FPL best midfielder picks: Budget, differential and premium tips for Gameweek 9

Can you pick the right midfield options for FPL success? We’ve crunched the numbers to identify the best picks ahead of Gameweek 9. 

Among the higher point-scorers in FPL are the players who pull the strings from the middle of the park, whether they excel in making or scoring goals.

Our FPL rating system — Squawka Score — has been engineered to identify the best attacking midfielders in the Premier League, judging a player’s output per 90 minutes for a group of specifically selected stats.

What is the Squawka Score? You can learn more about how we devised our fantasy football ranking system here. 

If you think you can beat our FPL boffins, you can join the Squawka Challenge League here.

Best FPL midfielders
Top midfielder pick for Gameweek 9
Best cheap midfielders for Gameweek 9
Best midfielders with easy fixtures

Man City and Arsenal dominate top midfielders list

Here are the top 10 Premier League midfielders based on their FPL Squawka Score from the 2023 calendar year.

Which Liverpool winger is the key play?

Every week, we will bring you a Differential Duel to highlight a player who both ranks well according to our Squawka Score system and isn’t being picked by the vast majority of FPL managers.

We will then crunch the numbers and pit the chosen differential against a comparable asset who is proving popular — it is then on you to choose your fighter.

This week, we’ll be comparing Brighton teammates, Mo Salah (35.2%) and Luis Diaz (9.5%).

Liverpool have been in great form this season, and we think that there could be a great saving by switching from Salah to Diaz.

Whilst Salah is ahead on the key metrics, Diaz is not far behind and, with Liverpool having several key Premier League and Champions League matches, a move to Diaz could yield good dividends as fixtures pile up.

The added benefit of a move from Salah to Diaz is an extra 5.0m in funds!

Here’s how their 2023/24 stats compare on our Comparison Matrix. 

Plenty of cheap options to mull over

We all want to load up on premium picks, but your £100million budget must always be in the back of your mind.

This is where bargains come in handy to balance out your squad. Using our Squawka super computer, we have picked out some budget midfielders for consideration who fare best according to the key fantasy football metrics.

The best 5.0 picks for 23/24 FPL

1. Anthony Elanga, Nottingham Forest (64%)
2. David Brooks, Bournemouth (64%)
3. Pablo Sarabia, Wolves (64%)

The best 5.5 picks for 23/24 FPL

1. Fabio Vieira, Arsenal (63%)
2. Manor Solomon, Spurs (63%)
3. Leon Bailey, Aston Villa (61%)

The best 6.0 picks for 23/24 FPL

1. Anthony Gordon, Newcastle (80%)
2. Pedro Neto, Wolves (58%)
3. Morgan Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest (48%)

 Best midfielders with easy fixtures

Is your midfield almost set and ready to go? Hold fire for a moment — we have only more factor for you to consider before submitting your team.

Below, using our Squawka Score system and the FPL’s official Fixture Difficulty Rating (FDR), we have the identified the top selections from each of the Premier League clubs deemed to have an ‘easy’ fixture in Gameweek 9.

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