There will always be a rare benching here and there for everyone but we have to live with that. 

Further Read: FPL GW9 Wildcard Team & Drafts to Consider | Wildcard Guide

4. GW9 Results Predictions

There are two important fixtures this weekend that could determine which managers receive and elusive green arrow. Chelsea v Newcastle and Arsenal v Liverpool. 

Chelsea should get the better of Newcastle at Home. With the bulk of the first team likely to be rested midweek, the Blues will look to push themselves into the top 4 and capitalise on an impressive start to the season under new manager Enzo Maresca. 

Newcastle do not look secure in defence and have conceded almost 1.5 xG per match in a reasonably easy run of fixtures. Their defence is still missing some key players and Dan Burn could struggle against Chelsea’s pace. 

Expect Arsenal v Liverpool to be a low scoring match. Both play controlled and patient football this season. Arsenal especially employ this tactic against teams in the traditional big six and their defensive record in these fixtures speaks for itself. 

In 23/24 they won six games and drew four in ten matches against the classic big six teams. They only conceded nine goals in these matches at a rate of less than a goal a game on average.

So far this season, Arteta’s men have beaten Spurs 1-0 away and drew 2-2 away to City after a red card. Also a special mention to Arsenal beating Aston Villa 2-0 away. 

Arteta employs a specific gameplan in big games and this weekend should be no different. 

Further reads from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL GW9

FPL GW9: Player Performance Analysis by Position & Price Point
FPL GW9 Scout Picks Based on Stats, Analysis, and Matchups
FPL Gameweek 9 Transfer Tips: Two Players to Buy, Hold & Sell
Top FPL Gameweek 9 Captain Picks Based on Analysis & Metrics
FPL GW9 Wildcard Team & Drafts to Consider | Wildcard Guide
Top FPL GW9 Differential Picks to Consider Ahead of Deadline
FPL GW9 Transfer Targets & Watchlist Based on Eye Test & Stats
FPL GW9 Tips- Haaland Dilemma, Solanke Situation and More
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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What’s next from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL Gameweek 9 of the 2024/25 FPL Season?

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