Matchweek Five of the Premier League season was nothing if not chaos. Surprisingly, it even brought a positive result for Manchester United fans.
The weekend began with a typically-spicy Merseyside Derby, where Liverpool fans didn’t have to be disappointed by Florian Wirtz since he started on the bench.
Mohamed Salah continued his fine run of form with yet another assist, making him look like a must-own FPL asset. Hugo Ekitike scored soon after, while budget enabler Iliman Ndiaye struck late to break Liverpool’s deadlock.
Meanwhile, on the south coast, Brighton and Hove Albion bottled a 2-0 lead to Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur. Yankuba Minteh continues to look like a fantastic Fantasy option after scoring in the 8th minute and seems to have nailed down that starting right winger spot, while Mohammed Kudus assisted on plays in his fourth return of the season.
In a match that I’m sure everyone was excited for, Nottingham Forest limped to a 1-1 draw with Burnley. The value of Forest assets continues to drop — now that their favorable run of fixtures has ended. Burnley’s Jaidon Anthony and Lyle Foster are starting to emerge as solid FPL options after recording a goal and an assist, respectively.
In London, Jean-Philippe Mateta opened the scoring in the 37th minute for Crystal Palace, as they beat Graham Potter’s magically-losing-every-game West Ham 2-1.
Jarrod Bowen still looks like the Hammers’ standout option, scoring one goal and posting an xGI of 0.47 before Tyrick Mitchell smashed in a volley to keep Palace’s unbeaten run alive.
Leeds stunned Wolves in a relegation six-pointer, winning 3-1, with Wolves looking more like a tired dog than a predator at the top of the food chain.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin opened the scoring for Leeds, flooding Fantasy managers with memories of all those points he delivered last season — if you know, you know.
Anton Stach followed this with a beautiful free kick into the top right corner and later added an assist. He’s an FPL option worth serious consideration, given he plays 90 minutes in an advanced role, takes set pieces, contributes defensively and comes in at just £5.0m. That’s a bargain.
As fans across the globe geared up for Chelsea’s fixture versus Manchester United, Robert Sanchez decided to join in and watch from the sidelines by picking up a red card for clattering into Bryan Mbeumo only four minutes into the game.
Bruno Fernandes then scored the opener and looks like a brilliant FPL option, being nailed on, taking penalties and set pieces, contributing in open play and helping defensively. Enzo Maresca made some questionable substitutions, including taking off Cole Palmer — for an injury worry — just 21 minutes into the game.
Soon after, Casemiro made himself look busy by scoring United’s second before being sent off, reducing the matchup to 10 v. 10. Chelsea scored a consolation goal in the 80th minute, but Rúben Amorim’s tricky Reds now know what it feels like to win.
Brentford’s dismal run under Keith Andrews shows no sign of improving after the Bees were stung 3-1 by Fulham. Joachim Andersen continues his solid FPL form, racking up 23 points in five games with a floor that now seems to be around three points. Igor Thiago looks like worse value, being subbed off early once again, while Alex Iwobi delivered a goal and an assist in a performance worthy of Player of the Match consideration.
Sunday’s first match came from Bournemouth facing Newcastle — but they instead gave viewers a reason to snooze our alarms, as both teams barely created anything in a dull 0-0 draw. Antoine Semenyo looks like great value as Bournemouth’s first-choice penalty taker — with Justin Kluivert on the bench — while Marcos Senesi came through with another haul.
That said, Bafodé Diakité, at £4.5m, looks like he’s going slightly under the radar, especially as his defensive data has historically been pretty strong.
Aston Villa’s disappointing, nay, abhorrent start to the season continued as they fell victim to a 1-1 draw against newly promoted Sunderland in what was definitely not a good evening for Unai Emery.
The Villans have scored only one goal in their first five Premier League games, finding themselves in the relegation zone. On the other hand, Wilson Isidor of Sunderland, at £5.5m, became the first player to score three goals in a newly promoted side’s first three home games.
The Premier League saved the best for last, as Arsenal faced Manchester City in a possible early title decider. Erling Haaland opened the scoring and looks like an excellent triple captain option ahead of Matchweek 6 — when City takes on Burnley. Tijjani Reijnders completed his fifth consecutive 90 minutes in the PL and looks like a definite starter under Pep Guardiola’s regime of rotational terror.
City assets look like brilliant options considering their upcoming fixtures, and so do Arsenal’s, especially with the return of Bukayo Saka and William Saliba. Meanwhile, Viktor Gyökeres played a full 90 to alleviate some minutes worries. While he did basically nothing playing as the starting striker for a top-three attack counts for something, he looks like a promising option going forward.