Gameweek 5 was mostly a mixed bag in terms of FPL returns and possibly a sign of things to come in terms of rotation. Five of the best-performing players last weekend were defenders, with Villa’s Matty Cash and Chelsea’s Thiago Silva joining Watford winger Ismaila Sarr’s 15-point haul of the week. Antonio Rüdiger also joined the podium with 14 FPL points, courtesy of a clean sheet and a goal against Spurs. The most-captained player of the round, Mo Salah, lived up to expectations by scoring a goal and giving an assist during Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Palace for a nice 12 FPL points.
Contrary to GW5, gameweek 6 does not offer as clear-cut fixtures for fantasy managers to target. The stand-out fixture is Chelsea versus Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, but not a lot of managers will be looking at that one for big hauls. From a fantasy point of view, Man United’s home game against Aston Villa, Everton’s home game against Norwich and Leicester’s home game versus Burnley, for example, look more appealing. The game at Elland Road between Leeds and West Ham and the clash between Watford and Newcastle at Vicarage Road could also end up being good sources for attacking returns.
Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 6 is set at 11h00 (UK time) on Saturday, September 25th.
Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per September 23rd, 2021)
| TRANSFERS OUT | TRANSFERS IN | POSSIBLE REASONS | |
| GK | Pickford (EVE), Mendy (CHE), Schmeichel (LEI) | Alisson (LIV), De Gea (MUN), Schmeichel (LEI) | |
| DEF | Alexander-Arnold (LIV), Shaw (MUN), Laporte (MCI) | Alonso (CHE), Rüdiger (CHE), Duffy (BRI) | Chelsea upcoming fixtures, TAA and Laporte injuries |
| MID | Torres (MCI), Fernandes (MUN), Mount (CHE) | Sarr (WAT), Benrahma (WHU), Gray (EVE) | Focus on budget-priced midfielders to free up funds |
| FOR | Richarlison (EVE), Ings (AST), Bamford (LEE) | Antonio (WHU), Ronaldo (MUN), Saint-Maximin (NEW) | Richarlison and Bamford injuries, Ronaldo form, ASM form |
Premium pick
A first mention in our weekly FPL gameweek previews for Jamie Vardy (£10.4m) as Leicester prepare to host Burnley on Saturday afternoon. With a current ownership of just 11.5%, Vardy is going slightly under the radar so far this season, despite having recorded 29 FPL points already, courtesy of 3 goals and 1 assist. In terms of fantasy forwards, only Antonio boasts better numbers so far. Burnley are having a tough start to the season with just a single point from their first five games and it’s worth noting that they have not yet managed to keep a clean sheet. Leicester, on the other hand, have not yet hit full stride either and are coming off consecutive defeats against Manchester City and Brighton, but we’re betting on them getting back to winning ways against the Clarets this weekend. If there’s one man to bring back to good feelings for them, it’s Vardy.
Non-premium pick
After a good showing away at Carrow Road, a home game against Newcastle this weekend might just be the perfect path for Ismaila Sarr (£6.1m) to build some consistent form. The Senegalese winger, who is listed as a midfielder in FPL, started off the season in style with a goal against Villa in gameweek 1, but then failed to follow up with more returns in the following weeks. That is, until last weekend, when an obliging Norwich defence allowed him to score his second and third goal of the season for an amazing 15 FPL points. Up next are a winless Newcastle side that has already conceded 13 goals this season, just one less than the league’s leakiest defence, Norwich. Sarr is central to Watford’s attacking moves and carries penalty duties as well, while also being a very direct player himself. Out of all players in the Premier League, only Salah has posted more shots and shots on goal than him. We don’t see any reason why he should not return again this weekend against the Magpies.
The budget enabler
Tino Livramento (£4.2m) is probably one of the best bargains of this young season. Starting off the 2021-22 campaign at £4.0, the Chelsea academy graduate quickly displaced Kyle Walker-Peters as Southampton’s starting right-back and he hasn’t looked back since. The Saints are going through a bit of a stingy patch of late, booking two 0-0 draws in succession against West Ham and Man City, which has been good news for the 10.7% of FPL managers who already own Livramento. Over the past two games, he has been good for 11 FPL points, which represents great value for money. Against Wolves at home this weekend, that trend could well be extended. Despite recording some of the best underlying stats in terms of attacking moves, the Wanderers have managed just two goals so far, one of which was an own goal by Francisco Sierralta in GW4. A third consecutive Saints clean sheet is therefore not out of the question, making Livramento an ideal budget enabler.
The differential
In the Liverpool attack, all eyes are on Mo Salah and to a lesser extent on Diogo Jota, thanks to the latter’s incredible potential FPL value, but what about Sadio Mané (£11.9m)? Having been criticized for missing a lot of chances of late, the Senegalese winger is actually ticking along quite nicely this season. In his first five games, he has already recorded 32 FPL points, thanks to 3 goals and 1 assist. As a matter of fact, he only blanked in gameweek 1 so far. The Reds are playing a surprisingly resilient Brentford side away from home this weekend and despite the Bees having already recorded three clean sheets in five games, we’re fancying a comfortable Liverpool victory here. It’s true that Mané is very expensive for a differential pick and the ever-present Salah costs just £0.7m more, but look at it this way: while Salah is owned by 57.4% of fantasy managers, Mané sits in just 2.8% of all teams. He could well be one of the biggest differential picks in the official game right now.
The captaincy
For the captaincy, we’re looking at Old Trafford once again this weekend. There is, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo who will be eager to make it three consecutive rounds of attacking returns since he came back to Manchester, this time against Aston Villa. We’re also mentioning Bruno Fernandes though, whose ownership has suffered since Ronaldo’s return, but who is still a very viable option for the armband. In two home games this season, the Portuguese playmaker has scored 4 goals and 28 FPL points.
Fun could be had in the Leeds versus West Ham game as well, where the likes of Raphinha, Bamford (if fit) and Antonio could be part of a goal-scoring bonanza between two free-flowing attacking sides. Jamie Vardy against Burnley at home looks like another good shout, while Salah, this time away against Brentford, is never a bad pick for the armband. Riskier but nonetheless very interesting captaincy picks for gameweek 6 include Ismaila Sarr at home to Newcastle, Demarai Gray at against Norwich and Wilfried Zaha at home versus Brighton.
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