As so many times already this season, it was the differentials once again who made the difference in gameweek 6. Of the eleven names in the official game’s Team of the Week, only three players boasted a current ownership of more than 4.4%, namely Jamie Vardy (12.7%), Joao Cancelo (12.3%) and Bukayo Saka (8.5%). The highest scorer of the week was Aston Villa’s Kortney Hause though, with 15 FPL points after scoring the only goal and keeping a clean sheet against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Other stand-outs were Wolves goalkeeper José Sá with 14 FPL points and the previously mentioned Saka with 13 points.
This week, from an FPL point of view, Chelsea’s home game against Southampton, Leeds’ home encounter with Watford and West Ham’s home game versus Brentford stand out. At the same time, the neutral viewer will be looking forward to the clash of the weekend at Anfield on Sunday afternoon as the locals host Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Add games like Man United against Everton to open the weekend, Leicester’s visit to Crystal Palace and Wolves hosting a struggling Newcastle side, and the PL looks set for another weekend jam-packed full of action and upsets.
Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 7 is set at 11h00 (UK time) on Saturday, October 2nd.
Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per September 29th, 2021)
| TRANSFERS OUT | TRANSFERS IN | POSSIBLE REASONS | |
| GK | Schmeichel (LEI), Sánchez (BRI), Lloris (TOT) | Ramsdale (ARS), Mendy (CHE), Foster (WAT) | |
| DEF | Shaw (MUN), Alexander-Arnold (LIV), James (CHE) | Alonso (CHE), Rüdiger (CHE), Cancelo (MCI) | Chelsea and Man City fixtures, injuries of the transferred-out players |
| MID | Torres (MCI), Fernandes (MUN), Greenwood (MUN) | Sarr (WAT), Benrahma (WHU), Saka (ARS) | Form of the transferred-in players, Man United fixture swing, Greenwood and Torres rotation risk |
| FOR | Bamford (LEE), Ronaldo (MUN), Ings (AST) | Antonio (WHU), Lukaku (CHE), Saint-Maximin (NEW) | Bamford injury, Lukaku fixtures, Antonio form |
Premium pick
Romelu Lukaku (£11.6m) returned to the Premier League in style back in gameweek 2 with a goal against Arsenal, which he then followed up with a brace against Aston Villa in GW4. That’s it for the moment as far as league returns are concerned, but two things should definitely be noted in this regard. One, that Lukaku has not missed a minute of Premier League action since GW2, and two, that he has so far faced Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs away, and Villa and Man City at home. Chelsea’s fixture take a shape turn from this weekend onwards, starting with a home game against Southampton on Saturday. The Saints have been surprisingly solid at the back of recent, conceding just a single goal in their last three outings, which included home games against Wolves and in-form West Ham, and an away game at the Etihad. Still, with the Cityzens and Liverpool facing off this weekend, the Blues will be looking to secure the three points at home against Southampton and we expect Lukaku to play a major role in that challenge despite Chelsea only managing 1 effort on goal in their last two matches including last night’s Champions League loss to Juventes.
Non-premium pick
When Michail Antonio (£8.0m) got his second yellow card late on in the game against Southampton in gameweek 4, voices here and there could be heard saying that the Jamaican international’s spectacular start to the 2021-22 Premier League campaign would surely be stifled. He had posted three consecutive double-digit hauls over the first three games of the season, followed by a -1 in GW4 and the inevitable blank in GW5. Last weekend, Antonio was back in the starting eleven for the Hammers and simply said, it doesn’t look like his impressive early-season form has been stifled one bit. The West Ham star gave his side the victory with a 90th-minute winner at Elland Road and the only reason for him not recording his fourth double-digit return in five starts is the yellow card he received earlier in that game. With 5 goals and 4 assists to his name so far, Antonio is the second-highest FPL points scorer after Mo Salah, so this weekend’s opponents Brentford are warned. The Bees are having a great start to life in the Prem and three clean sheets from the first six games is impressive, but last weekend’s 3-3 draw at Anfield showed that the new boys’ backline can be breached by the right attack. That attack could well be West Ham this week, led by Michail Antonio.
The budget enabler
With a goal and an assist in the 3-1 victory over Spurs at the Emirates, Bukayo Saka (£6.2m) has catapulted himself back into the FPL spotlight. That 13-point haul followed his first attacking return of the season just a few days earlier, when the England international provided the assist for the only and therefore winning goal at Turf Moor in GW5. What’s also interesting is that Saka seems to have fought himself back into Mikel Arteta’s starting eleven after a long and tiring Euro Cup summer. Over the last three games, he has missed just 4 minutes of playing time. We find that encouraging as Arsenal find themselves in the middle of a kind run of fixtures. In gameweeks 7 and 8, for example, they are playing Brighton away and Crystal Palace away. We know how hard it is to trust Arsenal when it comes to making FPL transfers, but if you’re looking for a budget-enabling midfielder, Saka is definitely one of the most interesting picks.
The differential
Goals are like ketchup. Sometimes, however much you try, they just won’t come out. Then you score once and suddenly they come out at all once. Signed, Ruud van Nistelrooy, as quoted by the Gonzalo Higuain. Van the Man said this to the Argentinian striker while both were at Real Madrid and the latter was going through an extended period without scoring. About 4.9% of FPL managers will hope that the Dutchman’s wisdom is also applicable to Raúl Jimenez (£7.5m) after the Mexican scored his first goal for Wolves in 336 days in gameweek 6 against Southampton. After boasting some of the league’s best attacking underlying stats over the past weeks, the Wolves talisman finally got his first return since suffering a horrific head injury versus Newcastle in October 2020. With Newcastle, who boast the league’s worst defensive record after Norwich, at Molineux up next, we can just see Van Nistelrooy’s words becoming truth for Jimenez this weekend.
The captaincy
For the GW7 captaincy this weekend, we’re going with Romelu Lukaku for the first time this season. The Belgian giant has failed to net in his two last Premier League outings and we feel he’ll be too much to handle, even for a Saints defence in good form. Keep an eye on any Chelsea team news with special regard to potential rotation after the mid-week Champions League clash with Juventus, but bar any force majeure, Lukaku should be fit and ready to go on Saturday afternoon.
Of course, the former Inter man is not the only candidate for the captaincy this weekend. Both Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes should absolutely not be discarded for the armband as they prepare to take on Everton at Old Trafford, and the same goes for Mo Salah as Liverpool host Manchester City on Sunday afternoon. The likes of Michail Antonio (at home versus Brentford), Raphinha (at home against Watford) and Jamie Vardy (away at Selhurst Park) are all good options as well, while captaining Raul Jimenez for his home encounter with Newcastle or Chris Wood for his home game against Norwich can be considered a bold move.
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