After each gameweek, I am going to be writing an article reviewing all the Premier League games from a fantasy perspective. I will be providing some stats and a brief summary on the performances and prospects of a few of the players. This is the first part of my fantasy premier league GW5 review.
FANTASY PREMIER LEAGUE GW5 REVIEW – PART 1
For each game, I will be providing a stats table containing the following: Goals (G), Assists (A), Shots (S), On Target (OT), Key Passes (KP), Bonus points (BP) and fantasy points (FP). Any statistic highlighted in yellow signifies that the player leads that category for his team. Blue highlight shows the players that registered a fantasy return (goal, assist or clean sheet) and green shows any player that scored 10+ points.
I am introducing a new exciting aspect to the tables this week. They will now include the Expected Goals and Expected Assists for each individual player. This is in addition to the expected goals for each team in brackets within the scoreline. BBC Sport provided a very useful piece to help explain this statistic. All underlying stats are from the brilliant website understat.com. References to average position come from the twitter site 11tegen11.
BOURNEMOUTH (1.34) 2-0 (0.88) BRIGHTON
Friday night brought a much-needed win for the Cherries as they picked up their first points of the season.
There was still no clean sheet for the Bournemouth defence as they returned to playing 4 at the back. Daniels continued to get forward well from the LB position but the upcoming fixtures don’t look too promising.
Ibe changed the game after coming off bench to replace the injured Fraser. He picked up 2 assists and the second was a beautiful backheel that set up the equaliser for 4.5mil Surman.
Defoe finally got his goal on his return to the South-coast with a classic finish. However, I wouldn’t be looking to bring any Bournemouth players in until GW11.
A loss for Chris Houghton’s men on Friday night as they couldn’t hold onto their lead during the second half.
The main interest in the Brighton defence was that we had our 3rd 4.0mil starting defender of the season. Rosenior lined up at RB in place of veteran defender Bruno but it remains to be seen if he can keep his place.
Popular GW5 transfer Gross registered an assist and picked up a couple of bonus points. He sent in a good delivery which was finished off by March for his first Premier League goal. Gross had 3 other key passes in the game and seems to be becoming Brighton’s main man.
4.9mil striker Hemed started again and is still looking a good option for those looking to play 3-5-2.
CRYSTAL PALACE (2.03) 0-1 (1.12) SOUTHAMPTON
A new manager but a similar story for Palace as they created several chances but were unable to finish them off. They have now set a PL record for most minutes to start the season without scoring.
Roy Hodgson is the type of manager who could help provide defensive returns for FPL managers. We have time to monitor how he changes their fortunes as they face the Manchester clubs and Chelsea in their next 3 games. Schlupp is one to keep an eye on as he provided a good attacking threat down the left.
The best player for Palace was Loftus-Cheek. He created a couple of good chances and provided drive from midfield. From what I have seen, he is overdue a fantasy return or two. Puncheon really should have scored in this game as he missed a great chance from close range.
Benteke still can’t score and Hodgson really needs to get him firing if he is going to turn Palace’s fortunes around.
Townsend was the most advanced midfielder by average position not that it did him much good
A good result for the Saints but there was still a struggle in front of goal though their defence is looking solid.
This should only improve with the imminent return of Van Dijk who will surely slot straight into the heart of the defence. I would imagine that he will line up alongside new signing Hoedt and the schedule still suggests that investment is a good idea after next week’s game against United.
5.0mil option Davis got on the scoresheet from the no.10 role and is now his side’s top-scoring midfielder. Tadic was not given the assist for the goal in what looked a correct decision by the FPL authorities.
There was no start for Gabbiadini who was dropped to bench and managers need to accept that we should only invest in Southampton defenders for now.
Redmond as an LAM was the most advanced midfielder although his shot selection as usual left alot to be desired
HUDDERSFIELD (0.70) 1-1 (1.26) LEICESTER
A decent result for Huddersfield who adapted impressively well to Premier League life and are already 1/5th of the way to the magical 40-point mark.
