#FPL Gameweek 9 Preview

Written by @CraigHazell

 You can also listen to Craig, Tom and Ash on their Fantasy Football Podcast – The Gaffer Tapes

DEFENDER: Hector Bellerin, Arsenal

Some Arsenal fans would tell you they have the trickier of their North London derbies this weekend as they take on Watford at Vicarage Road. They’re antagonists obviously and I am as well, as I could’ve used a thousand other reasons to bring up Arsenal but I thought this one was fun. Hector Bellerin is rumoured to be the fastest player in the Premiership. An utterly useless pub debate. What is slightly more concrete is his average of 5.6 points per game over the last 6 game weeks. The important bit here being that he is scoring nearly 6 points a game without Arsenal necessarily keeping a clean sheet. Once they start doing that more consistently, Bellerin could start clocking 7 or 8 points a game and get back seat on the bus before Theo Walcott.

MIDFIELDER: Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I am once again going to plump for the baby faced assassin Kevin De Bruyne as my main midfield maestro this week. Not only will that nickname help the SEO results in America but it will also steer me clear of the rather intrepid path I went down last time to describe him. KDB is absolutely loving life back in the Premier league and after City romped home against Newcastle, I don’t see things being much different at home to Bournemouth, even if Mr Aguero decided he needed some more time with the physio.  Yes, it’s annoying mentioning him every week, just like when Wet Wet Wet were in the charts forever with Love Is All Around. But imagine Wet Wet Wet were scoring you points and every time you saw your mates you could tell them how much you loved Wet Wet Wet and they hated them because they didn’t own Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet. You probably wouldn’t be sick of Wet Wet Wet then would you? I’ve kind of lost my trail of thought but I think I was saying to pick Kevin De Bruyne this week over Marti Pellow (from Wet Wet Wet)

(Ed: In the 3 years FY has been running I never felt the need for a disclaimer… then Craig came along)

FORWARD: Graziano Pelle, Southampton

Continuing the theme of doing nothing clever and just sticking to what works, I’ve gone for Graziano Pelle. With Giroud on the bench, Pelle’s hair has really taken its opportunity to take up Olivier’s mantle of most beautiful ‘do’ and has dragged the rest of Graziano’s body with it. It is impossible to ignore 35 points in the last 3 gameweeks and even with Aguero scoring 5 last week, Pelle has still outscored him over the last 6 rounds. Much like last season, he has started extremely strong and is worth keeping around until that inevitable dip comes.

(Ed: Not having that – Giroud #1. The Arsenal Away kit was designed to match his highlights)

OUTSIDER: Dele Alli, Spurs

An England International, 0.6% picked and under 5 million. It doesn’t exist Craig, you’re a madmad, you’re a renegade!! That’s what they’ll say! Unless of course you are in the minute percentile that have Dele Alli. He got 9 points last time out against Swansea and has played 90 minutes in his last 3 games. Spurs fans have obviously hailed him as the next Hoddle and although he’s not yet blamed the disabled for sins in a former life, he has shown glimpses of talent in his increasingly solid performances. After this week, spurs have Bournemouth and Villa before they inevitably lose to Arsenal and at 4.9m he is definitely worth getting on your bench at least. It’s not often you get a Spurs starter that cheap and you will want to get in there early before his value jumps up.

CAPTAIN: Diego Costa, Chelsea

Now, bear with me. Last week a lot of people were ridiculed online for skippering Aguero and as he chipped away at Steve McLaren’s soul with every goal, there were  a lot of smug people nationwide. In a similar vein this week, I am going to tip Diego Costa. Yes, he’s a lunatic and shouldn’t be trusted with anyone’s pets and/or children but he is back from suspension and is only 5.6% picked currently. It could be this week’s ‘Aguero’ if you want to jump up a few places in your league. He won’t score 5 but if you’re looking for an alternative to KDB then Costa can’t ask for an easier return to playing than a home tie against Sherwood’s Villa.

(Ed: Belated Happy Birthday wishes to Diego who turned 27 again last week)

 by @CraigHazell

Craig Hazell is a television professional, writer and Heart of Midlothian fan who makes up one third of the popular FPL podcast The Gaffer Tapes. As a student, Craig won the BBC Sports Broadcaster and Comedy Broadcaster of the year, before going onto to be a regular on the London open mic comedy circuit. He now writes about anything from TV & Movies, to food and of course football, providing he can shoehorn a 90s pop culture reference into just about anything.

Check out The Gaffer Tapes Podcast Here

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