Coventry take the points; Sunderland’s defending is the story
Saturday’s early relegation six pointers put the three newly promoted clubs and bottom placed Sunderland under pressure. Coventry beat Sunderland 3–1, while Hull and Ipswich finished 2–2. The scorelines tell only part of the story: Coventry had less possession of the best chances, but Sunderland’s mistakes proved costly. FPL Gameweek 9: Saturday’s goals, assists, bonus + DefCon pointsSunderland’s errors give Chelsea a more inviting fixture
Coventry’s scorers were Tatsuhiro Sakamoto (£4.8m), Taiwo Awoniyi (£5.4m) and Jack Rudoni (£4.9m). Enzo Le Fée (£5.7m) converted a late penalty for Sunderland.
O’Nien’s FPL return comes with a warning
Sunderland’s penalty came when Ethan Pinnock (£4.5m) handled a shot from O’Nien. Le Fée struck the spot kick firmly for his second goal of the season; both have come from penalties. O’Nien added an assist to the clean sheet he earned last Gameweek, and his three shots were more than any teammate managed. That’s a useful return at a price no cheaper than any other FPL defender can match. Still, one assist doesn’t erase the bigger concerns: Sunderland were badly exposed here, their upcoming fixtures are difficult, and Mukiele’s return could threaten O’Nien’s place. Le Bris was blunt about the performance:“Bad result. Ups and downs, I think is the summary of this game and the season so far. We can play good football, and create some good chances, but we also made many unforced errors.
At this level, especially in the Premier League the opponent can seize ever single opportunity, and [Coventry] did that. It’s not a question of luck, it’s a question of us. We are too inconsistent at the minute to be efficient in this league.
“We gave two opportunities from two unforced errors. But this inconsistency is not acceptable at all. Consistency is the key word in this league. If you keep making individual mistakes, the opponent will kill you.
“Yeah, it is [frustrating], because it’s not the first time. So, it’s hard to handle, hard to address because it’s always different. Sometimes it’s this player, then it’s that player. First minute, last minute … we are not at the level at this minute.”
– Regis Le Bris
Rudoni keeps making a case at £4.9m
Rudoni’s deflected strike was fortunate, but the willingness to shoot is part of the appeal. He has scored three times in four Gameweeks and remains involved at set pieces. No midfielder has made more successful crosses from free kicks than his five this season; only four midfielders have recorded more than his five big chances.RUDONI SHOT MAP 2026-27
Thomas absent, with no injury update
Lampard made four changes and still got the win. Bobby Thomas (£4.0m) missed out with a calf injury, so Stephen Mfuni (£4.0m) started at centre back. Captain Matt Grimes (£4.8m) was benched for the first time in his Coventry career, with Viktor Torp (£5.3m) taking his place. Yann Gboho (£5.5m) replaced Brandon Thomas-Asante (£5.0m), while Awoniyi came in for Sidiki Cherif (£5.0m). Lampard praised the players who came into the side, with particular attention to Mfuni’s performance:There was no meaningful update on Thomas after the match. Mfuni’s display gives Lampard a selection decision at centre back and leaves FPL managers waiting for clarity on Thomas’s calf problem.“Victor Torp has come in at a level which is an absolute example. He has his qualities anyway, I know that, and he has come in and continued how he is working day to day.
“Yann Gboho has come in on the left for us, and again, he needs to adapt to the league but he has shown some qualities that I really like.
“Stephen Mfuni playing at centre-back as well. We have some issues at centre back with big players for us missing, so it was great to see the players come together to get a result.”
“There are some players who I think are at a certain level and there are some players who are at another level. My opinion is he is a young lad, I don’t want to give him too much credit because it might maybe go to his head but he’s a lovely confident lad, who has settled in brilliantly. He’s also humble. He has a really nice way with him but that’s not even talking about his talent. He played today and brought confidence to the team. Those players always give off a good energy.
“If you look at someone like Steph, who’s said, I’m 18, I’m here, playing the way I’m playing, and that’s just how he is day to day. I’m delighted with him, he’s going to go a long way in the game.”
– Frank Lampard on his four changes
Four goals, and little to separate Hull and Ipswich
Hull and Ipswich began level on 10 points and ended the afternoon the same way, sharing an entertaining 2–2 draw.
