Managers in Fantasy Premier League have kept faith with Erling Haaland (£15.4m) despite his three successive blanks.
A season-high 6.72million managers have handed the Norwegian the armband for Manchester City's encounter with Southampton on Saturday.
Of those, 308,746 of those have gone a step further and used their TRIPLE CAPTAIN chip on him.
Those managers will be hoping for a repeat of Haaland's Gameweek 2 hat-trick against Ipswich Town, which earned the Norwegian 17 points, rewarding the 477,000+ who played their Triple Captain chip with a 51-point haul.
Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) is the second most-popular captain despite his tricky-looking trip to Arsenal. The Egyptian has returned in 10 of his 14 appearances against the Gunners, notching 14 attacking returns in those encounters and picking up six bonus points.
GW9 most-captained players
Player | Captained by | Pts |
---|---|---|
Haaland | 6,413,514 | - |
Salah | 847,530 | - |
Palmer | 737,293 | - |
Watkins | 417,601 | - |
Mbeumo | 173,419 | - |
Who are the most-bought players?
An appealing home fixture has prompted more than 660,000 managers to snap up Bryan Mbeumo (£7.6m) for Gameweek 9, making him the fourth most-owned player, at 34.7 per cent.
Brentford host Ipswich Town on Saturday at the Gtech Community Stadium, where Mbeumo has registered 40 of his 53 points this season, scoring five goals. Only Haaland, with 41 points in four home matches, can better his tally this season.
Haaland's team-mate Josko Gvardiol (£6.1m) is the most-popular replacement after the red card shown to William Saliba (£6.0m) in Gameweek 8. Suspended for Gameweek 9, Saliba is the most-sold defender while Gvardiol, who has scored two goals in three matches, is the most-bought defender.
Cole Palmer (£10.9m) has been a popular replacement for Bukayo Saka (£10.0m), who remains an injury doubt for Arsenal's contest with Liverpool. Chelsea host Newcastle United on Sunday, a fixture where Palmer recorded 13 points last season thanks to a goal, an assist and the maximum three bonus.
GW9 most-bought players
Player | Bought by | Pts |
---|---|---|
Mbeumo | 663,791 | - |
Gvardiol | 593,289 | - |
Palmer | 464,228 | - |
Son | 414,539 | - |
Jimenez | 376,409 | - |
Frustration for Son's new owners?
Son Heung-min (£9.9m) is the fourth most-bought player for Gameweek 9, but his 414,000+ new owners look set to be frustrated.
Ange Postecoglou said in his Friday press conference that the South Korea international is "unlikely" to feature this weekend for Tottenham Hotspur's game at Crystal Palace.
A rejuvenated Raul Jimenez (£5.7m) completes the top five recruits after producing attacking returns in each of his five starts in 2024/25 Fantasy. More than 376,000 managers have bought him for Fulham's trip to Everton.
Who are the most-sold players?
Liverpool duo Luis Diaz (£7.9m) and Diogo Jota (£7.3m) have been sold en masse, with rotation concerns and injury reducing their stock among Fantasy managers.
A third Arsenal player, Kai Havertz (£8.2m), has also been heavily sold. Following a kind run, the fixtures are about to get harder for Mikel Arteta's side. Just one of their next seven matches is rated at two in the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR).
GW9 most-sold players
Player | Transferred out by | Pts |
---|---|---|
Saka | 1,177,491 | - |
Saliba | 866,279 | 0 |
Diaz | 529,148 | - |
Jota | 263,663 | - |
Havertz | 256,829 | - |