Hive FPL GW9 Preview - Trick or Treat?
Welcome back to Hive FPL for game week 9 of the season.
It’s Halloween this weekend, a time when ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night are encouraged to scare the living daylights out of us. But while most of us will settle for a poorly carved pumpkin on the door step, some questionable fancy dress and a dodgy horror movie, Manchester United supporters are already living through their own nightmare just by watching their team play football.
Their start to the season has been a horror show of epic proportions and the decision to stick with Michael Carrick and this United squad suggests that those in charge have learned absolutely nothing from watching the same disaster unfold week after week, season after season.
In the film 'Scream', there are rules to surviving a horror movie. Unfortunately, nobody appears to have shared the script with Manchester United's hierarchy. Rather than learning from past mistakes and changing the plot, they're sticking with their leading man and hoping that, somehow, the next instalment won't end in another footballing massacre.
As every Scream fan knows, the trouble with a horror franchise is that just when you think the nightmare is over, the killer always pops up for another go. So, will Carrick exorcise United’s demons or are we heading for another slasher sequel, with the manager left in a bloody mess while Bruno Fernandes and the squad do their best to hide the murder weapon? For United fans, Halloween might be the least frightening thing about this weekend as they travel to Chelsea with the very real threat that they could find themselves in the relegation zone come the final whistle.
In terms of the league table, there's an old adage that says you should never concern yourself with it until the end of October! Well here we are then...
I don't think it's a shock to see Arsenal and City way out in the lead already. They are comfortably the best teams with the largest, most developed squads available to them.
Of the other 'big' clubs, Liverpool and Chelsea's positions in 4th and 5th respectively are about right. You'd expect that they should have the quality and resources to be in the Champions League spots but they are still miles off putting a title challenge together.
Brighton's credentials as a side capable of crashing that party are getting well tested. They lost at Anfield last weekend and now take a trip to the Ethiad.
Below that is where the real dog fight begins. The likes of Brentford, Leeds and Everton have made themselves tough to beat but with just 2 wins a piece, they still find themselves as close to 18th spot as they do 3rd.
What we are seeing, similar to last season, is Aston Villa making their move. They've taken more points (10) from the last 4 games than any other side in the league and with a home game against Fulham they'll fancy they can continue that run of form.
Bournemouth, Spurs and Fulham have all won back to back matches and pulled away from the bottom 3 for now. On the flip side, the likes of Hull, Forest, Sunderland and of course the aforementioned Manchester United are all desperate for an injection of points to get their seasons moving in the right direction.
As with last year, it may end up being that the battle for European spots and avoiding relegation is more intriguing than the title. Of course Arsenal have already lost to a League 2 side this week so it would be ironic if they couldn't defend their title against a team soon to be playing in that division!
Division 2
The below squad is not so much a list of players who are doing badly, in fact, it's the opposite, it's a list of players who are playing well but not transferring that into the FPL points that their and their club's performances should warrant.
The first thing you'll notice is that it's heavily stocked with Bournemouth (4) and Forest (3) players. In fact, Murillo and Liam Delap only just missed the cut too.
That's perhaps not a major surprise given that between them they've won just 3 games this season and both are coming to terms with a new coach and their style of play.
Unpopular opinion with fans and senior management at football clubs - it does take time for players to adapt to that and while you can quickly see the 'formation' and structure that a new coach wants on the pitch it's often the cohesion and understanding between the players that needs longer to settle.
I think that's probably what we're seeing at Forest, Bournemouth and given the huge turn over of managers over the last 6 months, quite a lot of other teams too!
Bournemouth of course have registered back to back Premier League wins to move themselves off the foot of the table and up to 13th. What's more, their coming run of fixtures looks pretty good. Can they and their under-performing players turn things around?
The squad includes 3 strikers who just aren't putting away the chances that are being created for them.
Gonzalo scored on his EPL debut but that is his only goal from an xG of 3.6 this season which includes blanks in his 2 most recent appearances against Coventry and Hull.
Barry has found the back of the net 3 times from an xG of 5.1. We know he's not a natural finisher but he's certainly getting himself into positions to get the goals. They all count
Meanwhile, Thiago hasn't been able to recapture the heights of last season when he hit 22 goals from an xG of 20.6. So far in 26/27 it's 1 goal from an xG of 3.8
We've also got a few premium buys in the squad in Saka and O'Reilly. The later has simply found it difficult to nail down a spot in the City starting XI this season and has been shedding owners on a weekly basis since GW1.
