Fantasy Football Tipster: Gameweek 9

After a short break our fantasy football tipster is back, shedding light on the must have players for this weekend. We have chosen an XI consisting of players available to those with big bucks to spend as well as those of you on a shoestring budget to accommodate all ahead of gameweek 9 in the Premier League.

Our suggested players have been chosen for a number of reasons, be it form or the strength of the opponent that they are facing, to ensure points galore. As ever, we use our WhoScored Match Forecasts to ascertain an understanding of the players and teams that may flourish this weekend due to their strength clashing with an opponent’s weakness in the same area.

Goalkeeper

We start at the back, where Stoke will hope to keep a clean sheet at home against a Sunderland side overly reliant on goals from front man Steven Fletcher. Asmir Begovic has conceded just once in three home games this season and will fancy his chances of maintaining that record against The Black Cats, who have netted just 3 times in 4 away games.

Defence

At right-back we've opted for Kyle Walker, whose Spurs side travels to St. Mary's, and lowly Southampton this weekend. Although The Saints have been far from frugal in front of goal this season, the visitors will be strong favourites, with the match forecast suggesting that Tottenham are likely to create many scoring chances. Only wingers Bale and Lennon have created more chances for Spurs than Walker's 13, so the right-back could be in on the act again this weekend.

On the opposite flank we've gone for Matt Lowton of Aston Villa, with the summer signing proving to be one of the brighter sparks in an otherwise gloomy start under Paul Lambert. The forecasts suggests that Villa will steal the ball from Norwich often, with the full-back their top tackler thus far, with 23, while it also claims that the hosts are likely to score a long shot, with Lowton already netting from range this season against Swansea.

Our centre-back pairing begins with a more cost-effective option, with Winston Reid tipped to have an impact for West Ham at Wigan. After a poor start on the road The Hammers have conceded just once in their previous two away games, and Alladyce's side should dominate in the air against Wigan. The forecast indicates that they will pose a threat from set pieces, with the New Zealander likely to cause problems to The Latics' defence from such situations.

If you have more money to spend ahead of this weekend, Vincent Kompany could be a good shout, up against Swansea. City will be looking to put the disappointment of defeat at Ajax behind them with three points, and the reigning champions are also touted to get plenty of joy from set pieces against a visiting side who are far more comfortable with the ball at their feet. In this fixture last season the home side kept a clean sheet in a 4-0 win, and Mancini will be after a similar result this weekend.

Midfield

Our three-man midfield also has a cheap alternative this week, as we tip Jimmy Kebe to cause problems for Martin Jol's Fulham. The Royals have had most of their joy from wide areas this season, looking to the flanks as often as possible. McDermott's side have had a lower proportion of attacking touches through the middle of the pitch than any other side in the league (24%) and only Stoke have looked to attack from the right side more often (42% to 41%), so Kebe should be highly involved.

Joining the French born winger is Hatem Ben Arfa, who we predict will have a big role to play in a traditionally high scoring affair when Newcastle host West Brom. There has been an average of 4.3 goals per game in the previous 9 encounters between the two sides, and the tricky French international is never too far from an attacking Magpies move. With the hosts likely to score a long shot according to our match forecast, Ben Arfa could be the main man come Sunday.

Another man who will fancy his chances from range this weekend against a QPR side that are weak at defending against long shots according to their WhoScored characteristics is Arsenal's puppet master Santi Cazorla. Not much bigger than a puppet himself, the Spaniard still packs a punch from distance, as demonstrated against West Ham a few weeks back, and with The Gunners also tipped to score from a direct free-kick in the match forecast, Cazorla could well be amongst the goals.

Attack

Up front we begin with a certain Sergio Aguero, who will be hoping for a repeat of his performance on his Man City debut when Swansea made the trip to The Etihad in the season opener last year. The Argentine came off the bench to score twice and get an assist in a supreme display, and could get plenty of chances again this time out. The match forecast tips the hosts to create many scoring chances as well as score as a result of individual skill and an opposition error. Aguero shouldn't be too far from the scene if the Swans do slip up.

The focal point of our attack is Stoke target man Peter Crouch, who will hope for plenty of service when Sunderland visit The Britannia on Saturday. Only two sides have won fewer aerial duels than The Black Cats, while Stoke unsurprisingly have won the most, and Crouch more so than any player in the league (68). Be it through a knockdown to a teammate or netting himself, the former England international could be well worth a punt.

Completing our XI is Arsenal's Lukas Podolski, despite a dip in form corresponding with the Gunners' latest setbacks. The German has, however, been chosen due to the fact that Arsenal are deemed 'extremely likely' to score on the counter, and Podolski is somewhat of a master of the art of breaking away to get on the end of such attacks. No player in Europe's top 5 leagues has scored more goals on the break than the former Cologne forward's 7 since the start of last season, so he could be back in the thick of things against QPR.