Who are the players to add to your Fantasy Premier League team for Gameweek 9 of 2025-26? We use data to bring you our under-the-radar picks.
It’s an interesting gameweek this weekend as there are no traditionally ‘big’ fixtures. But who thought Chelsea would face Sunderland with the sides level on points this far into the season? Leeds versus West Ham and Wolves against Burnley are huge games at the wrong end of the table, too.
As we approach the GW9 deadline, we’ve crunched the Opta data to identify five players you should consider bringing into your FPL squad, whether that’s via a free transfer or on your Wildcard. They’re all currently picked by fewer than 10% of FPL managers, so could give you an immediate edge over the competition.
GK – Senne Lammens | 5.0m | 0.7% Ownership
Our pick in this category last week had an excellent match. Sunderland shot stopper Robin Roefs kept a clean sheet as his side beat Wolves 2-0. He now averages six FPL points per start, the joint-most among goalkeepers.
Roefs is tied at the top of these standings with Manchester United new boy Senne Lammens. His impact has been immediate, with Ruben Amorim’s side winning both matches the Belgian has played.
The only goal Lammens has conceded came from a Cody Gakpo shot valued at 0.929 expected goals, so we can give him a pass for not keeping that one out. His five saves at Anfield were crucial in helping United to a first win at Liverpool since 2016, while he made three to keep a clean sheet on his Old Trafford debut. This meant he earned an extra FPL point in each game for saving (at least) three shots.
United host Brighton this weekend. Fabian Hürzeler’s men have had the seventh-most shots on target in the Premier League, so should keep Lammens quite busy.
But as Brighton are slightly underperforming their expected goals (albeit only by 0.27), their relatively average finishing gives him a decent chance of keeping a clean sheet.
DEF – Nico O’Reilly | 4.9m | 0.9% Ownership
There isn’t a Manchester City defender owned by even 6% of you, never mind 10%. This seems curious given they have the joint-second-best goals against record in the Premier League, conceding just six in their eight games.
Perhaps the relatively high prices put you off, which is fair enough. There’s also the fact Pep Guardiola frequently shuffles his side, so it’s hard to be certain who will start. If you can figure out his thinking, which is never easy, there are gains to be made.
City have the ninth-best defender for points-per-start, as well as four of the seven players in joint-12th. If you want defenders who average at least six points when they start, not even Arsenal have as many to call upon.
One of the defenders in question is Nico O’Reilly. He’s started City’s previous five Premier League games, delivering an assist against Everton last weekend. That should ensure he features this week.
The City backline may be busier than usual as they are at Aston Villa. Unai Emery’s side have hit form after a slow start to the campaign. They are unbeaten in five league games (only Bournemouth are on a longer run) and they’ve been picking up wins in the UEFA Europa League too.
One way in which defenders can pick up FPL points is by making at least 10 defensive contributions. These are known as CBIT: clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles. No team has drawn more of these from their opponents than Villa. Plus, O’Reilly is averaging 7.5 CBIT contributions per 90, more than any other City player (min 250+ minutes).
Nico O’Reilly tackles made - Premier League 2025-26
O’Reilly should have a fair bit of defending to do if he’s up against regular right-sided attacking midfielder John McGinn, plus he may contribute in the other direction too. After Villa, Man City have a tricky run of fixtures in the short term. But in GW13 and beyond, their fixture list really opens up.
MID – Sean Longstaff | 4.9m | 0.9% Ownership
To excel at Fantasy Premier League you must be bold. Occasionally selecting a player from a relegation-threatened promoted club is the right thing to do if the match-up suggests you should.
The player making such a case this weekend is Leeds United midfielder Sean Longstaff. He has created 17 chances this season, second only to Bruno Fernandes (22) in the Premier League. The former Newcastle player is also level with Cody Gakpo and Jack Grealish, therefore keeping pace with some elite talent.
The difference between Longstaff and the other three is that he has only set up eight chances in open play, whereas the others have all logged a minimum of 13. The Leeds man is excellent at setting up opportunities from set-pieces, with his total of seven from corners the joint most in the division.
Sean Longstaff chances created - Premier League 2025-26
And who do you want to play at home if you’re looking to profit from a dead-ball situation? West Ham United.
Their well-documented troubles bear repeating. The Hammers have already conceded eight set-play goals this season, more than any other side, to go with the 12 they allowed in 2024-25.
Longstaff is doing reasonably well in FPL anyway; he’s only two points behind Tijjani Reijnders, the fourth-most popular midfielder in the game. With West Ham’s flaky defence in town, there’s every chance Longstaff passes the Manchester City man this weekend.
MID – Harry Wilson | 5.3m | 0.4% Ownership
There are four players who’ve had at least 10 shots and created a minimum of five chances across the last four matchdays. Gakpo and Mohamed Salah are two of them, but they are in too many FPL teams to be eligible here.
One player who fits our bill while being selected by fewer than 10% of you is Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but do we want to put so many eggs in Daniel Farke’s basket? Perhaps not.
That leaves us with Harry Wilson. He and Fulham are facing Newcastle on Saturday, a team they beat both home and away last season. They have also lost on only two of their last five visits to St. James’ Park, one of which saw them go down to 10 men in just the 22nd minute.
With the Magpies beating Benfica 3-0 on Tuesday, they have less time than Fulham to prepare for this match. Eddie Howe doesn’t tend to rotate too much, so Wilson could be up against a tired midfield and defence.
He has been very involved of late without getting the rewards. Fingers crossed his luck turns here. Even if it doesn’t, Fulham then play Wolves (H), Everton (A) and Sunderland (H) in their following three games.
FWD – Chris Wood | 7.2m | 9.0% Ownership
Nottingham Forest’s remarkable season continued this week with the appointment of Sean Dyche. He becomes their third manager of the campaign even though we’re not yet in November. The absurdly swift swing from Nuno Espírito Santo to Ange Postecoglou and through to Dyche will be studied for years to come.
Go Deeper:
The former Burnley boss should get the most out of Chris Wood; only Sam Vokes has scored more goals for Dyche across his managerial career than the New Zealand international.
While he hasn’t netted since the opening game of the season, Wood hasn’t been doing too badly when playing, amassing 1.86 expected goals over the last seven matchdays.
With Dyche presumably playing to his strengths, Wood must have a chance of scoring against a Bournemouth side who have conceded six goals in their last three league matches. The Kiwi was comfortably Nuno’s top scorer at Forest, so a return to broadly his style of play should reinvigorate the 33-year-old.
Our pick for a forward last week was Jean-Philippe Mateta, who scored a hat-trick against Bournemouth. No pressure, Chris.
*FPL player values and ownership data accurate as of 22 October 2025
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