Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 5 Review

Another great week, things are going very nicely :D

Gameweek Points: 88

Gameweek Rank: 57,973

Overall Rank: 36,095

(click to enlarge)

The gameweek average this week was 47 points.

My main points scorer was Hazard, who grabbed a hat-trick plus the three bonus points. With the captains armband this meant that he earned me a whopping 40 points. Pretty much half my total score. Others who done well for me were Firmino, grabbing 9 points, David Silva with 11, and Aguero with 7. I also benefited from a Crystal Palace clean sheet which meant both Hennessey and Tomkins earned me 6 points a piece.

Surprisingly Robertston, Alonso and Mendy all failed to deliver this gameweek, which means the idea of having three premium defenders might now start to fall out of fashion. Mendy in particular was the big disappointment as he didn't even start - missing the game with a knee injury. This is quite eerie as I kinda predicted something like this in my Friday Preview the day before. Writing, Nostradamus-like;

...I have been thinking about cashing in on Mendy and bringing in a nice safe Spurs centre-back. This would be quite sacrilege for most FPL managers, but the fact that Mendy was previously out injured for so long leaves me with a nagging doubt it'll happen again.

Consequently I've heeded my gut feeling and now transferred him out. After seeing how Spurs played though I've decided that a Spurs defender might be a bit pricey. So I've opted for Arsenal's Sokratis instead.

(Sokratis)

At £5.3m it means that I'm saving £1m with the transfer. It's perhaps a bit risky to bring him in this early, but I decided to move just in case there's a Mendy price drop following the nasty yellow warning sign that's now next to his name. I have a feeling many FPL managers will be tempted to save some money and move it elsewhere.

Sokratis will probably be viewed as an odd choice by most people, however these are my reasons for choosing him. First up, he looks by far Arsenal's best centre-back, so I think Arsenal will need him to play every game. So hopefully zero chance of rotation. I could have went for Gomez or Alexander-Arnold who are in a similar price bracket, but the risk of rotation is a little too scary - plus I don't really like the idea of having two Liverpool players at the back.

Also I'm hopeful that Arsenal will continue improving. I think winning away to Newcastle was a huge result and a good sign they're on the right track. So far Arsenal have failed to keep a clean sheet and Sokratis has picked up just 5 points from his first five games - which is absolutely woeful. However, I'm happy to take the gamble. Their run of fixtures is also pretty good. If they dropped the haphazard Mustafi they could be a real force.

I like having players from "top six" sides too. Statistically alone they're just gonna win more games, so if you can have top six players who actually start it's generally a good bet in the long run. For similar reasons I'm keeping an eye on Giroud. If he becomes Chelsea's first choice attacker then I'll bring him in for Deeney in a flash. He linked up very well with Hazard at the weekend, and Hazard even described him after the game as the "world's best target man".

"He's a target man, maybe the best in the world. I think so,"

- Hazard, BBC Sport interview.

If this is a sign of things to come then at £7.8m Giroud would be great value.

The Top Five Players I Don't Have That I Fear

Finally, and quickly, I'll list the top five players I don't have that I fear not having.

1. Lukaku

2. Sterling

3. Salah

4. Mane

5. Kane

So the list has changed a little since last time, though Lukaku is still top. Another goal means he's looking quite consistent. If he starts more than Aguero (also bearing in mind Aguero's recent injury of course) then I'll have a big decision to make.

I completely forgot about Sterling last week, but he's looking like he's going to have another great season. The price of £11m is very steep, but so far he looks like he'll be right up there with points and goals again. It would be incredibly difficult to get him in my team though sadly.

Salah, Mane and Kane all looked a little flat this week, so I'm not as worried about not having them in my side as I once was. However, a few games can change everything, so the fear remains.