Managers worldwide enjoyed a fruitful MW8; the average of 68pts made it the second-highest matchweek of the season, and the highest in Leg 2.
There are several key considerations ahead of MW9; most notably, the return of BWSL2 and future planning for the rest of Leg 2. This week we also take a look at GKs and automatic substitutions to help you score the most points possible.
BWSL2 is back!
After blanks in MW6 and MW8, BWSL2 returns in MW9. This will be the only time in Leg 2 that we have consecutive matchweeks with BWSL2 games; MW9 and MW10 both see the second tier return to league action, before another blank in MW11 to finish the Leg.
As a result, BWSL2 players suddenly become solid targets.
Newcastle are unbeaten and have been the main team to target so far this season, with Beth Lumsden (£7.5m, 52pts) and Martha Thomas (£5.0m, 48pts) being the top-scoring players in the league. The Toon face a winless Burnley side in MW9, so they'll inevitably be popular picks.
Two other sides are still unbeaten in BWSL2. Ipswich sit 2nd in the league and have a lot of great value options. Seven players are averaging over 4pts per match, all of whom are £5.0m or less. The star asset is forward Princess Ademiluyi (£4.5m), who is the Tractor Girls' top scorer on 34pts, despite only featuring in four of their six matches. The kicker is that they face a Bristol City side that is unbeaten in their last four in the BWSL2.
The third unbeaten side is Nottingham Forest, who face Wolves this weekend. Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah (£7.5m) has been their star player in fantasy, with 45pts so far, and Alana Murphy (£5.0m) isn't far behind on 39pts. Wolves themselves have a star in their ranks, Amber Hughes (£5.0m), whose 5 goals have helped her reach 45pts this season, more than double all but one of her Wolves teammates.
How to replace Lauren James
Lauren James is one of the league's most exciting and influential players, so it will be a huge blow to Chelsea to see her come off in the first half of Sunday's game with a suspected hamstring injury. After the game, Sonia Bompastor was unsure of the extent of the injury.
The Lioness has also been one of the top performers in fantasy this season, averaging 10.75pts per match before facing Charlton. An unknown length of injury poses a stick-or-twist dilemma for the 24% of managers who currently have James in their teams. Luckily for them, there are some excellent alternatives at the same price (£7.5m) or lower.
One good option is Beth Lumsden (£7.5m), who we already spoke about in the BWSL2 section. She's averaging 8.67pts per match, and Newcastle are the favourites at home to Burnley on Sunday.
Océane Hurtré has been an obvious pick this season. At just £6.0m, she is the third-highest points scorer in the game. She has a tricky fixture of LCL (A) on Sunday, although after scoring 6pts against Spurs in MW8 and 7pts away at Arsenal in MW6, the French winger has shown she can generate points against anyone.
Spurs have three potential James replacements in their team. Victoria Pelova (£6.5m, 70pts), Signe Gaupset (£6.0m, 54pts) and Olivia Holdt (£7.5m, 48pts) have all been reliable point scorers this season. They have Brighton (H) in MW9 and Everton (H) in MW10, two fixtures where the aforementioned trio will be looking to add to their point tallies.
How do GKs score points?
From clean sheets, right? Well, sometimes.
Across the two leagues, only three GKs have kept more than two clean sheets so far: Hannah Hampton (5), Anna Tamminen (4) and Courtney Brosnan (3). It will be no surprise for you to hear that these are three of the eight GKs who have scored over 30pts in fantasy this season, and that each of the three has scored more points from clean sheets than they have from saves.
However, of the other five GKs to score over 30pts, each of them has more points from saves than from clean sheets. In fact, the second-highest points-scoring keeper in the game, Aston Villa's Akane Okuma (43), is yet to keep a clean sheet this season. Her points breakdown is as follows:
Minutes played (720) 16pts
Saves (48) 14pts
Bonus Points (98) 8pts
Defensive Actions (100) 7pts
Assists (1) 3pts
Goals Conceded (15) -5pts
Okuma is the prime example of how you don't have to rely on clean sheets to score substantial points. Sometimes, you're better off going for a GK that will be kept busy by the opposition.
Automatic or Manual?
With both leagues back in action for the next two matchweeks, all fifteen of your selected players have the potential to score points. This, of course, means we're all running the risk of accidentally leaving points on our bench. That's where mid-matchweek substitutions can come in clutch. However, making substitutions (or changing your captain) during the matchweek means you forgo the privilege of automatic substitutions if one of the players in your XI does not play.
Harriet demonstrated on last week's episode of The Huddle how this caused her to lose out on points in MW7. She certainly learned from her mistakes, though, bouncing back with 105pts in MW8 and leaving just five points on her bench.
