Welcome to gameweek 6 of the Hive FPL season.
Quick note: Rewards for GW3, 4 & 5 will be paid later today
It'd be fair to say that the new season is now in full swing, with European and domestic cup competitions undoubtedly playing an important part in team selection and squad rotation.
We know that the big clubs, often the ones that dominant player selection for FPL managers, have significant player resources available to them but in flexing that power, it does present us with a real headache. How confident can you be that all your stars are going to play this weekend?
The answer is you can't so having a good strong bench might well become a major factor over the next weeks and months.
Big games to watch out for this weekend include...
Man City's trip to Newcastle. The Magpies lost at Fulham last weekend and despite a pretty decent start to the season overall, the pressure appears to be mounting on Eddie Howe. However, at home the Toon Army will give his side a boost against a City team that looked quite laboured at times in their matches against Inter and Arsenal last week.
Arsenal themselves will be keen to take advantage of any dropped points by the champions in a home match against Leicester. The defensive mindset will surely be shed for this game against a Foxes side still looking for a first win.
Elsewhere, Chelsea vs Brighton could be an interesting one. The Blues have won twice on the road to help silence the issues the club is facing off the pitch. Their record at Stamford Bridge of late is less encouraging and they face a Brighton team playing with real confidence and in Danny Wellbeck (FWD) a player who suddenly looks like he's channeling both Ronaldo and Messi into his match day performances.
At the other end of the table, Everton and Palace are looking for their first win of the season. Palace players can be found in a significant number of FPL squads but their performances so far this year suggest that managers will start to look elsewhere if they can't find form soon.
One option might well be to bring in either Forest or Fulham assets who are similarly priced and playing in teams that have performed far better in these early stages. They go head to head this weekend with the chance to solidify their positions in the top third of the table.
How much longer does Wolves manager Gary O'Neil have? His side somehow through away at least a point at Villa last weekend and now have the ominous task of trying to contain Liverpool. Wolves are yet to keep a clean sheet in the league this season and have shipped 14 goals in total, equal highest with Everton.
West Ham manager Lopetegui is also struggling to get his new squad of players to gel and they face a Brentford team this weekend who look most dangerous within the first minute of play. Surely they can't do it 3 weeks in a row?
Into Sunday and Ipswich have looked solid in recent weeks but are still looking for a win to really ignite their season. It'll be a tough ask against Villa who baring the loss to Arsenal (a game they really should have got something from) have a 100% record.
The glamour tie of the weekend comes with Spurs travelling to Manchester United. Ten Hag's side will be very disappointed that they didn't make their chances count against Palace last weekend and then were indebted to a fantastic double save from Onana (GK) to ensure they didn't lose. It's difficult to predict what you'll get from either of these teams at the moment but it'd be fair to say that the manager that loses will face increasing pressure.
The fun doesn't stop though with a South Coast derby between Bournemouth and winless Southampton on Monday night!
Division 1
GW5 Results
GW6 Fixtures
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Both these teams are enjoying winning streaks but the points difference over the last few game weeks is marked meaning that Skander head into it as firm favourites.
Saliba (DEF) and any Arsenal defender looks a good bet for a clean sheet this weekend but you'd say that Skander have the fullbacks who could offer more going forward.
Into midfield and attack and Haaland (FWD) is the only player that appears in both squads. The real question with him will be do either or both these sides captain him? Skander have been pretty consistent with their pick of the big Norwegian to get double points while Creekside have favoured Salah.
Semenyo (MID) has 3 goal involvements so far this season and at home to Southampton on Monday night, he might decide this fixture if Creekside can keep themselves in touching distance by then.
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After a great start to the season, Yagman have had a really tough couple of weeks during which time Espressos have found their own form.
At the back, Yagman are currently wedded to West Ham's Areola (GK) which leaves their prospects of a clean sheet looking fairly bleak. Arsenal made the interesting move to leave White (DEF) out of their starting XI for the game against City. Let's see if that was purely tactical and whether one of the most popular defenders in the game returns to action in GW6.
Espressos went into last game week with a 2 man midfield which you don't see very often. They'll either need KDB (MID) to return to fitness or otherwise bring in reinforcements in that area of the pitch. Upfront, the suspension of Trossard (MID) probably means that Havertz (FWD) will be forced into a deeper role for the match against Leicester which could be a significant disadvantage for Yagman FC.
