Last updated on October 22nd, 2020
Written by @IamtheMarkus. Follow him on twitter for regular FPL insights!
As I review my own picks and views from the prior week I can see there were some hits and misses. My captain and vice were the wrong way round to start with, as on the day Salah was outperformed by Son. Had Pickford seen red, perhaps my more points were on the cards for my © but you shouldn’t beat yourself up over these too much when both returned.
Not owning Kane is hurting my team terribly, so he has come in for Jimmy sharpish. My eyes will invariably hover over Aguero in the next few weeks, Aguero can sometimes require three or four games to get up to form but catching it early can really be key to getting up the boards. Sterling continues to perform strongly in the City midfield and certainly has a preferable away fixture next up. We highlighted Pulisic (who chipped in with a classic 2 pointer). We did vocalize that we expected Werner to get off the mark which he did with a well-taken brace (no points for that though) but the signs of Chelsea coming to life are beginning to form. DCL continues to cement a postman like status with yet another goal. Rashford and Fernandes (who also earned a shout) really came to life against Newcastle after falling behind, and perhaps even they believe they can kick on from here. European commitments this week will test squad depth and fitness of a lot of the big-name players in the big 6. 68 points so far from the captain selections. Currently well behind where we would want to be.
TLDR
My © will be Salah. Sheffield Utd have yet to show any signs of defensive resolve and now that Liverpool seem unable to keep a clean sheet, they will require plenty of goals and Salah is towards the top end of shots fired. The fixtures are pretty good this week on first reading so I think there are plenty of options out there. So far this season goals have been flying in from every fixture.
Looking forward to GW6…
- Everton go to Southampton who are still keen to try to defend miles away from their box.
- Man City face a West Ham side who are showing some signs of resolve or at least physicality and the occasional wondergoal. However, they do have decent away stats/form here.
- Man United vs Chelsea – really depends on which version of each team turns up.
- At home, Liverpool will be highly fancied vs Sheffield.
- Spurs go to Burnley, I can only assume Son and Kane will link up, yet again.
- Leeds vs Villa looks a particularly entertaining match, Villa have improved somewhat this season.
- Arsenal vs Leicester poses an interesting match-up, especially if LEI still have their injuries.
This is a pretty tough week in that my squad has a really good set of fixtures.
Salah – TSB ~ 47%
Another week and another goal. Sheffield United conceded a fairly slalomly running goal the previous weekend at Fulham and I would imagine that same type of space will be afforded to both Salah and Mane this week. They’ve yet to show any real signs of the defensive resolve from last year. Salah has a remarkable record for scoring at home and, even if the results are not there for Liverpool, he seems to be chipping in with a goal regardless.
Kane- TSB ~ 36%
Surging ahead in the forward stakes with 60 points already. Back to back 16 point hauls. Consistency looks to be there and fixtures look great. Performed well here last year and should be well fancied to do the same again at Burnley on Monday. Hopefully, he should get a bit of rest in the European fixture as well. I don’t often like going with a player with back to back double figures, so this may tip it towards Salah for me. Burnley have started quite well in terms of their defensive organisation and may well limit the opportunities Kane and Co have, but you would expect a Spurs win.
The Fear
You can’t have them all, but here are a couple of players who are not in my squad and I will be watching from behind the sofa as they look likely to cause serious damage this weekend.
Sterling – TSB ~ 7%
Remarkably low ownership despite returning in his prior two games and being the same price point as KDB (who may or may not still be injured at the time of writing). Performed well here last year and should be well fancied to do the same again. Think the majority of his goals come during away fixtures.
Mane – TSB ~ 8%
Very low ownership despite returning and looking every bit as dangerous as Salah. Scored four already and will be fairly intent on adding to that.
Barkley 2%
Barkley chipped in with a pretty important goal this week and a goal the week prior meaning he is handily priced and hitting a bit of form. The game against Leeds will likely be very open and no doubt he will have license to take pop shots from outside of the box. Whilst Grealish/McGinn will likely be the popular pick of the Villans midfield, I expect Barkley to go about his business and continue to tick over.
Lacazette – 4%
Arsenal were not at their finest against Manchester and this in part was due to a peculiar lineup with Willan up top instead of a proper striker. Arsenal will do well to put this man back into the lineup as he was chipping in with the important goals in the first 3 fixtures.