Ipswich had enough chances to put the game away. Early in the second half, the excellent Enciso set up Emersonn (£5.5m), who pulled his shot wide. Then Ipswich’s defence parted, giving Iroegbunam room to run onto McBurnie’s through-ball and score.
Hull had taken the lead with McBurnie’s low free-kick, but the point felt like the fairer outcome: a third win of the campaign would have been a generous reward for the home side. Enciso’s strike into the top corner rescued Ipswich. Here’s the bigger point: Gary O’Neil’s side created and controlled enough to win, but defensive mistakes nearly erased all of that work.
“We were the better side, we should have punished them more in the first half. We gifted them two goals, then we responded unbelievably well.
“The goals [we conceded] were the only real disappointing part, a lot of errors for goals which has cost us but in terms of coming away from home, dominating the game, defending, attacking, I thought the lads were very good today.
“We knew they [Hull] would change [at half-time] and they were better than in the first half but they still were not better than us, we were the better team. It’s a point on the road and I’ve watched a lot of Hull’s games and not a lot of teams were as good with the ball as we were.
“I’m really pleased with where my team is at after that today. We were the better team away from home and that takes some doing. It’s tough to be in control and find yourselves 2-1 down with the place bouncing. Our lads have some character and we just need to keep it up. Hull are a very good side and I’m really pleased with how we did against them.”
– Gary O’Neil
Enciso makes the difference
Enciso was the standout player by a clear margin. He created seven chances, at least three more than anyone else in Gameweek 9, and his two Opta-ranked big chances matched the best total in the round.
Most chances created in Gameweek 9
He was just as involved in front of goal: only one player managed more than his five shots. Enciso had a goal ruled out, then beat Konstantinos Tsolakis (£4.7m) with a thunderous effort from 20 yards that gave the goalkeeper no chance.
Most shots in Gameweek 9
Two consecutive Gameweeks with a goal make Enciso worth considering as a differential. Ipswich have shown they can score against any opposition, which gives his attacking output a useful floor. The risk, of course, is that his freedom comes with the occasional loose decision.
“Great goal. You can see he has that flair and that quality, which is why you have to let him do things.
“We give him real structure, he understands his role out of possession and he’s excellent at it. With the ball, he might lose it a couple of times and he might make the wrong decision. He might turn down a pass. But there’s no way I’m going to coach Julio Enciso to play safe passes all the time.
“I want him to be what he is. We’ll try and help him with his decision-making, because you can’t always beat three players and put it in the top corner with your wrong foot! But he can do that. So you have to embrace that. You have to embrace the flair. That’s why we brought him in. There are not many number 10s that have his ability and who also do the defensive work the way he does.
“There are bits of his game that he knows he still needs to improve, but I’m pleased with him.” – Gary O’Neil on Julio Enciso
There’s another budget-friendly Ipswich option to track: Ouattara has scored or assisted in three of his last four matches.
Egan’s midfield move steadies Hull
Hull were being overrun in midfield, so manager Sergej Jakirovic moved John Egan (£4.1m) forward after 30 minutes. The change eased the pressure; a half-time system switch then made Hull more aggressive.
“They overloaded us in the midfield in the first half and that was the biggest problem. After 30 minutes we did it with [John] Egan into midfield and we showed a bit more. At half-time, we changed the system and started to be much more aggressive and on the front foot as a group.” – Sergej Jakirovic
McBurnie adds free-kicks to his appeal
McBurnie has become a useful source of end product for Hull, with two goals and three assists this season. He’s now taking direct free-kicks as well as penalties, a detail that improves his appeal. Four bookings, though, are already on his record.
Hull’s defence is a less convincing investment than it looked three months ago. The Tigers opened the season with two wins and three straight clean sheets, but that early resolve has faded.
There are still individual reasons to consider their defenders. Semi Ajayi (£4.2m) has earned DefCon points in back-to-back matches, while Nobel Mendy (£4.1m) has reached the DefCon threshold in four of his six starts. Staying fit is the question for Mendy. Egan leads Hull with 10 DefCon points so far, although he managed only six on Saturday—possibly because his move into midfield took him away from the defensive actions that usually bring those returns.
