Gameweek 9 put Arsenal back on top for the first time since Gameweek 4. Havertz scored the only goal at Anfield, Rice providing the assist, while Manchester City lost at home for the first time this season, 1–0 to Brighton through Ayari, so Arsenal lead by three points on 24. It was another low-scoring round, 21 goals in ten matches, the second-fewest of the season after Gameweek 8’s 19, and in seven of the ten matches at least one side kept a clean sheet. Four players were sent off: Martinez for Manchester United at Chelsea, Alderete for Sunderland at Coventry, Mateta for Crystal Palace at Tottenham and J.Ramsey for Newcastle at home to Everton. We did not publish scoreline predictions for this round, so there is no scorecard this week.
Every result
- Chelsea 2–0 Man Utd — Rogers, Palmer
- Bournemouth 2–0 Leeds — Adli, Evanilson
- Brentford 2–0 Nott'm Forest — Thiago, Milenković (og)
- Coventry City 3–1 Sunderland — Rudoni, Sakamoto, Awoniyi, E.Le Fée
- Hull City 2–2 Ipswich Town — Iroegbunam, McBurnie, Florentino, Enciso
- Man City 0–1 Brighton — Ayari
- Spurs 2–0 Crystal Palace — Van Hecke, Gray
- Aston Villa 1–1 Fulham — N.Jackson, Suzuki (og)
- Liverpool 0–1 Arsenal — Havertz
- Newcastle 0–1 Everton — Barry
The Team of the Week
The highest-scoring eleven of Gameweek 9 by FPL points, in a 4-3-3. Player of the Week: Van Hecke (Spurs, 15 points). Manager of the Week: Fabian Hürzeler (Brighton). How the XI is picked.
- Goalkeeper: Verbruggen (Brighton, 11)
- Defence: Van Hecke (Spurs, 15), Fofana (Chelsea, 11), Konsa (Arsenal, 10), Van den Berg (Brentford, 10)
- Midfield: Ayari (Brighton, 10), Rogers (Chelsea, 9), Rudoni (Coventry City, 9)
- Attack: McBurnie (Hull City, 12), Havertz (Arsenal, 9), Evanilson (Bournemouth, 9)
Clean sheets built this XI. The goalkeeper and all four defenders come from sides that did not concede: Verbruggen made seven saves at the Etihad, Van Hecke also scored in Tottenham’s 2–0 against Crystal Palace, Fofana set one up in Chelsea’s 2–0 against Manchester United, Konsa helped keep Liverpool out at Anfield and Van den Berg did the same for Brentford against Forest. Brighton have two, Verbruggen and the scorer Ayari, and Hürzeler is Manager of the Week. McBurnie, with a goal and an assist in Hull’s 2–2 with Ipswich, is the only player in it whose side did not win, and Manchester City have nobody in it for the second week running.
The standout performers
By FPL points, the players who did most in Gameweek 9:
- Van Hecke (DEF, TOT) — 15 points, 1 goal, 3 bonus
- McBurnie (FWD, HUL) — 12 points, 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 bonus
- Fofana (DEF, CHE) — 11 points, 1 assist, 2 bonus
- Verbruggen (GK, BHA) — 11 points, 3 bonus
- Ayari (MID, BHA) — 10 points, 1 goal, 2 bonus
- Konsa (DEF, ARS) — 10 points, 2 bonus
Van Hecke’s 15 points came from a centre-back’s goal and clean sheet, plus maximum bonus. Tottenham beat Crystal Palace 2–0, Gray scoring the other, against a Palace side who had Mateta sent off; Henderson made seven saves for Palace, and only Lammens, with eight in Manchester United’s defeat at Chelsea, made more in the round. It is Tottenham’s third straight win after none in their first six, and it lifts them from 14th to ninth.
The table after Gameweek 9
Arsenal lead on 24 points, with Man City 2nd.
Arsenal are three points clear on 24 and have conceded five goals in nine matches, the fewest in the league. Manchester City, who won their first seven, have now lost two in a row and are second on 21, with Brighton third on 19 and the best goal difference in the league, +17. Below them it is tight: Bournemouth, Tottenham and Aston Villa are on 12, eighth to tenth, and Hull, Leeds, Newcastle and Ipswich on 11, eleventh to fourteenth. Everton climb from 11th to seventh and Bournemouth, after three straight wins, from 13th to eighth; Leeds drop from seventh to 12th. At the bottom, Sunderland are 20th on five points and without a win in seven, Forest 19th on six and Crystal Palace 18th after three straight defeats. Coventry’s win over Sunderland lifts them from 19th to 16th.
For where it stands now, see the live Premier League table and this week’s fixtures.
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