Clean sheets can make a big difference to Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points, especially for managers looking to get more from their defenders and goalkeepers.
Gameweek 8 saw ***** nal, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Newcastle United keep clean sheets, while Bournemouth recorded an impressive 3-0 win over Manchester United and Leeds United played out a goalless draw with Sunderland.
Tottenham Hotspur were particularly impressive in their 2-0 victory over Chelsea, while Bournemouth also continued their good run of results, showing how valuable defensive returns can be for FPL managers.
With Gameweek 9 approaching, the latest clean sheet odds offer a useful guide to the teams with the best defensive prospects, helping managers ***** s their options ahead of the deadline.
Tottenham Hotspur – 38% vs Crystal Palace (H)

#TOTTENHAM #managers #gameweek #defensive

Gameweek 8 is behind us, and it's time for Fantasy Premier League managers to make their next moves. With another deadline approaching, the transfer market is already heating up, and several players are attracting serious attention ahead of Gameweek 9.
Injuries have also complicated matters. Bukayo Saka, João Pedro, and Dominik Szoboszlai are among the players managers are moving away from, leaving many FPL teams with decisions to make. Fortunately, there are several promising alternatives, including in-form attackers, reliable midfield options, and defenders with appealing upcoming fixtures.
But which players are actually worth bringing into your squad?
Let's consider five players worth bringing into your team for Gameweek 9.
Fixture: Fulham

#gameweek #make #fantasy #premier

As we approach Gameweek 9 of the 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League campaign, getting your captaincy choice right is essential for driving your rank up the mini-league standings.
With key injuries shaking up forward lines, red-hot strikers in the form of their lives, and marquee fixtures dominating the schedule, fantasy managers have several intriguing routes to consider.
Below is our breakdown of the premier GW9 FPL captaincy pick options to help you make an informed decision before the deadline.
With João Pedro sidelined through injury and Cole Palmer searching for consistent rhythm, Morgan Rogers has stepped up as the central spark in Chelsea's attacking setup.
Operating with complete creative freedom, Rogers provides a dependable route to points as Chelsea travels to face a struggling Manchester United backline.

#gameweek #cole

Gameweek 8 of the 2026/27 Premier League campaign brought monumental shifts across the table, defined by shattered records, stunning upsets, and high-profile tactical gambles.
From **** le favorites suffering their first defeat to perennial strugglers making historic statements in London derbies, this round provided plenty of drama.
Below is our comprehensive Premier League Gameweek 8 Review, breaking down the biggest talking points and takeaways from GW8.
In the marquee clash of the weekend, Aston Villa delivered a massive tactical shock by handing Manchester City their first Premier League defeat of the season in a thrilling 2-1 victory.
Nicolas Jackson was the undisputed star of the match, bagging a clinical brace to continue his red-hot streak of four goals in his last four games.

#premier #league #below

Fantasy Premier League returns for Gameweek 4, so here are our essential FPL tips on the what transfers to make, which chips to use and who are the best captains.
FPL Gameweek 4 deadline: Saturday, 12th September, 1.30pm BST
The Football Faithful FPL league code: zog9n6
It's not often I would suggest betting against a defence that is yet to concede a goal, but I'm going to go out on a limb and predict Hull City won't keep a clean sheet against Chelsea this weekend.
The Blues have been absolutely electric in attack, scoring more goals (8) than any other Premier League team after three games. And their first-choice attackers came off the bench to score six goals against Leeds United in the League Cup in midweek.

#league #goals #fantasy #faithful

Gameweek 4 is here, and the early Fantasy Premier League picture is starting to take shape.
After three rounds of the 2026/27 season, FPL managers have more information to work with, but there is still plenty of uncertainty. Some players are emerging as must-own ******* ets, while others are being transferred out after disappointing starts.
That makes Gameweek 4 an important week for making smart decisions rather than simply chasing last week's points.
This complete FPL GW4 guide brings together everything you need before the deadline, including the biggest lessons from Gameweek 3, the best transfers to consider, captaincy options, differential picks, predicted lineups, clean-sheet targets and our Scout Picks.
Gameweek 4 begins on Saturday, September 12, with seven Premier League matches before Sunday's action and Monday night's Leeds vs. Newcastle finale.

#league #september

As we head into Gameweek 4 of the 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League season, making the right armband choice is critical for solidifying early-season rank gains.
With prime fixtures on the horizon – including heavy hitters facing vulnerable defenses and high-flying budget **** ets continuing to shock the league – selecting the right captain can make or break your weekend.
Here is a breakdown of the top GW4 FPL captaincy pick options to help you make the ultimate decision.
Despite playing away at Old Trafford in the Manchester derby, Erling Haaland remains the undisputed premier option among game week 4 FPL captain picks.
Manchester United's backline has looked shaky to start the campaign, surrendering six goals in their opening three league matches.

