Matchweek 8 seems like ancient history, doesn't it? That's what happens when you have an international break.
Maybe it's just as well? The final game of that weekend -- Liverpool 0, Manchester City 0 -- didn't live up to the hype, that's for sure.
There were goals in all the other games, however. And two of the more interesting results were Brighton 1, West Ham 0 on Friday, and Watford 0, Bournemouth 4 on Saturday.
Bournemouth
Let's start with Bournemouth, who have been arguably the biggest surprise of the season thus far. The Cherries have won five and drawn one of their first eight games, and currently sit sixth in the table on 16 points -- three points ahead Manchester United.
Bournemouth have scored 16 goals -- only Manchester City (21), Arsenal (19) and Chelsea (18) have scored more. So, naturally, they have players worth considering for your fantasy team.
Josh King scored two of the four goals against Watford, and was the top scorer in the league in Matchweek 8 with 32.8 fantasy points. Callum Wilson had a goal and an assist, and was sixth for the week with 22.7 points.
Ryan Fraser had just an assist against Watford, but he has been Bournemouth's best player fantasy-wise so far this season. He's currently ninth among all outfield players with 109.9 points. Fraser has three goals, three assists, and is fourth in the league with 21 chances created.
So, start stacking your fantasy lineup with Bournemouth players every week, right?
Not so fast.
First, it's worth noting that Watford had a player sent off in the 32nd minute of that game. Three of Bournemouth's four goals came after the sending off.
Second, Bournemouth have faced an easy schedule through the first eight weeks of the season. They've only played one game against a "big six" club, losing 2-0 at Chelsea in Matchweek 4.
Their next two fixtures aren't bad, either -- a home game against Southampton, followed by a trip to Fulham. But then six of Bournemouth's next 10 games are against Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham.
Bournemouth's success isn't a fluke. In fact, they're second in the league in expected goals at 17.45 -- only Manchester City have a higher total (23.62). But Bournemouth have been a little lucky. They've already been awarded five penalty kicks, a league high, and converted four of them. They only had three penalty kicks through all of last season.
King and Wilson are both currently Tier 2 forwards, and if you wanted a Bournemouth player in this spot, it's difficult to choose between them. King is 32nd among outfield players with 86 fantasy points, and Wilson is 35th with 85.1 points.
I'd lean towards King, given that it appears he is on penalties right now. He also has a better track record, having scored 16 goals two seasons ago, before a dip to eight last year.
Fraser remains one of the top options at Tier 3 midfielder, if he's healthy. But he was unable to play for Scotland during the international break due to injury, and his status for Matchweek 9 remains to be seen.
Brighton
Now let's turn to Brighton, who many expected to struggle against a West Ham team coming off a 3-1 win over Manchester United, which was preceded by an impressive scoreless draw against Chelsea and before that a 3-1 win over Everton.
Instead, Brighton picked up their second win of the campaign. They also have two draws, and are currently 13th in the table, on eight points.
The bigger reason why fantasy players are buzzing about Brighton right now, however, is their schedule. Four of their first eight games were against Manchester United (who they beat), Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City. Now, Brighton won't face another "big six" club until Dec. 16, when they'll host Chelsea.
That means eight straight fixtures against more comparable opposition, including a game at winless Newcastle this coming weekend, and dates with two more currently winless teams -- Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town -- in the near future as well.
Glenn Murray already has five goals this season, putting him level with Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane and Aleksandar Mitrovic, and behind only Eden Hazard, who has seven. So, surely he's a great option at Tier 2 forward, right?
Not so fast.
Despite those five goals, Murray is only 98th among outfield players in fantasy points ... 98th! To put that in perspective, Aguero is second, Kane is seventh, and Mitrovic is 10th. Even King and Wilson are way ahead of Murray, despite only having four and three goals, respectively.
Why is Murrary ranked so low? Because he's done so little, besides scoring those five goals. He only has 61.7 fantasy points, and 50 of them came via the goals.
Murray's only taken 13 shots in eight games. He's only completed 92 passes, less than 12 per game. And he only has four chances created.
Will Murray score a couple more goals during this favorable stretch? Probably. But in my mind he's still a pretty big risk in your fantasy team. Because unless Murray scores a goal, he'll probably end up with a very low points total, which could set you behind in your matchup.
The Brighton player I'm more interested in is midfielder Pascal Gross. He's missed the past four games due to an ankle injury, but could be back as soon as this weekend.
Gross was Brighton's top playmaker last season, finishing with seven goals and eight assists. He also had 82 chances created -- only five players had more, and they all played for "big six" clubs. Gross finished 25th overall among outfield players with 366.1 fantasy points, averaging nearly 10 per game.
He also started this season as Brighton's penalty taker, but missed one in his last game against Fulham, and we'll have to see if he's back on penalties when he returns.
Either way, if Gross is healthy and available as a Tier 3 midfielder, I'll be strongly considering him over the next couple of months. He's much more dependable than Murray, fantasy-wise.