Saka meanwhile has missed a couple of big chances this season and is yet to deliver an assist which is a big come down for a man who has hit double figures in that regard for the last 4 seasons in a row.
Rayan (MID) - Still only 20-years of age, the Brazilian burst onto the scence in the later part of last season, recording 7 goal involvements from 13 starts. He's been ever present this season for the Cherries in the Premier League and was on the score sheet against United last weekend having also picked up 3 goals in cup games this season. As noted above, he's under-performed this season with his 26 shots at goal and 9 big chances bettered by only Haaland and Barry. He's getting in the right positions for the goals to start to flow and is in only 2.2% of teams right now!
It’s Halloween this weekend, a time when ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night are encouraged to scare the living daylights out of us. But while most of us will settle for a poorly carved pumpkin on the door step, some questionable fancy dress and a dodgy horror movie, Manchester United supporters are already living through their own nightmare just by watching their team play football.
Their start to the season has been a horror show of epic proportions and the decision to stick with Michael Carrick and this United squad suggests that those in charge have learned absolutely nothing from watching the same disaster unfold week after week, season after season.
In the film 'Scream', there are rules to surviving a horror movie. Unfortunately, nobody appears to have shared the script with Manchester United's hierarchy. Rather than learning from past mistakes and changing the plot, they're sticking with their leading man and hoping that, somehow, the next instalment won't end in another footballing massacre.
As every Scream fan knows, the trouble with a horror franchise is that just when you think the nightmare is over, the killer always pops up for another go. So, will Carrick exorcise United’s demons or are we heading for another slasher sequel, with the manager left in a bloody mess while Bruno Fernandes and the squad do their best to hide the murder weapon? For United fans, Halloween might be the least frightening thing about this weekend as they travel to Chelsea with the very real threat that they could find themselves in the relegation zone come the final whistle.
In terms of the league table, there's an old adage that says you should never concern yourself with it until the end of October! Well here we are then...
I don't think it's a shock to see Arsenal and City way out in the lead already. They are comfortably the best teams with the largest, most developed squads available to them.
Of the other 'big' clubs, Liverpool and Chelsea's positions in 4th and 5th respectively are about right. You'd expect that they should have the quality and resources to be in the Champions League spots but they are still miles off putting a title challenge together.
Brighton's credentials as a side capable of crashing that party are getting well tested. They lost at Anfield last weekend and now take a trip to the Ethiad.
Below that is where the real dog fight begins. The likes of Brentford, Leeds and Everton have made themselves tough to beat but with just 2 wins a piece, they still find themselves as close to 18th spot as they do 3rd.
What we are seeing, similar to last season, is Aston Villa making their move. They've taken more points (10) from the last 4 games than any other side in the league and with a home game against Fulham they'll fancy they can continue that run of form.
Bournemouth, Spurs and Fulham have all won back to back matches and pulled away from the bottom 3 for now. On the flip side, the likes of Hull, Forest, Sunderland and of course the aforementioned Manchester United are all desperate for an injection of points to get their seasons moving in the right direction.
As with last year, it may end up being that the battle for European spots and avoiding relegation is more intriguing than the title. Of course Arsenal have already lost to a League 2 side this week so it would be ironic if they couldn't defend their title against a team soon to be playing in that division!
