Fantasy Premier League: The state of affairs heading into Gameweek 5
The international break is unlikely to have done too much damage to the lineups of FPL players. You never know which player will come back from it injured, and the long journeys of players playing outside Europe are an additional obstacle, but we managed to avoid big problems as none of the popular players in the game suffered an injury.
To start with, I will share with you the situation in my squad, as it is quite spicy. This is because I have decided to use my Wildcard.
If you've only been following the FPL coverage on Flashscore then you'll know that my lineup so far hasn't given me much joy; I made too many bad choices at the start of the season and have now decided that everything needs to be overhauled.
I am not going to flood you with information about my new team, but if you read the rest of the piece, you will surely guess who I have decided to bring in to my team
Who should you captain?
Perhaps this will be the first round in which the percentage of players with Erling Haaland (14.0) as captain will drop significantly. The majority of players will still give him the armband, but potentially not as many as before as before.
The Norwegian is playing away against West Ham in this round, scored a hat-trick against Fulham in the last and was then rested in his national team's match against Jordan before scoring against Georgia, so there are not too many question marks next to his name, but there are other interesting candidates around.
First and foremost are Heung-Min Son (9.1) and James Maddison ( 7.8), Tottenham players who have been a revelation at the start of this season and who play at home against Sheffield United. The Blades are one of the worst teams in the league and such a meeting could end in a high points-scoring affair for the aforementioned two.
However, any choice other than Haaland would still be a very big risk.
Spurs are the way to go
Some readers may be tired of being told to buy Tottenham players, but I'm going to tell you again, because you really should.
There has also been a lot about Chelsea players in previous articles, but The Blues are only 12th in the Premier League table at the moment and a long way from meeting expectations. Having Ben Chilwell (5.8) or Raheem Sterling (7.2) in the squad could of course pay dividends in the coming rounds, but much higher hopes are offered by Son or Maddison, for example.
In the previous round, Spurs smashed Burnley 5-2, with the Korean bagging a hat-trick and attracting the attention of many FPL players. Now, in turn, they will play against Sheffield United, which seems like a great opportunity for points. After that, admittedly, they'll have games against Arsenal and Liverpool, but overall their schedule for the coming weeks, including the lack of European football, is a good one for fantasy purposes.
Of the five most popular players to buy ahead of the fifth round of games, four are from Tottenham. They are in addition to Son and Maddison, Cristian Romero ( 4.7) and Destiny Udogie ( 4.7).
On the other end of the spectrum, in my opinion, are Manchester United. The Red Devils lost to Arsenal recently, a round earlier went 2-0 down to Nottingham Forest and lost to Tottenham before that... And the sporting results are not the only problem at the club.
There has been a nasty atmosphere around Old Trafford recently. Erik Ten Hag last season seemed the perfect man to clean up the mess, but now he is adding fuel to the fire himself. After the game against Arsenal, he made some rather unsavoury comments about the referee's attitude and has now entered into a very public spat with Jadon Sancho (6.8), and all this at a club also having to deal with Mason Greenwood and Antony's serious moral issues.
It looks disastrous at the moment and I make no secret of the fact that I probably won't have any of the Manchester United players in my squad in the near future. The situation there is tense and all the signs are that it will get worse. The home fixture against Brighton, which is next up, does not look at all like a game that will improve the mood of the supporters either.
Who should you buy?
Anyway, it's time for the main point of everyone's agenda - the players that my Czech colleagues and I recommend you buy ahead of the weekend.
Heung-Min Son (9.1) - The Korean broke the bank in the previous round and will now face one of the worst teams in the league. He scored his three goals against Burnley in very assured fashion, and Tottenham don't really have another choice in the striker position. Finally, he's classed as a midfielder and doesn't cost much at all.
Taiwo Awoniyi (6.6) - Let's look at it this way - among Nottingham Forest's opponents in the first four rounds were Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, and all of these clashes were away. What is Awoniyi's record like after these tough games? Three goals and an assist. The Nigerian is emerging as a really strong option and will have much easier opponents than those he has faced so far in the coming weeks.
Dominik Szoboszlai (7.0) - The Hungarian scored a goal in the last round and in total has played all possible 360 minutes in the league so far and stood out in every game. He hasn't had many opportunities for goals, but at least once a game has managed to threaten the rivals' goalkeeper and create chances for his team-mates. He is Liverpool's standout midfielder in FPL given Mohamed Salah (12.5) is much more expensive and Diogo Jota (7.9) and Luis Diaz (7.7) don't start every match.
Filip Novak (11Hacks chief analyst)
Carlton Morris (5.5) - If you don't have to deal with major problems now and you're planning to use your Wildcard in around the eighth or ninth round, the Luton striker can act as a pretty good short-term option. He was responsible for 33 per cent of his team's xG last season, takes penalties for the team and is sure to play 90 minutes. What's more, Luton face Fulham, Wolves and then Everton and Burnley in the next few rounds; three of those four teams are among the five worst defences in the Premier League.
Fabian Schar (5.0) - After an extremely difficult first few games of the season, Newcastle's players are ready to step it up a level. Their schedule for the next eight weeks is a good one and, although their attack is full of question marks from an FPL point of view, their defence is very settled. Although they have not started the season well, conceding seven goals, this can largely be put down to bad luck as they have not allowed opponents that many big chances at all. Fabian Schar is 1.5 million cheaper than Trippier, is likely to play every match and can score from set-pieces.
Bruno Fernandes (8.4) - Not everything is perfect in the Manchester United team, but what might make coach Ten Hag happy is the form of Marcus Rashford and above all Bruno Fernandes. While they have yet to score as much as FPL managers would like, the coming weeks will provide both with plenty of opportunities to do so. As a long-term choice, I particularly recommend the Portuguese player.
Radim Horak (one of the best Czechs playing in FPL)
Heung-Min Son (9.1) - Ange Postecoglou moved his star man into the centre-forward position in the last game and the Korean returned the favour with a hat-trick. During the break, Richarlison showed that he is not at his best and I assume he will not be in the starting line-up for the match against Sheffield United. If Son stays permanently in the middle of the attack, his value in the game will increase significantly.
Kieran Trippier (6.5) - Many managers have had this FPL star of last season since the first round of this year's competition and he has yet to get a goal, assist or clean sheet for them. However, it has to be taken into account that the Magpies had one of the toughest schedules at the start of the season, and that situation will now start to reverse. First up is Brentford, then Sheffield United and Burnley. In terms of chances created, Trippier is second only to Brighton's Pervis Estupinian (5.3), so it's worth considering putting him in the squad.
Carlton Morris (5.5) - At first glance, the selection of the Luton striker seems sheer madness. However, let's bear in mind that there is a round on the horizon in which Morris will play two games - against Everton and Burnley - and will face Fulham and Wolves before that - these are not unbeatable opponents. With one goal and one assist in three games, he's one of the best cheap strikers around, especially as he takes penalties.
