The games are coming thick and fast in the Premier League at this time of year, and here are some of the major talking points in FPL ahead of Gameweek 6.
Rodrigo (6.5m) to Pascal Gross (5.9m)
FPL managers with Rodrigo in their team suffered some rotten luck in GW5 as the Spaniard was brought off with an injury in the first half against Everton and will spend the next 3-4 weeks on the sidelines. Replacing a 6.5m million midfielder isn’t the easiest job to do in FPL at the moment due to the lack of mid-priced midfielders, but the best option for those who don’t already have Gabriel Martinelli in their team is Pascal Gross.
Gross has a non-penalty xGi per 90 of 0.57 this season and has started this season in incredible form with three goals and an assist. Brighton also have a nice run of games coming up, facing Leicester, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace in their next three matches.
Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.7m)
Aleksandar Mitrovic is the second-highest scorer in the Premier League behind the unrelenting Erling Haaland, bagging five goals in the first five games of the season. Mitrovic has had eight big chances and a league-high 22 shots in the first five matches of the season, despite playing tough opposition such as Liverpool and Arsenal. The Serbian forward has an impressive non-penalty xGi of 0.62 per 90 this year, and after this week’s away trip to Tottenham, Mitrovic starts a favourable run of five fixtures that includes home games against Chelsea, Bournemouth and Aston Villa.
CAPTAINCY CANDIDATES | ||
PLAYER | FIXTURE | NPxGi per 90 |
Salah (13.0 m) | Everton (A) | 0.77 |
Haaland (11.9 m) | Aston Villa (A) | 1.42 |
Kane (11.4 m) | Fulham (H) | 0.68 |
de Bruyne (12.2 m) | Aston Villa (A) | 0.64 |
There have been some major swings in captaincy calls in recent weeks, with Erling Haaland starting each of the last two games in the league and scoring back-to-back hat-tricks for Manchester City. Mohamed Salah, meanwhile, blanked in a 9-0 win over Bournemouth for Liverpool and managed just two assists against Newcastle United at home, scoring 21 points less than the Norwegian over the last two games.
Salah and Haaland are once again the two of the best captain choices for this weekend, but the question is whether any of them start on Saturday ahead of the first Champions League tie of the season.
The best alternative to Haaland is his Manchester City team-mate Kevin de Bruyne. The Belgian should start on the weekend after being rested against Nottingham Forest, and City take on an Aston Villa team that has lost four of their five league games this season. The other option includes Harry Kane at home to Fulham or Raheem Sterling at home to West Ham following the Chelsea winger’s three goals in his last two appearances for the club.
Shivaan’s FPL Team Selection for GW6: Aaron Ramsdale (5.0m) and Ivan Perisic (5.5m) for Robert Sanchez (4.7m) and Reece James (6.1m), Mohammed Salah captain
With the news of Reece James missing the Southampton game emerging on Tuesday ahead of the GW5 deadline, I transferred out the Chelsea right-back for Kyle Walker.
In GW6, though, it looks like James will be fit enough to play after a slight illness and the Englishman will find his way back into my FPL team. Ivan Perisic is most likely to make way for the Chelsea defender. Although the Croatian is a brilliant Fantasy Premier League option, he may not play against Fulham at home on the weekend after starting each of the last three games. Ryan Sessegnon is a good enough replacement for a home game against the Cottages for Spurs, and Antonio Conte will want to play his best XI in their first Champions League tie midweek.
As for my second transfer, Arsenal play Manchester United away in GW6 while Brighton take on Leicester City at home. Although I rarely recommend using transfers on goalkeepers in FPL, this move seems like an exception since it frees up funds to be used elsewhere. Ramsdale is also not as great a Fantasy Premier League option this season since Arsenal face fewer shots, giving the goalkeeper fewer opportunities to rack up save points.
As for the captaincy, I am sticking with Salah. I expect Haaland to finally be rested for Manchester City against Aston Villa, while Liverpool must play Salah in the derby game against Everton. Best of luck for Gameweek 6!
Shivaan Shah