Matchweek 9 in La Liga is going to be a strange one. El Clasico was supposed to take place this weekend, but it has been postponed due to political unrest in Catalonia.
That means league leaders Barcelona and second-place Real Madrid will not be in action this weekend. Therefore, most people's fantasy lineups are going to look rather different.
I know mine will, starting at Tier 1 forward. Without Barcelona's "MSG" trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann, plus Real Madrid's Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, there are only five players available. I'm going with Villarreal's Gerard Moreno, and he'll be my captain as well.
Moreno has six goals on the season, one behind the league leader, Loren Moron of Real Betis. He hasn't scored in the past two games, but Moreno is delivering fantasy points via other categories, too. He's fourth in the league in shots with 25, and tied for sixth in chances created with 21.
Also, Villarreal - currently in seventh place -- are the biggest favorites in the league this week, at home against 14th place Alaves.
The options are even slimmer at Tier 1 midfielder this week, with only four players available. But that includes the top two in terms of fantasy points per game, Valencia's Dani Parejo and Villarreal's Santi Cazorla.
Parejo scored a stunning free-kick goal against Atletico Madrid last week, while Cazorla surprisingly had his second-worst game of the season fantasy-wise at Espanyol. But I'm going with Cazorla this week.
Cazorla has four goals and three assists on the season - one fewer goal than Parejo, but two more assists. And Cazorla is tied for the league lead in chances created with 26, twice as many as Parejo.
Plus I like Villarreal's matchup this week much more than Valencia's. The latter will be playing at Osasuna, who went unbeaten in 21 home games last year on their way to winning the Segunda Division, and are unbeaten in four home games this season as well. Osasuna have conceded just eight goals in nine games overall - only Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao have conceded fewer (five apiece).
Below the surface
As mentioned above, Loren Moron is the current Pichichi leader, with seven goals already this season. And he is available at Tier 2 forward. But I won't be selecting him.
Moron has scored those seven goals on only 15 shots - 24 players in La Liga have taken more shots than him this season. He scored only six goals in 33 appearances (22 starts) last year. And Real Betis, currently in 18th place, are underdogs at Granada, the biggest surprise of the season thus far. After finishing as the runners-up in the Segunda last year, Granada are currently third in the top flight - two points behind Barcelona, one behind Real Madrid - and they've conceded only one goal in four home games thus far.
Alvaro Morata is the biggest name available in this tier, and he did score in Atletico Madrid's 1-0 Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday. But Morata didn't even start that game. He has only one goal in six La Liga appearances so far. And Atletico Madrid, despite being in fifth place, have scored only eight goals in nine league games, including three in their past six games. That stretch included three scoreless draws, and Atletico Madrid vs. Athletic Bilbao on Saturday -- a matchup of the two stingiest teams in the league defensively, as mentioned above -- has 0-0 written all over it.
Real Sociedad are currently in fourth place, ahead of Atletico Madrid on goal difference, and have been another very pleasant surprise so far this season. They're away this week, but at 17th place Celta Vigo, in what the bookmakers have made a pick 'em game.
Mikel Oyarzabal picked up his third assist of the season in Real Sociedad's 3-1 win over Real Betis last week. He also has four goals, is tied for fifth in the league in shots with 24, and is the team's primary penalty-taker. Oyarzabal will be my Tier 2 forward this week.
Teammate Martin Odegaard is the top Tier 2 midfielder in terms of fantasy points per game. But Odegaard has no goals and one assist in the past three games, and has only had three shots and three chances created in those three games combined.
I'm going to take a chance on Jose Campana this week. He's tied with Cazorla (and Real Madrid's Toni Kroos) for the league lead in chances created with 26. Campana only has one goal and one assist, but he had four goals and nine assists last season - only four players had more assists.
Levante, currently in 11th place, are favored at home over 19th place Espanyol, who have conceded 15 goals in nine games - only Real Betis have conceded more (19). Levante have scored only 10 goals, but they're fourth in the league in xG (expected goals) at 15.06, behind only Villarreal (18.99), Sevilla (16.58) and Real Madrid (16.39).
Other picks
Denis Suarez, Celta Vigo (Tier 3 midfielder): Suarez is tied for fourth in the league in chances created with 24, including 10 in the past two games. Real Sociedad aren't an easy matchup, but at least Celta Vigo are at home.
Marc Bartra, Real Betis (Tier 1 defender): Bartra is sixth in the league in clearances with 41, despite missing one game and coming off the bench in another. He's also averaging 49.7 passes completed per start. That's a pretty high floor, and a safer bet than hoping for an assist from Kieran Trippier, which seems pretty unlikely given Atletico Madrid's opponents and their recent form.
Jesus Navas, Sevilla (Tier 2 defender): Navas picked up his second assist of the season in Sevilla's 1-0 win over Levante last week, plus had four chances created. And he's actually the league leader in xA (expected assists) at 2.95. Sevilla -- currently in sixth, but level on points with Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid -- are favored at home over ninth-place Getafe.
Jan Oblak, Atletico Madrid (Goalkeeper): I've already mentioned Atletico Madrid's stellar defensive record, as usual. Oblak has six clean sheets in nine La Liga games, and two clean sheets in three Champions League games. And this week he'll be at home against an Athletic Bilbao side that have scored only eight goals in nine games.