They are still looking solid at the back but we are yet to see any real attacking threat from their defenders. Therefore, Lossl is looking the best choice from their defence with the opportunity for save points.
Ince consistently has a high shot count but is yet to score this season. The man for key passes is still Mooy and I’m sure he will continue to pick up the odd assist.
The Terriers had to start without Mounie for the first time due to injury but Depoitre was an able replacement. He scored a well-taken goal and was perhaps unfortunate to have a second ruled out for offside.
Leicester came back well after a poor first half to pick up a point thanks to another penalty.
Maguire was at fault for the goal after being turned too easily. Fuchs missed out with an injury but he should be fit to return next weekend.
There were some more good underlying stats for Mahrez without returns and he was very unfortunate to not pick up an assist. Cheap midfielder King won the penalty and is priced at only 4.4mil in FPL.
Another penalty for Vardy who somehow didn’t score another after failing to make connect with a Mahrez cross from 3 yards out. However, he did go off early with a slight groin injury and is a major doubt for their midweek league cup game.
LIVERPOOL (2.24) 1-1 (0.36) BURNLEY
Another frustrating day for Liverpool against a lesser team as their wastefulness meant they couldn’t take advantage of their superiority.
More defensive hesitation resulted in no clean sheet for the returning Robertson and his fellow defenders. Alexander-Arnold created an impressive 7 chances to go along with 2 shots and is showing potential at 4.5mil.
Coutinho started his first game of the season and fired in 7 shots but only one was from the inside of the box. Mané wasn’t available due to suspension but there was another goal for Salah who is looking a crucial option for our team. He was also the most advanced midfielder by average position.
Firmino was shifted to the left-wing position which significantly reduced his threat and is the most transferred out forward for GW6. Sturridge took the ST position and matched Coutinho’s 7 shots but it’s still difficult to guarantee his starts and fitness.
Another great away day result for Burnley which is a complete contrast to their form last year.
Surely Mee will get a goal soon. He had a header cleared off the line and another chance well saved from the resulting corner. He’s had the most shots inside the box of all defenders so far this season and I expect him to be on the scoresheet soon. Pope started in goal after the news that Heaton could be out for several months.
Brady picked up a slightly lucky assist which was eventually awarded to him. He almost picked up another when he swung in both corners for the chances previously mentioned for Mee.
Dyche only played with one striker up front and Wood was selected to lead the line. This suggests that he will be favoured ahead of Vokes for future games.
Arfield was the most advanced midfielder by average position
NEWCASTLE (2.76) 2-1 (0.68) STOKE
As you can see from the expected goals, this should’ve been a more comfortable victory for Newcastle but they still sealed the 3 points.
Lascelles scored for the second consecutive game and could have had another during the first half. Benitez watched his side defend quite well on his return to the dugout and they are providing some great cheap defensive options for our teams such as Mbemba and Elliot.
Every year, we are seeking a budget option in our midfields and Ritchie is looking more likely to be this player as each week goes by. Another 2 assists for him in this game but he does lack a goal threat at the moment. He was also the most advanced midfielder by average position although wide right. He sent in a great cross for Atsu’s goal who is also good option at just 5.0mil.
An expected goal’s tally of 1.32 for Joselu but none of his 5 shots found the back of the net. If he can find a clinical side to his game then there’s an opportunity to bring him in a friendly price of 5.5mil.
Stoke struggled in the first half especially and are showing poor away form to start the season.
4.4mil cheapie Wimmer started again but we are yet to see who Hughes favours when everyone is fit as Shawcross remains injured. The Potters have a nice run of fixtures from GW9 onwards so it’s a situation to monitor.
There have been some popular options in the Stoke midfield so far but the goal was scored by a lesser-owned one in Shaqiri who was the most advanced midfielder by average position. Choupo-Moting missed a fantastic chance at the end and posted some more good underlying stats. Another early withdrawal for Jese.
Crouch was used as a target man from the bench and Diouf had a couple of chances but is still positioned at RWB.
That concludes part 1 of the GW5 review. Part 2 will be uploaded in the near future. Feel free to post any questions or feedback in the comments section or you can find me on Twitter.
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