The weekly precursor to the Players to Watch article is back ahead of Gameweek 9 where we provide the fans with players, whom we expect to do well in the upcoming game-weeks. Along with that, we suggest a differential pick to help the participants to climb up the overall rankings.

So let’s get started!

1. Ricardo Pereira (DEF: LEI 6.2m)/Caglar Soyunchu (DEF: LEI 4.7m)

Upcoming fixtures: Burley (H), Southampton(A), Crystal Palace(A), Arsenal(H)

Leicester City are strong contenders to make an impact this game-week. The are currently in the top four and have looked good in the first eight matches. This has helped them pave the way for Leicester’s defensive assets to be pushed into the FPL Managers’ radar, who have signed quite a few of them. Ricardo Pereira is the top-scoring FPL defender at present, with a couple of goals and the same number of clean sheets as well.

The Foxes have conceded just seven goals, second-best behind Liverpool who have conceded six. Putting this in terms of xGc (expected goals conceded), Leicester have the 3rd best xGc in the first eight games, with only the Reds and Manchester United doing better in this regard.

In the upcoming fixtures (gw 9-17), Arsenal are the only team in the top that faces Leicester. Both Ricardo and Soyunchu are great options, with the FPL managers getting their price’s worth.

2. Callum Hudson-Odoi (MID: CHE 5.9m)

Upcoming fixtures: Newcastle (H), Burnley (A), Watford (A), Crystal Palace (H)

Hudson Odoi made his emphatic return to the Blues’ team, after missing the start of the new campaign due to injury. Having come on as a sub against Brighton, the attacker played for 79′ against Southampton. The England international has shown he is getting back to his very best, the form that had lured German Giants Bayern Munich in the first place. Despite playing just 107 minutes across two games, the Englishman has had a created four clear chances and racked up a couple of assists already.

There are three great things to love about Hudson Odoi – cheap at 5.9m at the time of this article, an ownership of JUST 1.3% and amazing fixtures for Chelsea in the next four. These three factors make Hudson Odoi one of the best cheap midfield options to have over the next 4 weeks making me have him listed in this article of the likes of Maddison, who himself looks like another great option to have over the upcoming weeks.

CHO could be utilized as an alternative to Tammy or/and Mount or along with them over the upcoming weeks and with the ownership he has currently and having porous defenses of Newcastle and Watford over the next four weeks, Hudson Odoi could be the next bandwagon to jump on.

3. Callum Wilson (FWD: BOU 7.9m)

Upcoming Fixtures: Norwich (H), Watford (A), Manchester United (H), Newcastle (A)

Due to the easy set of fixtures and current form, Wilson over the likes of Vardy in my Watchlist. Last week’s blank against the Gunners was Wilson’s first insignificant performance of the season. He had returned up in each of his seven matches prior to facing the north London giants, Arsenal.

The 27-year-old superstar has had a total of ten shots on goal in the last four matches, eight which have been on target. Only Wesley, Abraham and Aguero have had a better xG (expected goals), further strengthening his case for inclusion in FPL Managers’ starting eleven.

Differential pick:

Neil Maupay: (FWD: BRI 6.0m) Ownership: 0.6%

 Upcoming fixtures: Villa (A), Everton (H), Norwich (H)

Brighton stunned Spurs in game-week 8 with a stunning 3-0 victory, causing one of the major upsets in the league so far. In the short term, Brighton have one of the best fixtures and Maupay during these short term fixtures could provide one of the best differential options. Going with Maupay over the cheap O’Connolly as he is one of the most nailed on attackers in the Seagulls team.

Over the last four matches, only Aguero and Abraham have had more shots than Maupay. The Brighton striker has racked up 12 shots on goal during this period with 10 of them coming from inside the box, having scored 2 goals.

Although the away game to Villa doesn’t excite much, the home games against Norwich and Everton could be goal feasts and with an ownership of 0.6m, every goal from the Seagull’s striker would shoot you up the rankings. Whilst I won’t recommend having him long term as there are better alternatives to him, but in the short term for FPL Managers looking for a punt, Maupay could be the solution to your jigsaw.

Note:

It’s worth noting that City, Arsenal and Chelsea have the best fixtures in the coming weeks and the likes of Sterling, Aguero, De Bruyne, Aubameyang, Abraham could all do very well.

Also, the Leicester attacking options must be left out, despite their amazing fixtures. We need to wait and see more from the Foxes, before a judgement can be made. Only Newcastle over the first eight game-weeks have had a worse xG than The Foxes, with the likes of Vardy and Maddison having pathetic stats as well. With the fixtures turning for Leicester, one can totally expect them to get into goal scoring form. Thus, monitoring them to find the best-attacking option from that team could be worth the wait.

Thanks for reading and wishing everyone the very best for the upcoming Gameweek. Hope this article helps the fans out there and the FPL players, find the missing piece/pieces in your team.