In this blog, the three best Captaincy options for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Gameweek 9 are discussed. Picks are in the below format:

1. No.1 predicted by Fix 
2. Alternative high-ownership option. Over 20%
3. Differential option. Under 20%

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Headliner - Erling Haaland (BHA)

Despite failing to find the back of the net in the last two matches, Haaland still leads the Golden Boot race with eight goals and is top of all the attacking metrics for the season so far - shots (32), shots in the box (SiB) (32), shots on target (SoT) (18), 'big chances' (BC) (14) and 'Expected Goals' (xG) (7.99). Man. City have scored 17 goals this season (sixth) and are ranked third for shots (131). Their visitors Brighton have conceded 16 goals and are yet to keep a clean sheet. Only Bournemouth (18), Burnley (20) and Sheff. Utd. (22) have been more porous. Our Fix Algorithm currently projects a point score of 7.7 for Haaland.

Use predictive FPL statistics to increase your Gameweek points.

Mohamed Salah (EVE)

Salah's total of five goals sees him only trail Son, Isak (six each) and Haaland while he also has four FPL assists. Meanwhile, only Rashford (24) has attempted more SiB than his 19 amongst midfielders and the Egyptian international is top for xG (5.30). His nine BC created and 4.32 'Expected Assists' (xA) are leading the way as well. As the below image from our Transfer Analytics feature shows, he is currently the second most transferred-in player this week with over 250,000 FPL managers bringing him in. Liverpool have scored 18 goals with only Villa (19), Newcastle (20) and Brighton (21) being more prolific. No side has registered a higher xG tally (18.21) than the Merseyside outfit. Their local rivals Everton have conceded 12 goals so far and have kept just one clean sheet. The Toffees are ranked seventh for SiB conceded (66) and 10th for 'Expected Goals Conceded' (xGC) (12.18). Our Fix Algorithm currently projects a point score of 7.2 for Salah.

Evaluate transfer analytics to see which players are popular with other managers.

Rasmus Højlund (shu)

Højlund is yet to score his first league goal for Man. Utd. but his numbers indicate that a haul is around the corner. Since his first start in Gameweek 5, he is third amongst all forwards for BC (four) and has taken seven SiB. As the Stats Sandbox image below shows, over that aforementioned period, Man. Utd have fashioned five BC, four of which have fallen to Højlund which indicates that he is already becoming the focal point of their attack. Only Rashford (1.27) has notched a higher xG than his 0.94. Man. Utd have scored nine goals this season and are ranked fifth for shots (130). Their hosts Sheff. Utd. have the worst defence in the division, no side has conceded more goals than the Blades (22) or allowed opponents more SiB (119). Our Fix Algorithm currently projects a point score of 3.8 for Højlund.

Identify the best players using Opta Statistics.

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