#league #captain

The Fantasy Premier League season is entering week four and plenty of managers will be getting itching fingers, with so many chips at our disposal.
Is it time to play a Free Hit or a Wildcard?
BBC Sport FPL expert Holly Shand looks at some of the biggest dilemmas facing FPL managers heading into gameweek four.
Chelsea striker Joao Pedro (£7.7m) is the most-owned player in the game, in 72.5% of sides. Given that Chelsea have scored eight goals already this season, and face promoted Hull City at home next, it feels like the right time to be moving towards a double up on their ****** ets.
Cole Palmer (£9.6m) and Morgan Rogers (£7.6m) came on as half-time substitutes in the Carabao Cup against Leeds United on Wednesday, with Palmer scoring a double including a penalty, and Rogers chalking up three ****** ists.

#Chelsea #managers

Andoni Iraola has said Liverpool 'need a win' at Ipswich Town tomorrow after a frustrating start to the season.
Liverpool have opened thePremier League campaign with successive draws, as Iraola awaits his first win as manager. The Reds have twice trailed against both Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, before fighting back to earn late draws.
Iraola acknowledges that improvement is needed ahead of tomorrow's trip to Portman Road.
"We need a win, we are frustrated at this part of the job. I think we need to stick to games but I want to win, I need to win," he said at hispre-match press conference.
"We will go with this same [mentality] tomorrow. I think the first two gameweeks were probably the most difficult ones in terms of the market being open.

#andoni #town

BBC Sport's FPL expert Gianni ***** ice looks at some of the biggest dilemmas facing Fantasy Premier League managers heading into gameweek three.
If you do not own Erling Haaland (£15.5m), using a chip to bring him in is much simpler than spending several transfers to fit in the game's most expensive player.
A Wildcard lets you move quickly on trending players, improve team value, and invest heavily in two sides you may not have much exposure to in Manchester City and Chelsea, who face Coventry and Hull at home over the next fortnight.
The Free Hit chip also has an upside, allowing you to avoid the ***** nal versus Chelsea fixture and consider players from Brighton, Newcastle, and Brentford.
If you are not using a Wildcard or Free Hit, choosing Haaland as your Triple Captain looks a strong option, which I am likely to run with.

#wildcard #using #chip #players

As the 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League season heads into Gameweek 3, locking in the right armband choice can propel your team up the ranks.
With Manchester City boasting an ideal fixture against a struggling Coventry City side and Liverpool eager to unleash their attack on Ipswich Town, managers are spoiled for choice.
Here is a breakdown of the best captain picks for game week 3 to help you make the ultimate decision.
Matchup: Coventry City (H)
Form & Stats: 2 goals in Gameweek 2

#ipswich

A deserved opener from Kevin Schade (£6.0m) was almost enough to secure all three points and continue Brentford's very promising start to the season.
The German cleverly flicked in Keane Lewis-Potter's (£5.5m) cross just before half-time but, despite having comfortably more attempts (22 v 12), penalty-area efforts (17 v 6) and shots on target (5 v 2) than Leeds United, Keith Andrews' side were denied the win by Dominic Calvert-Lewin's (£6.0m) equaliser.
Igor Thiago (£8.0m) almost restored the lead immediately, with two efforts in quick succession. The Brazilian has done everything but score so far, missing a spot-kick in Gameweek 1 and spurning five close-range shots on Sunday.
However, his 1.6 million FPL owners may want to resist an early sale. The underlying numbers are encouraging and he netted twice in last season's home victory over Sunderland, who are about to visit Gtech Community Stadium.
Kristoffer Ajer (£4.5m) accumulated 17 defensive contribution (DefCon) actions, meaning the Norwegian is one of only four defenders to have reached the threshold in both Gameweeks.

#shots #kevin #leeds

Gary Neville couldn't speak highly enough of Bruno Fernandes following the midfielder's five-star display against Ipswich Town.
The Manchester United skipper notched a hat-trick to help cement a much-needed 5-2 victory over Ipswich in gameweek two.
(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Fernandes' efforts were paramount to United bouncing back from their dismal opening-day defeat to Hull City, and the Reds now have their first win on the board in 2026/2027.
Reacting at full-time on Sky Sports, Neville said: "He (Fernandes) is exceptional. He's the best United signing in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era by an absolute mile.

