This article is part of our The Armband series.
Well, we knew there would be more goals than the previous gameweek, we just didn't know they'd come from Bournemouth.
As expected, Junior Stanislas led all players with two goals and two assists in a huge 6-1 win against Hull.
Maybe an even bigger surprise was Everton keeper Maarten Stekelenburg finishing with nine fantasy points more than any other goalie due to seven saves and two penalty stops. The two penalty saves weren't all that impressive, as they came against two of the worst players in the game, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero.
I mean… uh… nevermind.
But all was not lost over the weekend, as golden boy Theo Walcott came through again with a brace. That's now the fourth-straight league match in which he's scored or assisted. Teammate Alexis Sanchez somewhat disappointed, but at least he picked up an assist.
My personal captain selection of Diego Costa worked out, as the Spaniard tallied his sixth goal of the season. Good job, myself.
The final takeaway from last weekend is that Charlie Austin led all forwards with two goals. Maybe that's the last time I back Dusan Tadic when Southampton have a favorable match.
Gameweek 9 should have owners licking their chops with multiple favorable matchups from Arsenal-Middlesbrough to Liverpool-West Brom to West Ham-Sunderland. Yes, it's okay to back the Hammers this week. Sunderland look destined for relegation and are coming off yet another loss. As for West Ham, things are looking up now with four points from the last two matches.
Manuel Lanzini was the goal scorer last week, but Dimitri Payet and Michail Antonio are the easier options to back at this point.
Arsenal can't be beaten at the moment, and they're hosting a Middlesbrough side that couldn't get a point at home from Watford. But is it time to go with Walcott? Maybe… If you have him and Sanchez, I'm still going with the latter.
Coming off the brutal Liverpool-Man United match, the Reds should get back to scoring against West Brom. That said, don't go crazy on Liverpool players, as the Baggies have allowed just three goals in four road matches this season. To go along with that, they haven't lost in four straight. Either way, the Reds have an extremely favorable slate for the rest of 2016, so it'd be wise to grab some of their players. Will Daniel Sturridge break through one of these days?
For my weekly clean sheet watch, Leicester are hosting Crystal Palace. As a reminder, the Foxes have allowed one goal at home and 13 on the road. On the other end, Palace have scored once in their last two and couldn't find the back of the net at home against a struggling West Ham defense. Riyad Mahrez hasn't done much this season, but he did grab Leicester's only goal in Tuesday's Champions League win. He and Jamie Vardy could both be in contention for captaincy. For fun, Christian Fuchs and Robert Huth are two possibilities that no one else will consider. I'd give them a 75 percent shot of a clean sheet, and unlike Tottenham and Man City, Leicester didn't have to travel midweek for their European match.
Swansea are another side to keep in mind, home against Watford. Bob Bradley is ready to work his magic, but also Gylfi Sigurdsson looks back to form and this may be the first time all season he deserves consideration for the armband.
As for everyone's favorite forwards…
Romelu Lukaku travels to Burnley, who have only allowed three games at home this season. Sergio Aguero should get back on track, but City host Southampton, who had only dropped four points in their last seven matches prior to Thursday's Europa League match. In addition, City were in Barcelona on Wednesday. Diego Costa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic go head-to-head in Jose Mourinho's return to Stamford Bridge. I'll back Costa and that's all I'll say.
