POWER RANKINGS 2018/19: The Aftermath of FPL Gameweek 9
After the dust has settled in a round of Premier League fixtures, we here at The Hype Train provide a post-mortem in the shape of our Power Rankings. We highlight the five key performers for FPL players in each position (GK/DEF/MID/FOR), with our selections based off of our own opinion of in-game performance and the end result with Fantasy points on the board. All aboard.
Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 10 Deadline
For the 2016/17 Premier League season, the FPL deadline will be one hour before the commencement of the week's first game. The Premier League website lists each FPL deadline, you can always ask on social media, and you can also view a real time countdown on our Weekly Hype page.
GW9 POWER RANKINGS: Goalkeeper Picks
New entries: Mat Ryan (BHA), Hugo Lloris (TOT)
Falling out: Kepa Arrizabalaga (CHE), Joe Hart (BUR)
A Brazilian one-two once again dominates our Goalkeeper Power Rankings, with Alisson and Ederson both managing their 6th clean sheets of the season from just 9 matches this season. Alisson has managed 6 clean sheets without making 3 saves in any of the 6 shut-outs which is quite a feat.
Rui Patricio's Wolves fell to the wasteside during Gameweek 9, highlighting that newly promoted sides are still volatile, whilst Mat Ryan and Hugo Lloris have managed back-to-back clean sheets in the Premier League.
Ryan's impressive fixture list and personal performance at Newcastle last weekend propels himself straight into contention ahead of Gameweek 10, which sees Patricio visiting Ryan's compact Brighton side.
GW9 POWER RANKINGS: Defender Picks
New entries: Aymeric Laporte (MCI), Benjamin Mendy (MCI)
Falling out: Matt Doherty (WOL), Kyle Walker (MCI)
The major change this week was Marcos Alonso being desthroned from the top of our Power Rankings, with back-to-back clean sheets from Andrew Robertson enough to topple the Chelsea defender who hasn't looked the same attacking threat in recent weeks. Robertson looks set to retain his place with Cardiff visiting Anfield this weekend.
Kieran Trippier takes the place of Matt Doherty who falls out this week, with the full-back earning a 4th consecutive FPL return, this time earning the bog-standard 6 points for a clean sheet, and denied bonus points due to the performance of Hugo Lloris.
Making up the rest of our selections is the Man City duo of Aymeric Laporte and Benjamin Mendy. Due to fierce competition last week, Laporte missed out in our Power Rankings, though a 5th consecutive FPL return sees him solidified in our selections, whilst Benjamin Mendy's home return yielded another assist. The Frenchman looks like he is back to his best, which is making a lot of Fantasy players wondering how to stump up the budget to afford the full-back yet again.
GW9 POWER RANKINGS: Midfielder Picks
New entries: Mohamed Salah (LIV), Mesut Ozil (ARS)
Falling out: Johann Berg Gudmundsson (BUR), James Maddison (LEI)
A trio of our midfield Power Rankings picks failed to return or play this weekend - Hazard, Sterling and Sigurdsson. All 3 have retained their places as Gameweek 9 proved to be a bit of a blip, with Mohamed Salah and Mesut the only inclusions, with James Maddison and Gundmundsson (as we rightfully predicted) making way.
Salah jumps straight up to second, and despite having what many football pundits would call an average season, potentially looking fatigued and still carrying scars of his Champions League final injury courtesy of Sergio Ramos, Salah went level with Sterling on 50 points which highlights his reliability compared with Sterling's rotation risk at City.
Gylfi Sigurdsson's real test begins next week and in future away matches against Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool, as The Iceland international has typically been fixture proof due to his set-piece potential.
Our last pick was down to Mesut Ozil and Anthony Martial. The latter has scored 28 points in 2 fixtures and looks a real menace, though Ozil has managed 3 double-digit FPL returns from his last 4 fixtures and alongside Alex Iwobi, was the best player to step on the field during Gameweek 9.
GW9 POWER RANKINGS: Forward Picks
New entries: Alexsander Mitrovic (FUL)
Falling out: Raul Jimenez (WOL)
We round off our Power Rankings with the top 5 Forward's in the points charts this week, and with good reason. Forward's in general did not do the business this past weekend, with Aguero and Aubameyang the exception.
Aubameyang is proving to be going against the grain of expectation, scoring twice off the bench in back-to-back Premier League matches, completely upstaging Alexandre Lacazette the past few weeks, so it is only right the Frenchman is in Auba's speedy shadow.
Sergio Aguero has been substituted on the 65th minute in 3 consecutive matches, though it didn't stop The Argentine adding a 10th attacking return of the season before his departure in the 5-0 rout of Burnley. In any other season, Aguero would have had a hat-trick in that game, but his minutes are being managed to fit in other attack minded players in the later stages of matches.
With many front-line assets blanking, Alexsander Mitrovic regains a place with a single assist against Cardiff. It is small margins of entry in attack and highlights the scarcity of weekly options in any Fantasy teams.
Want to know more about The Hype Train?
The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in the Fantasy Premier League (#FPL), providing beautiful graphics and weekly insight for hopeful players attempting to climb ranking tables. We are also occasional media reviewers, with a keen interest to review movies, live sport, and professional wrestling.
As well as providing FPL articles on our website, we are a founding Contributor to the new Fantasy Football Hub, where you can find more unique articles, including weekly Power Rankings, from The Hype Team. You can support us and read exclusive members only content for just £2 per-month by clicking here.
The Hype Train were nominated and shortlisted for the 'Best Football Blog 2016' by the Football Bloggers Association at their annual Football Blogging Awards (The FBA's), with the final presentation held at Old Trafford in Manchester.
You can follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive content, or visit our website here at www.thehypetrain.co.uk
All aboard.