#neville #mullan

Special thanks to Tristan Holmes, Addicted to Quack's Oregon football film reviewer, and Thomas Cicansky, my partner in this year's Big Ten preview series, for joining me on this week's podcast to discuss the Ducks' roster:
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Oregon's offensive coordinator for the last three seasons, Will Stein, departed to take the head coaching job at Kentucky, he's replaced by OC Mehringer who's been the TE coach since Coach Lanning took over the program in 2022. Mehringer's only direct playcalling experience was a decade ago at Rutgers when he was of the youngest in college football history to do so, I didn't find much value on investigating it. Since then my reading of Mehringer's roles at Texas, FAU, and New Mexico has been as a strategist and gameplanner; there's quite a bit of oblique praise from head coaches and OCs in the literature over this time for his role in gameweek preparations, but no evidence about his down-to-down playcalling preferences.
It's also difficult to disentangle some of the idiosyncracies ATQ film reviewers have noted in Stein's playcalling over the last three years — positive notes on counter-programming defensive substitution rules, negative ones on forgoing "money down" opportunities for deep shots and an ***** ytically unsupportable habit for perimeter screens — from Mehriner's potential influence, since their time at Oregon overlaps. It's possible that some, none, or all of those qualities were unique to Stein and he takes them with him to Lexington. ATQ devoted considerable effort this offseason determining if any statistically valid ***** ysis could be performed to quantify Mehringer's effects on play sequencing or outcomes at Oregon or previous stops, and we concluded that nothing we could publish would meet our standards – there are just too many variables involved. We're just going to have to wait and see how Mehringer calls the game.
Otherwise, my expectation is continuity for the Ducks offense, and if anything a return to historical trends after a one-off dip in certain metrics from charting caused by an offensive line quirk in 2025 which it looks like the squad has firmly put behind them in 2026 and beyond. The coaching staff under Lanning all returns, as does starter #5 QB Dante Moore, five of the top eight skill producers on offense in addition to a key 2024 receiver coming back from injury, and the top talent pipeline in the conference:

#down #ducks #mehringer

Fantasy Premier League managers have just hours left to finalise their teams for Gameweek 2, with the deadline approaching on Friday evening.
After the opening weekend, managers have more information to work with when ***** sing their squads. Manchester United, ***** nal and Liverpool are among the teams facing favourable fixtures this weekend and will be hoping to keep their opponents out.
Clean-sheet odds offer another useful way to identify the teams most likely to keep a clean sheet. Here are the best defences to target in Gameweek 2.
Manchester United – 48% vs Ipswich (H)
Coventry City – 40% vs Hull City (H)

#teams

Birmingham City are trying to hijack Young Boys' attempts to sign FC Nantes winger Herba Guirassy (19), according to a report from Sacha Tavolieri.
Guirassy accrued Ligue 1 experience at Nantes last season. He played 20 times in Ligue 1, scoring twice, however, it was a disastrous season for Les Canaris, who were relegated to Ligue 2. The FCN academy product has featured prominently in the opening gameweeks of this season, too. In three games in Ligue 2, he has one goal.
However, Nantes have lost all three of their games, sit rock bottom of the league, and have now just sacked their manager, Michal Der Zakarian. Grégory Poirier has come in but Guirassy may not have the chance to play under the former Red Star coach. Interest in acquiring Guirassy is growing. Swiss side Young Boys had already been in talks to sign the France U21 international, however, Birmingham City are trying to hijack the deal and have submitted a bid of their own. Talks are ongoing.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle

#season #birmingham #city

José Mourinho's first home game in his second spell in charge of Real Madrid got off to a positive start as they defeated Real Sociedad by at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Coming off the back of a last-minute victory against Espanyol in gameweek one, Real Madrid started brightly but took until the 40th minute to open the scoring through Kylian Mbappé. Real Sociedad quickly responded and equalised before the break as the sides went into half time level.
Mbappé scored his second on the hour mark before Vinícius Júnior tapped home from close range after good work from Jude Bellingham. Mbappé completed his hattrick ten minutes before the end, as Real Madrid strolled to a convincing victory to go top of La Liga.
Madrid started well and had a couple of early sightings of goal, the closest coming after Vinícius Júnior slipped Kylian Mbappé in behind, but he took on the shot from a difficult angle and it was a comfortable save for Álex Remiro.
The best of the opening ten minutes fell to the visitors and to Mikel Oyarzabal, who found himself free in the box, but his low effort was too close to Thibaut Courtois and the Belgian shot-stopper was able to keep it out.

