If you’re in a rush and need some last-minute Fantasy Premier League (FPL) advice, here’s a quick round-up of what you need to know about Gameweek 9.

Don’t forget to check out our brand-new Stats Centre, which offers a crazy amount of data, defensive contributions (DefCon) information, points projections and more.

WHEN IS THE FPL GAMEWEEK 9 DEADLINE?

90 minutes before the first match. In this case, all transfers and team selections need to be done by 11:00 GMT on Saturday 31 October.

FPL GAMEWEEK 9 PREDICTIONS

Our Chief Scout data has identified which teams have the best clean sheet and goal-scoring potential:

You can also read our player projections for attacking returns and defensive contribution (DefCon) actions.

WHO TO BUY + SELL

The above numbers are from Saturday morning. Our ‘Buy, Keep or Sell’ article explains some of these in more detail.

To help further, we’ve predicted the starting XIs of all 20 Premier League teams.

BEST FPL GAMEWEEK 9 PICKS

All three of our in-house Scout Squad panel unanimously back names such as Morgan Rogers (£8.1m), Thierno Barry (£5.6m) and Erling Haaland (£15.8m) to do well.

As for the weekly Scout Picks selection – essentially a Free Hit in all but name – Aston Villa are tripled up on.

Additionally, their right-back Matty Cash (£4.3m) is one of three suggested differential picks.

TALKING POINTS

JACKSON IN, PEDRO OUT

A surprise absentee in Gameweek 8, Chelsea’s highly-owned Joao Pedro (£7.8m) has a thigh injury.

“He is going to be a few weeks out. Let’s see how many. We don’t want to predict on that but not ready for the next games.” – Xabi Alonso, on Tuesday

In response, almost two million managers have both sold him and bought Nicolas Jackson (£6.9m), a former Blue now at Aston Villa.

Jackson bagged a brace versus Manchester City and is about to begin a favourable fixture run.

Naturally, just as the Senegalese striker was picking up interest, there’s a bit of discussion about his midweek no-show and absence from training photos. Villa’s projected goals for Gameweek 8 have also dipped in the last few hours…

Other in-form assets like Alexander Isak (£9.1m) and Evanilson (£6.3m) are worth considering, if you don’t want to risk Jackson.

Villa colleague Johan Manzambi (£6.1m) boasts four attacking returns in four starts, and it’s worth checking out our comparison piece with his teammate if you’re interested in the Swiss midfielder.

CHIP USAGE

Both players are in the Gameweek 9 Wildcard drafts, offering managers a chance to ditch a bunch of current problems.

Riccardo Calafiori (£5.9m) was rotated at home to Everton, then picked up “a light issue”. Bobby Thomas (£4.0m) got hurt, Bruno Fernandes (£11.7m) and Yoane Wissa (£6.0m) suffered benchings, while Cole Palmer (£9.8m) continues to frustrate.

Listed on the ‘Goals Imminent’ table, Palmer was sent off against Tottenham Hotspur, though remains available for Gameweek 9 as his suspension was served in the EFL Cup.

Seeing top teams face each other doesn’t feel great, so is it time to activate the Free Hit chip? Tom’s Q&A advises not to because, on a weekend where most fixtures look even, a bunch of unappealing ‘lower’ sides are also squaring off.

If you do fancy activating, check out FPL Meerkat’s Free Hit draft.

A NEW TEMPLATE?

The ‘Great and Good’ template squad features several of the above pains, and it feels like a new structure is about to emerge.

One that gives up on underperforming premium midfielders instead putting money into Gabriel Magalhaes (£7.9m), backs Villa and Bournemouth, and stocks up on DefCon monsters like Luka Vuskovic (£5.2m), Tarik Muharemovic (£5.1m), Antonio Silva (£5.0m) and Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.9m). They all offer some goal threat, too.

BEST FPL GAMEWEEK 9 CAPTAIN

Wondering who should get the armband? Check out our Captain Sensible article and what our Rate My Team (RMT) algorithm thinks.

EXPERT TEAM REVEALS

So, whatever you decide to do, good luck with FPL Gameweek 9!