Chelsea striker Joao Pedro is likely to be sidelined until after the international break with a thigh injury.
Scoring 20 goals and registering nine assists in all competitions, Pedro enjoyed a remarkable debut campaign for Chelsea after signing from Brighton in a deal worth a reported £60m.
He showed no signs of slowing down in the early stages of the 2026/27 term, finding the net on five occasions and notching three assists in his opening six Premier League appearances, but he was absent in his side's 2-0 defeat to Tottenham and is now set for a short spell on the sidelines.
His productivity in the final third has seen him become the second most popular asset in FPL behind Erling Haaland, but owners are likely to look elsewhere in the short term after Xabi Alonso confirmed that the Brazilian will miss the next "few weeks".
We've taken a look at three potential FPL replacements for the Chelsea striker ahead of the gameweek 9 deadline.
Potential FPL replacements for Joao Pedro
Nicolas Jackson - £6.7m (AST)
There were questions asked when Aston Villa made Nicolas Jackson their marquee signing in a deal worth a reported £65m, but he's so far proved solid value for money in a heavily inflated market.
He had to wait until gameweek 5 to score his first Premier League goal for the club -- netting in a 3-2 win against Tottenham -- but he's had no problems finding the net since, scoring against Brentford and bagging braces in wins over Fenerbahce in the UEFA Champions League and Manchester City in the top-flight.
Villa have endured a difficult start to the term from a fixture perspective -- having faced all of the current top three already -- but they've got a favourable run on the horizon and Jackson, who has been at the heart of Unai Emery's free-flowing attack, looks like a safe bet to replace Pedro.
Evanilson - £6.2m (BOU)
Evanilson featured as one of our gameweek 8 differential selections -- then owned by just 4.9% of managers and priced at £6.1m -- and he's now owned by 7.5% managers and priced at £6.2m after scoring in Bournemouth's 3-0 victory over Manchester United.
Only Erling Haaland (nine) and Pedro (eight) have recorded more goal contributions than Evanilson's seven this season. Not only prolific in front of goal, having scored in all of his last three matches, he's a sublime creator too, recording four assists so far this campaign.
The Cherries enjoy a reasonable fixture run up until gameweek 15 -- where they face reigning champions Arsenal -- and their Brazilian number nine is amongst the shrewdest FPL forward options.
Alexander Isak - £9.0m (LIV)
If you have £1.3m in the bank, have two or more transfers to free up funds, or are planning on activating the Wildcard chip ahead of the gameweek 9 deadline, look no further than Alexander Isak.
After an injury-plagued debut season for Liverpool, the Swedish centre forward is starting to demonstrate why the Reds spent a Premier League record £125m to secure his signature.
He's found the net on six occasions in seven Premier League games this term -- accounting for over 50% of Liverpool's goals -- and is swiftly forming a strong relationship with Bradley Barcola, who joined the Merseyside outfit for a reported £123m fee in the summer.
