Don’t get tricked by FPL Review’s high projections! Thierno Barry is a classic GW9 trap despite his favorable model ranking.
The 5 Biggest FPL Traps Ahead of Gameweek 9
Another week of FPL, another week of egregious FPL traps thrown into the either.
Before we get started, if you are one of the lucky ones on free hit this week, then make sure you check out our best gameweek 9 free hit team.
Alternatively, check out our best gameweek 9 differentials for some more great routes to rise up the ranks.
Anyway, without further ado, let’s get stuck into the biggest FPL Traps for Gameweek 9.
Thierno Barry
If you’ve been paying any attention to the FPL timeline at the moment. You’ll notice a hot debate going on between Barry and Jackson. This is in no small part down to the fact that FPL Review has him as their highest projected scorer over the next 10 gameweeks. Now don’t get me wrong, at his price I think he’s great value, but as far as expected points go, I’m going to heavily disagree with FPL Review on this one.
Now yes, he does have the 2nd highest xG in the league right now behind only Haaland. But the fact he only has 3 goals to show for this, is not an inditement of bad luck, it’s an inditement of poor finishing. If anything is going to regress, it is surely the pace of the chances he’s receiving, as Everton are not a side particularly known for their attacking creativity.
Also, the fixtures just aren’t that good either. I’ve seen a lot of talk about their fixtures, but last I saw, from GW11 to GW15, they face Brentford, Liverpool, Villa and Brighton during that stretch. Those are not good fixtures… He may even be a sell after their next 2, which are good to be fair.
The only reason he is a good option is because of his price but be under no illusion, he won’t sniff Jackson or Isak’s (the other 2 main JP replacements) points totals over the next 6 GWs. Trap.
Rayan Cherki
Look, I dared to dream with Cherki at one point as well, but it is just not worth the pain. Cherki was the 10th most transferred in player this week, with over 157k managers choosing to do so.
The unfortunate reality at present is that the minutes just aren’t safe enough. Yes, when he plays, he’s a great asset and his xG is high and the returns are there etc. But with Foden’s return and Maresca’s tendency to play Foden in the 10, we just can’t say Cherki’s minutes are safe enough to justify sinking £8.0m into him. At least for now.
He only has 45 minutes to his name across their last two league games. That is just unsustainable for a premium priced asset. Then he’ll score again and start, get everyone sucked back in, just for him to be benched another 2 games. The cycle goes on.
Pedro Neto
103k transfers in this week. This is potentially the most classic FPL trap of them all. Neto’s brace against Everton still clearly has plenty of managers acting up. But the reality is, it’s just not sustainable long term.
He has three goals and 1 assist on the year which I guess isn’t too bad, but considering he’s only averaging an xGI of 0.35, it’s certainly nothing special compared to other cheaper midfielders.
Perhaps the main downside, however, lies in the absence of Joao Pedro. In the 2 games Joao Pedro has missed this season, Chelsea have scored a grand total of 0 goals, and it looks like he’s expected to at least miss a couple of weeks.
The other downside is just the sheer plethora of other great options in midfield in the same price range. Such as Tavernier and Manzambi. Listed midfielder playing wing-back, plus no Joao Pedro, plus way better options for cheaper, equals FPL Trap.
Spurs Attackers
Now don’t get me wrong, for this one gameweek, against Crystal Palace’s defence, Spurs attackers are great. So, by all means hammer them if you’re on free hit. But long term, I’d be more wary.
The first reason is simple, minutes. Spurs’ forward line is like a revolving door at the moment. Kudus, Maddison, Marmoush, Tel, Solanke, Gallagher. Even Kulusevski is back in the fold now. Savio will also be back in a couple of weeks. De Zerbi has been changing personnel and formations constantly over the last few weeks, making identifying ay long-term starter, let alone a talisman to hitch your wagon to very tricky.
The second reason is the usual. They are Spurs. Every time they get a bit of momentum, they seem to run into one of two bad results which can set them into an extended spiral of bad results and render all FPL assets useless.
The fact there is no standout nailed talisman, means that the risk of bringing in any attackers for longer term is just very high. Potential Trap.
Not Captaining Haaland this week
I saw a poll on the FPL website which said only 57% of people will be captaining Haaland this week. I get it, I really do, Brighton are a great team. But my god the pickings are slim this week.
Liverpool gave us all evidence that Brighton can be breached, at least by teams who can stretch you, which is exactly what City can do.
Even though there are some cheeky differential captains available like Jackson or Palmer, the risk of losing ground to the Haaland cappers just isn’t worth it this week. The EV’s and EOs don’t square up. Whereas you’ll still get a rank gain if Haaland scores if you cap him. Fulham’s defence isn’t as bad as it seems on paper and Chelsea’s attack without JP is nowhere near as good. Play it safe.
Check out our Game Week Tips for more gameweek 9 tips.