Fantasy Premier League: Isak leading the way, Van Dijk contributions and Araujo's points rate

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Read the guide to Gameweek 9 below…

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Reds in focus

Liverpool head into Gameweek 9 full of confidence after a 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion last time out in the league was followed by a Carabao Cup victory against Chelsea on penalties.

Alexander Isak (£9.1m) continued his scoring run and has now netted in each of his last three league starts.

Isak is the Reds’ top FPL points scorer this season with 51 points registered so far, despite missing Gameweek 6 through injury.

The forward’s nine-point return against Brighton was level with captain Virgil van Dijk (£6.4m) and only bettered by Ronald Araujo (£5.4m), who scored 10 points.

In fact, the clean sheet versus the Seagulls ensured excellent returns for all Liverpool defenders. Jeremy Jacquet (£5.1m) registered eight points, while Alisson Becker (£5.5m) and Milos Kerkez (£5.3m) finished the match on six points each.

Araujo, Jacquet and Van Dijk all topped up the clean sheet with two defensive contribution points in Gameweek 8.

Defenders need to register 10 defensive actions (clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles won) in a single game to meet the threshold for defensive contribution points – Van Dijk completed 13 defensive actions and Araujo and Jacquet tallied 11 each.

Van Dijk has now registered 10 defensive contribution points this season. Only two defenders in the game have registered more.

Elsewhere, there were also attacking returns for Bradley Barcola (£8.1m) and Florian Wirtz (£7.2m) in Gameweek 8, with the former assisting Isak and the latter awarded the assist for Pascal Gross’ own goal.

Player spotlight: Araujo

Barcelona loanee Araujo is quickly becoming a fan favourite at Anfield.

As mentioned, he registered 11 defensive actions against Brighton – three tackles and eight clearances. He also won every ground and aerial duel he contested. This ensured he registered the two defensive contribution points for the second time this season.

Since making his first Premier League start in Gameweek 3, the Reds have kept four clean sheets.

Between Gameweek 3 and Gameweek 8, Araujo has averaged 5.3 points per start and is collecting an FPL point on average every 14.4 minutes.

Most transferred in

Aston Villa’s Nicolas Jackson (£6.8m) is the most-transferred-in player ahead of the Gameweek 9 deadline. The forward scored twice in Villa’s victory over Manchester City in Gameweek 8.

Bournemouth’s Marcus Tavernier (£6.4m) is also proving popular with FPL managers. More than 678,000 managers have transferred him in after his goal against Manchester United in Gameweek 8.

Gameweek 9 deadline

The Gameweek 9 deadline is on Saturday (October 31) at 11am GMT, ahead of the lunchtime fixture between Chelsea and Manchester United.