I love midweek Premier League football for lots of reasons.
It allows us engaged FPL managers to gain some yards on our more casual mini-league rivals who inevitably forget the mid-week deadlines.
Tweaking your team matters and I hope those that have been following this weekly FPL thought dump are enjoying the advice I give.
Full-Back Headache
There are too many good full-back options to name this season, but two I wouldn’t consider selling were flagged going into GW5 and I think foolishly, many sold them.
Reece James (6.1) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (5.2) are both long-term holds and we should never fear putting these guys on the bench if they’re only likely out for one game. We have so many options in this position and I’ve noticed too many managers selling some of the most reliable assets in the game.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (7.5) and Joao Cancelo (7.1) have been sold by tens of thousands of managers in the last week and sellers were punished when Alexander-Arnold banged 17 points in GW4 and Cancelo 12 points in GW5.
One expensive defender I would be moving on is Robertson (6.8) who’s already had a couple of price drops. A single assist and clean sheet aren’t good enough when the likes of Kieran Trippier (5.1) and Neco Williams (4.0) are about to go on really good fixture runs.
Fixture Proof Forward
Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic
We are often hesitant to invest in players from newly promoted teams, but one man has caught all our attention.
Aleksandar Mitrović (6.7) is proving all the doubters wrong and scoring goals for fun. Erling Haaland (11.7) is the only forward in the game with more points than Mitrovic so far. The Serbian powerhouse has five goals in five games, including a brace against Liverpool and a goal against two good defences in Brighton and Arsenal.
Sure, he has Spurs and Chelsea up next so we might not want to prioritise this move for a fortnight when his fixtures turn green but, regardless of his opponent, he looks like he will score every game and fortunately, his manager encourages attacking football. Marco Silva is a manager that will always have a go, which makes the Fulham attack very attractive.
It's also worth noting that Andreas Pereira (4.5) has been FPL's stand out budget midfielder so far and is linking very well with the big man.
Captaincy is King
Manchester City goal machine, Erling Haaland
Speaking of big men, there’s a new king in town and he comes in the shape of a 6’5” Norwegian who quite simply looks built differently.
With back-to-back hat-tricks, Haaland is arguably faster, stronger and hungrier than any No.9 we have seen in the Premier League and he’s become an absolute no-brainer in FPL.
Those who captained him this week were rewarded and his numbers are incredible. He’s clocked nine goals from only 35 penalty area touches and he’s averaging an attempt every 17.5 minutes. Levels.
We haven’t seen Haaland benched from the start and as the Champions League approaches, I expect him to get a rest very soon. This does make me hesitant on giving him the armband once again in GW6.
While I really like the Aston Villa fixture for City, the fear of a one-point cameo off the bench is real. Fortunately, in Mohamed Salah (13.0), we have an adequate alternative, although the Merseyside derby is never a gimme.
Captaincy this week is up for grabs, which makes for an exciting gameweek. As is often the case, it feels like one of those weeks where your captain will make or break your week.