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Our fantasy football picks, transfers, advice and more for Gameweek 5

Fantasy Football tips and advice: Gameweek 5 transfers, selections and captain choices

By Tom Carnduff

Football

Mon September 20, 2021 · 3y ago

We're at the stage of the fantasy football season where we can start to see who will deliver results in the long term.

Four gameweeks have been and gone with mixed results and Gameweek 5 is the point where we begin to understand which options are worth sticking with.

Some of the bargain buys highlighted in pre-season are paying off - others are not - and the 'big-hitters' are delivering as we would expect them to.

Is now the time for changes or is it worth sticking it out for a couple more weeks? The green box of the 'Wildcard' will tempt people in but another three rounds of fixtures takes us up to the next international break - that is the perfect chance to make significant transfers if required.

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Who has the best fixtures in Gameweek 5?

It's the case for most weeks, but MANCHESTER CITY are a team definitely worth backing in Gameweek 5. They welcome struggling Southampton to the Etihad and will fancy their chances of a comfortable victory.

Pep Guardiola's men scored five the last time these two sides met and the Saints' Premier League campaign so far has failed to deliver a victory. Despite sitting fifth in the table, Infogol's model based on performance has City in first.

City's last two home games have both ended in 5-0 victories and it would not be a surprise to see a similar outcome on Saturday.

Also fancied for a home win is LIVERPOOL as they welcome Crystal Palace. Patrick Vieira's men beat Tottenham 3-0 last time out but they are unlikely to be able to repeat that performance here.

Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota will fancy their chances of a goal while it could be another clean sheet for the defensive assets. It's tough to avoid the Reds' players in fantasy football teams for this one.

Elsewhere, LEEDS will know the importance of victory as they go to Newcastle. Marcelo Bielsa's men have faced a tricky fixture list to kick things off but this is the beginning of what should be a good run of games.

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What are the best transfers to make for Gameweek 5?

Michail Antonio's red card during West Ham's 0-0 draw at Southampton wasn't ideal, was it?

He's still in 39% of FPL teams though so many are willing to keep him in as he returns for their game at Leeds. That would be the advice as it's a simple one game suspension - Antonio can take the third sub role this week.

Konstantinos Tsimikas remains in 19.9% of FPL sides as well, suggesting that many are struggling to get rid following his involvement in the opening weeks of the season.

Andy Robertson is back and will get most - if not all - of Liverpool's games in that left-back role so it would be wise to look at shipping out Tsimikas to get someone in who could play.

They are just two of the biggest issues facing fantasy football players currently. We pick out three players worth considering for Gameweek 5.

Andros Townsend

Position: MID
FPL price: £5.4m
Sky price: £7.7m

Gray was the recommendation last week - and he delivered with a goal - but Everton's fixtures and current form means that I'd have little issue with having more than one asset in my team.

The Toffees go to Aston Villa before welcoming Norwich. It's Manchester United in GW7 but then they face West Ham, Watford and Wolves - there is real potential for them to be sitting in the top-four as we enter November.

After his performance in the 3-1 win over Burnley - where he registered a goal and an assist - it's difficult to look past Andros Townsend's bargain price tag given current showings.

The winger posted 12 points on FPL and 15 on Sky to continue his decent start to the campaign. He also picked up an assist during the 3-1 win over Southampton in GW1.

All four of his shots this season have been on target and he's established himself as a start under Rafa Benitez. At a bargain £5.4m on FPL, the potential is there to have someone who delivers and frees up budget to use elsewhere.

Diogo Jota

Position: MID/FWD
FPL price: £7.7m
Sky price: £9.4m

This is a selection that provides more appeal on the FPL game rather than Sky, Diogo Jota is Liverpool's first choice striker but is listed as a midfielder on FPL and comes with a really cheap £7.7m price tag.

One of the many positives with Jota is that Liverpool's current front three are all listed as midfielders - offering more points than you would typically get with a striker. Goals are worth more while there is also the potential for the clean sheet point as well.

Jota is considerably cheaper than Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane but is seeing the same amount of playing time. It's a surprise to see that only 20.7% of FPL players have Jota in their side when we consider some of the other options around that price tag.

Liverpool may have Manchester City in GW7 but they face Crystal Palace in GW5 followed by a trip to Brentford in GW6 - there is huge potential on Jota to grab a goal or two across their short term fixture list.

Marcal

Position: DEF
FPL price: £4.6m
Sky price: £6.4m

Wolves finally ended their wait for a win - although they have dominated the xG statistics in the early stages - with a 2-0 away victory at Watford in GW4.

It's the perfect start to a nice run of fixtures for Bruno Lage's men - they face Brentford, Southampton, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Leeds in their next five.

None of those teams go above '3' on the FDR scale and they will be hopeful of another clean sheet, which brings us onto Marcal at a bargain price.

He returned 13 points last time out due to registering two assists alongside the clean sheet and that could signal further attacking returns down the line.

At the prices available, it's difficult to turn down Marcal given form and fixtures.

Who is the best captain for Gameweek 5?

I'd be fairly confident in a prediction that MOHAMED SALAH will be the most captained player on FPL this week. Liverpool's home game against Crystal Palace immediately grabs the eye and many will be backing him to be on the scoresheet.

It's very difficult to argue against doing that, and if the aim is to keep up with others rather than trying to gain points that they may not have then Salah is a solid selection.

CRISTIANO RONALDO will always be a popular captaincy choice regardless of opponent and many won't be put off by Manchester United's trip to West Ham on Sunday.

The forward has scored three in his first two games back at the club and the momentum is there. We can expect to see his name feature on FPL's five most captained list.

If he starts - which is always the danger with Manchester City - then FERRAN TORRES is a great choice as they take on Southampton. Guardiola's men have scored 11 from an xGF of 12.2 and we can expect both figures to be higher by full-time on Saturday.