GW 8 Points	78
GW 8 Rank	3.13 lacs
Overall rank after GW 8	21.74 lacs – down from 31.15 lacs

GW 8 saw my overall rank jump by ~ 10 lacs from 31 lacs to 21 lacs, which is a definite indicator that GW8 turned out really well. It rarely happens that most of my playing XI give some sort of returns, but this was one such week with 10 out of 11 players providing returns for my FPL team with only Son blanking against West Brom, which was not expected. My captain (Kane) also finally scored and was joint highest scorer for my team, thus proving to be an optimal captaincy pick.

I usually do a review of my gameweek and call out the positive, negatives and near-misses, however last gameweek was different with almost all of my players providing returns. So I am going to do tings slightly differently this game week and discuss the issues I need to resolve in my team as we move towards December when fixtures will start coming thick and fast.

1. Salah Conundrum : Salah contracted COVID during the international break and is definitely out of GW9. It is obviously not confirmed how long is he going to be out for, but anything more than 1 GW makes a compelling case to ship him out. Thankfully I just have 0.1M tied up in value with Salah, so I can ship him out and bring him later without much hassle. Also transferring out Salah opens up door for easily switching to KDB / Sterling / Bruno.
2. Rashford injury scare : Rashford injured his shoulder against Everton and United manager, Ole suggested that he has trained and could be available for the game against West Brom, however it is not confirmed that he is going to be fit. Given how many other players might be ruled out this GW for managers all over, it might not make sense to transfer out a player who might be fit to play.
3. Missing Defenders : Saiss and Mitchell seem to have lost their respective place in the starting XI. While I should have 3 defenders starting this GW, it is always good to have a bench that can be called upon in time of need. Hence one of them could potentially be transferred out soon.
4. Double Spurs: Son and Kane have been red hot so far this season. Son might seem to be over the boil with him blanking in last 2 GWs but both of them still have a lot of FPL potential. Spurs’ fixtures seem to have turned attention of many FPL managers away from Spurs, but I believe it might make sense to keep at least one of them in the team.

Considerations for GW 9 team

1. Chelsea attacking coverage: Chelsea, who have scored 10 goals in last 4 GWs are playing against Newcastle who have conceded 8 goals in last 4 GWs makes compelling sense to get Chelsea attackers in the squad. Since I might not make a change in my forward line, Ziyech seems the best option amongst Midfielders given their attacking form and defensive fragilities of Newcastle.
2. Punt on Mitrovic? : Everton have conceded 9 goals in last 4 GWs (joint highest) and playing against Fulham who have score 4 goals in last 4 GWs. While it is not a straightforward choice, however might be a gamble pick as a huge differentiator
3. Fornals/Antonio/Soucek – West Ham have scored 6 goals in their last 4 GWs and are playing against Sheffield who have conceded 8 in their last 4. With Antonio still ruled out, any one of Fornals/ Antonio (who appears to have confirmed he is fit on a Twitch live tream)/ Soucek might be included in goals.
4. Crystal Palace / Manchester United defense : Crystal Palace and Manchester United are playing against Burnley (0 goals in last 4 GWs) and West Brom (1 goal in last 4 GWs), they seem to have a good defensive potential.
5. Leicester attacking coverage: Leicester play against a depleted Liverpool in GW 9 followed by relatively easy fixtures against Fulham, Sheffield and Brighton. Leicester’s attacking players could be in for a haul. Vardy Party time ?

Possible Team for GW 9

I already have Saiss, Mitchell along with Salah in my team who is definitely going to miss out in GW 9. Add to this Rashford who might not be fit. Thus my first transfer must be one of Saiss, Mitchell or Salah to ensure I am comfortably able to field 11 players.

Next step is to decide if it is worth taking a hit to get in Chelsea / Leicester attacking coverage. Lot of FPL are taking hits this GW, on one hand this could be a good time to take a hit as it will get nullified against other FPL managers, on the other hand not taking a hit could be a 4 point advantage this potentially low scoring GW (given no clear captaincy choice) over others. At this point in time I am leaning towards 1 transfer involving Salah, which keeps the option to bring him straight back in open as well.

Transfers

Salah –> Ziyech

Ziyech has been in red hot form for club and country, Chelsea seem to be good going forward hence Ziyech could be in for the long haul in my FPL team.

Captaincy

I am going in for the Saturday lunchtime captain and newest member in my FPL team, Ziyech as my captain against Newcastle who have conceded 8 goals in last 4 GWs. This gameweek is going to be interesting with no clear captaincy choice. Many FPL managers are captaining Bruno (or Rashford in some cases ) against West Brom, but I am not convinced that West Brom are pushovers have conceded just 4 goals in last 4 GWs, even though I am a United fan and have Rashford in my FPL team.

Team for GW 9

Good luck for GW 9 everyone!