GW8 Results
Division 1
| Team | Hive Account | Score | Score | Team | Hive Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seskobob | @deniskj | 48 | 52 | Hungry Lions | @gvkanten |
| Tengo Rangers | @tengolotodo | 57 | 29 | Top Boy | @sperosamuel15 |
| fpl.racibo.pl | @racibo | 56 | 24 | The Cella's | @blanchy |
| Blue Mooners | @leebennett | 46 | 49 | Hiveheadz | @borran |
| Red Cards of Rohan | @thoth442 | 56 | 50 | HaaBrunoLand | @earplugs |
| BlockchainFPL H2H | @blockchainfpl | 82 | 52 | Likodra FC | @teofilex11 |
| Ameerians | @amirtheawesome | 47 | 49 | Legion fc | @b0s |
| Suffragette City | @talesfrmthecrypt | 50 | 52 | Damola's Team | @george-dee |
| Ping Pong Frimpong | @pingpongfrimpong | 30 | 47 | YAGMAN FC | @Yagman01 |
| FC McKane | @mckane | 43 | 38 | Sutter Kane | @suttercane |
| Team | Hive Account | Score | Score | Team | Hive Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working 9 to 5 | @aunt-granny | 49 | 67 | Large in the Rear | @chineduokafor |
| Mikmai1 | @mikmai | 52 | 35 | PChip FC | @livinguktaiwan |
| Hadji | @hadji | 23 | 54 | Uwabbs battalion | @Uwabbs001 |
| Herbae (Stevelight) | @Herbae | 32 | 27 | Skander's Team | @skanderh |
| Chocopram | @aaalviarez | 53 | 41 | dewabrata | @dewabrata |
| Stilgar_the_Fremen | @dune69 | 36 | 47 | Acid's Team | @acidyo |
| Jambo Villains | @stuartcturnbull | 38 | 55 | Dani Deuder FDA | @danideuder |
| Fire Power | @emekaj | 50 | 46 | The Mighty Fc | @Twicejoy-sports |
| Simcard FC | @akomoajong | 35 | 55 | Form Factor | @publioscelta |
| Six and the City | @princekwame | 64 | 54 | Micheal87 | @Micheal87 |
| Cohlson | @cohlson | 59 | 46 | Garuda XI | @aditya-p |
| Bennett's Boys | @olibennett | 54 | 36 | Los Porro Hermanos | @jmehta |
| It's Nice! | @workingdad | 62 | 47 | Solat | @reservedsingle |
| Top of the Pops | @elvisking | 62 | 74 | Gen2shaid | @gentleshaid |
| HappyBoys | @Happyboy1 | 71 | 39 | Deals on Wheels | @derek-trotter |
| Corner | @artniche | 55 | 31 | FC Uwelang | @uwelang |
| HB-EVWU75 | @kilvnrex | 48 | 33 | Los Magos del Balón | @el-maestro |
| Division 1 | @omrys5 | 40 | 45 | The Fantasy Devils | @stranger27 |
| El equipo de Roberto | @Kraken99 | 48 | 45 | Tangram | @desro |
| twicejoy | @twicejoy | 26 | 47 | Kingsleyy | @kingsleyy |
| Wild XI | @wildlifelover | 44 | 54 | shamzy FC | @shamzy |
| Dirty Leeds | @dirtyleeds | 76 | 62 | Glasner Half Full? | @Doombot75 |
| Steven's Team | @stevenson7 | 42 | 45 | Blank | Blank |
| Emeka4 | @Emeka4 | 55 | 47 | Blugrana | @ronnie10 |
GW9
Division 1
| Team | Hive Account | Team | Hive Account | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YAGMAN FC | @Yagman01 | v | Seskobob | @deniskj |
| Damola's Team | @george-dee | v | Sutter Kane | @suttercane |
| Legion fc | @b0s | v | FC McKane | @mckane |
| Likodra FC | @teofilex11 | v | Ping Pong Frimpong | @pingpongfrimpong |
| HaaBrunoLand | @earplugs | v | Suffragette City | @talesfrmthecrypt |
| Hiveheadz | @borran | v | Ameerians | @amirtheawesome |
| The Cella's | @blanchy | v | BlockchainFPL H2H | @blockchainfpl |
| Top Boy | @sperosamuel15 | v | Red Cards of Rohan | @thoth442 |
| Hungry Lions | @gvkanten | v | Blue Mooners | @leebennett |
| Tengo Rangers | @tengolotodo | v | fpl.racibo.pl | @racibo |
Division 2
| Team | Hive Account | Team | Hive Account | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working 9 to 5 | @aunt-granny | v | Bennett's Boys | @olibennett |
| It's Nice! | @workingdad | v | Cohlson | @cohlson |
| Top of the Pops | @elvisking | v | Six and the City | @princekwame |
| HappyBoys | @Happyboy1 | v | Simcard FC | @akomoajong |
| Corner | @artniche | v | Fire Power | @emekaj |
| HB-EVWU75 | @kilvnrex | v | Jambo Villains | @stuartcturnbull |
| Division 1 | @omrys5 | v | Stilgar_the_Fremen | @dune69 |
| El equipo de Roberto | @Kraken99 | v | Chocopram | @aaalviarez |
| twicejoy | @twicejoy | v | Herbae (Stevelight) | @Herbae |
| Wild XI | @wildlifelover | v | Hadji | @hadji |
| Dirty Leeds | @dirtyleeds | v | Mikmai1 | @mikmai |
| Steven's Team | @stevenson7 | v | Large in the Rear | @chineduokafor |
| Emeka4 | @Emeka4 | v | PChip FC | @livinguktaiwan |
| Blugrana | @ronnie10 | v | Uwabbs battalion | @Uwabbs001 |
| Blank | Blank | v | Skander's Team | @skanderh |
| Glasner Half Full? | @Doombot75 | v | dewabrata | @dewabrata |
| shamzy FC | @shamzy | v | Acid's Team | @acidyo |
| Kingsleyy | @kingsleyy | v | Dani Deuder FDA | @danideuder |
| Tangram | @desro | v | The Mighty Fc | @Twicejoy-sports |
| The Fantasy Devils | @stranger27 | v | Form Factor | @publioscelta |
| Los Magos del Balón | @el-maestro | v | Micheal87 | @Micheal87 |
| FC Uwelang | @uwelang | v | Garuda XI | @aditya-p |
| Deals on Wheels | @derek-trotter | v | Los Porro Hermanos | @jmehta |
| Gen2shaid | @gentleshaid | v | Solat | @reservedsingle |
Who are FPL's biggest under-performers this season?