#mbapp #coming

The 2026/27 English Premier League season kicked off with dramatic storylines, stunning upsets, and explosive individual displays.
From ***** le favorites making clear statements to newly promoted sides shocking heavyweight clubs, opening weekend provided plenty to dissect.
In our Premier League Gameweek 1 Review, we ***** yze the biggest talking points and takeaways from GW1 to make sense of all the action.
In the opening match of the season, ***** nal began their ***** le defense with a comfortable 3-0 victory over newly promoted Coventry City at Emirates Stadium.
Kai Havertz opened the scoring in the 15th minute, reaffirming his role as Mikel Arteta's preferred center-forward.

#newly #english #review

They'll spot a football for a counting game in Columbia in less than 10 days.Missouri football wrapped up its fall camp work this past weekend, and the Tigers are now moving on to gameweek preparations ahead of their season-opening matchup against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Thursday, Sept. 3, on Faurot Field.
The Tigers' two-deep is more or less set at this point. The last remaining handful of position competitions have been ironed out, and we have a good idea of which players will play the most snaps in 2026.
We're almost done with the offseason. At the time of this publishing, nine days remain until Mizzou's players — some of whom have forced their way into the rotation with strong fall camps — return to action.
Here are seven Mizzou players whose stock has gone up in the past handful of weeks:
Mizzou has a lot of strong options at its two linebacker positions this year.

#mizzou #strong

Atlético Madrid head coach Diego Simeone has provided an update on the status of star attacker Julián Alvarez for the club's next outing. This of course comes amid the ongoing speculation surrounding the name of the Argentine.
Atlético are primed to kick their 2026/27 campaign back into gear on Sunday evening, in a high-profile Gameweek 2 meeting with Villarreal. The Rojiblancos head into the matchup hopeful of making it two wins from two to open the new season in Spain's top-flight.
In the days leading up to the clash, much of the chatter in Spain's capital has continued to center on the situation of the aforementioned Julián Alvarez, who sat out his side's season opener against Málaga.
Alvarez has again been hotly tipped for a Metropolitano exit this week, amid a fresh round of links with Premier League champions ***** nal.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Saturday, the subject of his fellow countryman's status to face Villarreal in 24 hours' time was therefore put to the aforementioned Diego Simeone.

#simeone #juli #head

After an edgy win against Dundee in the opening gameweek, the reigning champions Celtic destroyed Kilmarnock in their own backyard by scripting an emphatic 5-1 victory. But a tricky test awaits them on Saturday evening, with Dundee United set to host Martin O'Neill's men in the second round of the Scottish League Cup.
The Tangerines dominated this fixture last season, defeating Celtic at Tannadice Park on both occasions. However, the Hoops secured a thumping 4-0 win in Glasgow earlier this year, and a dismal defeat against Hearts last weekend exposed their frailty in the defensive third. Heartbreak in the Cup final against St Mirren prevented them from achieving a domestic treble, and the Glasgow giants must stay cautious to avoid another upset on the road.
Celtic have so far relied on Viljami Sinisalo, who replaced injured Kasper Schmeichel and cemented the 'number 1' spot at the back end of the previous campaign. Ross Doohan has not been involved at all since his move from Aberdeen last summer, and the Scottish custodian would once again find himself as the understudy to the Finnish shot-stopper.
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – JANUARY 10: Benjamin Nygren of Celtic celebrates after he scores his team's third goal during the Premier League match between Celtic and Dundee United at Celtic Park on January 10, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
A fresh injury setback would keep Alistair Johnston sidelined, and the gaffer might opt for Colby Donovan ahead of Anthony Ralston on the right. The club have yet to bring in a new left-back to deputise for Kieran Tierney, and the Tartan Army international must retain his starting status in the defensive third. Liam Scales is available for selection after serving a two-game suspension. But the balance and stability offered by Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty should not be compromised to incorporate the Irishman.

#celtic #last #united

Arsenal will begin their ****** le defence against Coventry City after the Premier League released the fixture list for the 2026/27 season.
The new campaign will open with a clash of the champions as the Gunners welcome Frank Lampard’s Championship-winning side to the Emirates Stadium on Friday, 21st August.
The first big London derby of the year is set for gameweek three, when ****** nal entertain Chelsea on 5th September.
Mikel Arteta’s men travel to Anfield for a meeting with Liverpool at the end of October and host Manchester City a month later.
December looks like a tricky month for ****** nal; they face Brentford away, followed by a North London Derby at Spurs and home games against Bournemouth and Manchester United. On Boxing Day they return to the scene of their trophy lift as they head to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace, before hosting Fulham in their final game of the year.