Fantasy Premier League managers face crucial decisions ahead of gameweek nine's Friday deadline, with expert Pras offering advice on captaincy, transfers and team selections. Extensive injury updates across Premier League clubs highlight key absences and doubts for upcoming fixtures. The gameweek kicks off with Leeds facing West Ham on Friday evening.
As Fantasy Premier League gameweek nine approaches, expert Pras, a veteran with multiple top-25k finishes, fielded questions on player choices and strategies during a BBC Sport live session. With the transfer deadline set for 18:30 BST on Friday, managers are advised to consider tough fixtures and form dips for popular assets.
Injury concerns dominate team news. Arsenal will be without Noni Madueke, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz, with Gabriel Magalhaes a doubt. Aston Villa misses Youri Tielemans and Andres Garcia, while Lucas Digne is doubtful. Bournemouth's Evanilson is out, with doubts over David Brooks and Enes Unal. Brentford lacks Antoni Milambo and Joshua Dasilva, Aaron Hickey and Paris Maghoma uncertain. Brighton's absentees include Adam Webster, Solomon March and Jack Hinshelwood, with Joel Veltman, Kaoru Mitoma and Brajan Gruda in doubt. Burnley is without Zeki Amdouni, Connor Roberts and Jordan Beyer. Chelsea faces multiple issues with Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile, Cole Palmer, Liam Delap, Malo Gusto and Dario Essugo out. Crystal Palace misses Cheick Doucoure, Chadi Riad and Caleb Kporha. Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite, Jack Grealish and Nathan Patterson are sidelined. Fulham lacks Rodrigo Muniz, Antonee Robinson, Joachim Andersen and Samuel Chukwueze, Harry Wilson doubtful. Leeds has Harry Gray out, doubts on Wilfried Gnonto, Noah Okafor, Ethan Ampadu and Pascal Struijk. Liverpool is without Giovanni Leoni, Jeremie Frimpong and Alisson Becker, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexander Isak doubtful. Manchester City misses Rodri, Khusanov and Nico Gonzalez in doubt. Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez is out, Harry Maguire and Mason Mount uncertain. Newcastle lacks Harrison Ashby, Yoane Wissa, Lewis Hall and Valentino Livramento, Sandro Tonali doubtful. Nottingham Forest is without Olaoluwa Aina, Dilane Bakwa and Oleksandr Zinchenko, Chris Wood in doubt. Sunderland misses Omar Alderete, Aji Alese, Dennis Cirkin, Romaine Mundle, Leo Hjelde and Habib Diarra. Tottenham has a lengthy list out including James Maddison, Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Yves Bissouma, Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie and Kota Takai. West Ham is without George Earthy, Niclas Fullkrug and Konstantinos Mavropanos. Wolves misses Leon Chiwome.
Pras recommended Erling Haaland over Antoine Semenyo for captaincy, citing Haaland's talismanic form and Aston Villa's defensive vulnerabilities against Sunderland and Burnley in recent weeks. For Liverpool options, Cody Gakpo is favored long-term for his assured starts and threat, while Hugo Ekitike is a short-term pick if Alexander Isak misses out due to a groin issue. On transfers, Pras advised selling Mohamed Salah, who faces a tough Manchester City away fixture in GW11 and has shown poor recent signals like early substitutions, in favor of Bukayo Saka, who has favorable matches against Burnley and Sunderland. Bruno Fernandes is preferred over Florian Wirtz for his 90-minute guarantees, penalties and defensive contributions. For strikers, Haaland, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Nick Woltemade are top choices, with advice to hold Joao Pedro for one more week despite his goal drought since GW3. Defender suggestions include Jurrien Timber for his attacking positions if not tripled on Arsenal, or Daniel Munoz post-Arsenal fixture. Dan Burn edges Trevoh Chalobah for his nailed-on role at Newcastle. Budget midfielders under 5.6m include Granit Xhaka for set-piece involvement and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for his number 10 threat.
The gameweek schedule starts Friday with Leeds v West Ham at 20:00. Saturday features Chelsea v Sunderland and Newcastle v Fulham at 15:00, Manchester United v Brighton at 17:30, and Brentford v Liverpool at 20:00. Sunday includes Arsenal v Crystal Palace, Aston Villa v Manchester City, Bournemouth v Nottingham Forest, Wolves v Burnley at 14:00, and Everton v Spurs at 16:30. Bonus points for Friday's match have been awarded in FPL.