Gameweek 9 preview: Liverpool v Arsenal, Haaland's tough PAR and the first bench
Gameweek 9 has an early Saturday deadline and Liverpool v Arsenal on Sunday. It's also the first week with a bench. Here's everything you need before you pick.
The deadline
Teams lock at 11:00 on Saturday 31 October (UK time, now GMT), 90 minutes before Chelsea v Manchester United kicks off. All PARs are final.
New this week: the bench
From Gameweek 9 you pick a bench of three as well as your XI: a goalkeeper and two outfield subs, in order. Only starters' ratings count now. If one of your XI doesn't start, the first player on your bench who did start comes in, as long as your formation still works, and your bench keeper only covers your keeper. A player your bench can't cover scores +0.3 if he came off the bench, or +1 if he didn't play at all. Read the full rules.
Fixtures
| When (UK) | Match |
|---|---|
| Sat 12:30 | Chelsea v Manchester United |
| Sat 15:00 | Bournemouth v Leeds |
| Sat 15:00 | Brentford v Nottingham Forest |
| Sat 15:00 | Coventry v Sunderland |
| Sat 15:00 | Hull v Ipswich |
| Sat 15:00 | Manchester City v Brighton |
| Sat 17:30 | Tottenham v Crystal Palace |
| Sat 20:00 | Aston Villa v Fulham |
| Sun 16:30 | Liverpool v Arsenal |
| Mon 20:00 | Newcastle v Everton |
Spurs at home to Palace are the biggest favourites of the week, followed by Manchester City against Brighton and Chelsea against United. Arsenal are favourites at Anfield, and Sunderland are slight favourites at Coventry. Hull v Ipswich is the closest game on paper.
Fixture of the week: Liverpool v Arsenal
Arsenal go to Anfield as favourites, but without Bukayo Saka, who is out for weeks with a thigh injury. Declan Rice and Noni Madueke are both doubts. On Liverpool's side, Florian Wirtz has an ankle knock, and Dominik Szoboszlai is close to a return. A big game like this can swing ratings either way, so a strong bench is worth having if you pick from it.
The toughest PARs
| Player | Fixture | PAR |
|---|---|---|
| Erling Haaland (Man City) | Brighton (H) | 7.9 |
| Bruno Fernandes (Man United) | Chelsea (A) | 7.7 |
| Rayan Cherki (Man City) | Brighton (H) | 7.5 |
| Gabriel (Arsenal) | Liverpool (A) | 7.4 |
| Elliot Anderson (Man City) | Brighton (H) | 7.4 |
| Marcos Senesi (Spurs) | Crystal Palace (H) | 7.4 |
Haaland's 7.9 is the hardest mark of the week, and City have three of the six toughest PARs. Bruno Fernandes, who didn't play in Gameweek 8, is on 7.7 this time, down from 8.1, but he still needs a big day at Stamford Bridge.
The kindest PARs
The lowest PAR this week is 6.6, mostly for players facing the two biggest favourites. Brighton's Olivier Boscagli and Ibrahim Osman go to the Etihad, and Palace's Jaydee Canvot, Axel Disasi, Ben Chilwell and Evann Guessand go to Spurs. Coventry keeper Carl Rushworth is also on 6.6 at home to Sunderland. Keepers and defenders on the underdog side can rate well if they're kept busy, but a heavy defeat hurts, so pick carefully.
In form against their PAR
These players started each of the last three Gameweeks and averaged well above this week's PAR:
| Player | Last 3 | PAR |
|---|---|---|
| Evanilson (Bournemouth) | 7.9, 8.8, 8.4 | 7.2 |
| Diego Gómez (Brighton) | 7.9, 8.3, 6.9 | 6.8 |
| Pedro Neto (Chelsea) | 7.9, 9.3, 6.9 | 7.2 |
| Ezri Konsa (Arsenal) | 7.7, 7.5, 8.0 | 6.9 |
| Nicolas Jackson (Aston Villa) | 7.6, 7.4, 8.9 | 7.2 |
| Oscar Bobb (Fulham) | 6.8, 7.7, 8.5 | 6.9 |
| Alex Iwobi (Fulham) | 7.6, 8.7, 7.3 | 7.1 |
Evanilson stands out. He's gone well over 7.2 in each of his last three games, and Bournemouth are at home to Leeds. Fulham have two players on the list, but they face a tough trip to Villa Park on Saturday night.
Team news that matters
- Arsenal: Bukayo Saka is out for weeks. Declan Rice and Noni Madueke are doubts, and Max Dowman is suspended.
- Manchester United: Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw, Patrick Dorgu and Benjamin Šeško are all out, and Marcus Rashford is a doubt.
- Chelsea: João Pedro and keeper Emiliano Martínez are out, as is Reece James.
- Tottenham: Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended, and James Maddison is a doubt after going off at Chelsea.
- Liverpool: Florian Wirtz is a doubt with an ankle knock. Jeremie Frimpong is still out.
- Bournemouth: Alex Scott and Alex Tóth are both out.
- Suspended: Brentford's Yehor Yarmoliuk and Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon miss another game.
With the bench, a doubtful starter isn't the disaster it used to be, but a player who's out will still cost you if your bench doesn't cover him. We'll post our picks and players to avoid on Thursday evening, after the latest press conferences.
One last thing
The deadline is earlier than usual, at 11:00 on Saturday morning. Pick your Gameweek 9 XI and bench before you head out.