We're 8 weeks in and so much like my comments above on the league table, we've now got a good enough sample size to consider which players have had a 'good' start and which haven't.The below squad is not so much a list of players who are doing badly, in fact, it's the opposite, it's a list of players who are playing well but not transferring that into the FPL points that their and their club's performances should warrant.
The first thing you'll notice is that it's heavily stocked with Bournemouth (4) and Forest (3) players. In fact, Murillo and Liam Delap only just missed the cut too.
That's perhaps not a major surprise given that between them they've won just 3 games this season and both are coming to terms with a new coach and their style of play.
Unpopular opinion with fans and senior management at football clubs - it does take time for players to adapt to that and while you can quickly see the 'formation' and structure that a new coach wants on the pitch it's often the cohesion and understanding between the players that needs longer to settle.
I think that's probably what we're seeing at Forest, Bournemouth and given the huge turn over of managers over the last 6 months, quite a lot of other teams too!
Bournemouth of course have registered back to back Premier League wins to move themselves off the foot of the table and up to 13th. What's more, their coming run of fixtures looks pretty good. Can they and their under-performing players turn things around?
The squad includes 3 strikers who just aren't putting away the chances that are being created for them.
Gonzalo scored on his EPL debut but that is his only goal from an xG of 3.6 this season which includes blanks in his 2 most recent appearances against Coventry and Hull.
Barry has found the back of the net 3 times from an xG of 5.1. We know he's not a natural finisher but he's certainly getting himself into positions to get the goals. They all count
Meanwhile, Thiago hasn't been able to recapture the heights of last season when he hit 22 goals from an xG of 20.6. So far in 26/27 it's 1 goal from an xG of 3.8
We've also got a few premium buys in the squad in Saka and O'Reilly. The later has simply found it difficult to nail down a spot in the City starting XI this season and has been shedding owners on a weekly basis since GW1.
Saka meanwhile has missed a couple of big chances this season and is yet to deliver an assist which is a big come down for a man who has hit double figures in that regard for the last 4 seasons in a row.
Best Differentials for GW9
Mohammed Kudus (MID) - Spurs are back! Right? Much like my comments above on Forest and Bournemouth, their players are also coming to terms with a new manager and a new system which has left them short of cohesion in key parts of the pitch. On the basis of their 3 games since the last international break, that now looks to be improving and of course they are welcoming back a number of key players from long-term injuries. One of those is Mo Kudus who delivered 75 points from 19 starts last season before being injured. His game time has increased week on week since he returned as a sub in GW2 and De Zerbi was full of praise for his performance in the win at Chelsea. At time of writing he's in 1.1% of FPL teams. Johan Manzambi (MID) - He's made an instant impact since joining Villa this season and looks to be another Emery master stroke. Villa are on the up and up and they've got a decent run of games coming over the remainder of the autumn starting with GW9 when they face Fulham at home. Manzambi's net transfers have been steadily growing since GW5 but he's still in just 5% of teams. I imagine that number will jump significantly in the coming weeks if things keep going well for him and Villa.Rayan (MID) - Still only 20-years of age, the Brazilian burst onto the scence in the later part of last season, recording 7 goal involvements from 13 starts. He's been ever present this season for the Cherries in the Premier League and was on the score sheet against United last weekend having also picked up 3 goals in cup games this season. As noted above, he's under-performed this season with his 26 shots at goal and 9 big chances bettered by only Haaland and Barry. He's getting in the right positions for the goals to start to flow and is in only 2.2% of teams right now!