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Both teams managed to win last week although neither was able to put up a truly convincing score with Herbae coming in under average despite playing their wildcard.
Herbae will be looking for news of Raya's (GK) fitness after the goalkeeper was said to be carrying a knock. To be honest I'd be very surprised if he didn't play and I think it's just a tactic by Arteta to draw some of the heat from the keeper's recent time wasting antics. Having both the Gunners keeper and Saliba (DEF) could be a good move for the home match against Leicester.
While Arsenal have been playing with the hand brake on of late, Saka (MID) has still managed a goal involvement in every single game of the season to date so FPL managers will be keen for the Gunners to get on the front foot to see if he can deliver a really big game week. Otherwise this match might well be decided by which of the Liverpool midfielders performs best at a struggling Wolves. Jota (MID) was not part of the side that won against Bournemouth last week but did score twice in midweek against West Ham in the Cup.
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FC McKane have stormed to the top of the table with 3 consecutive victories while for Simcard FC, a 34 point GW5 is probably one to forget.
Simcard FC look like they'll need to make changes for this one with Becker (GK) rated 50/50 to play at the weekend and Fabianski (GK) not likely to start. That being said, Pope (GK) behind an increasingly shaky looking Newcastle defence against Man City might not get many points for FC McKane either. As far as defensive points are concerned, Simcard FC will be looking to double up on Arsenal defenders.
Into midfield and you'd say it's advantage FC McKane with Simcard FC missing Gibbs-White (MID) through suspension. As things stand, Simcard FC would have to play a 5-4-1 formation although both sides will be considering alternatives to Brighton's Joao Pedro (FWD) to give them more attacking options.
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Lazz have lost 4 on the bounce to find themselves bottom of the league but as you can see by the week on week analysis, they've actually outscored Legion FC in the last couple of GWs.
Both these teams have genuine goalkeeper options which seems a rarity this season amongst FPL squads. That will give Lazz peace of mind with Raya (GK) a doubt for Saturday while Legion FC have a choice to make over Pope (GK) and Flekken (GK). Gabriel's (DEF) goal scoring exploits so far this season have stood him apart, can he make it 3 in 3 at home to Leicester?
Into midfield and Legion FC look like they have an advantage with their 3 differentials all playing at home and almost guaranteed to start. The same can't be said of Jota (MID) at the moment who was left out against Bournemouth and with Lemina (MID) not exactly renowned for being a big points scorer then Lazz could do with some reinforcements in that area.
Will Vardy (FWD) be a difference for them against Arsenal? The veteran striker, once the subject of a bid from the North London club, has scored 11 goals in 16 previous Premier League matches against the Gunners.
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Both sides come off the back of strong performances in GW5 and looking to push themselves up the table in these early stages.
Vickoly FC have persisted with their no Salah (MID) no Haaland (FWD) tactic and that's paid off for them of late. It does mean that they have strength and depth across many other areas of the pitch. A big consideration for them will be how long to persist with Fernandes (MID) who has delivered just a solitary assist so far this season despite having expected goal involvements of 3.2. Surely he's due a big points haul soon?
Nonz FC may be active in the transfer market with Jota (MID) and Muniz (FWD) seemingly having lost their places in the starting XI while having 3 Newcastle players in the squad given their run of fixtures seems like a high risk strategy regardless of how good a couple of those individuals are. Nonz FC do have some flexibility with a couple of free transfers banked.
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2 former champions go head to head looking to get their seasons up and running. Ineos Revival have used additional transfers in each of the last 2 GWs and we wait to see if they'll be tempted to shift things around again for this match.
At the back, Shamzy FC can double up on Arsenal assets while Ineos Revival will be hoping that TAA (DEF) can continue where he left off against Bournemouth with Liverpool visiting a vulnerable looking Wolves side.
Into midfield and both teams will be eagerly watching the Manchester United starting line-up versus Spurs and which wide players Ten Hag picks. It may be that both Amad (MID) and Rashford (MID) are given a starting spot or it could be that one of them misses out. Wellbeck (FWD) has been sensational so far this season and he might fancy his chances against a Chelsea defence that is yet to truly settle despite encouraging signs in their last couple of games.
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Wins for both sides last time out and for Suffragette City, their first of the season.
Not a massive number of differentials in this one and even where they do exist, having players in the same team might ultimately cancel out potential points shifts. Both sides have Palace defensive assets while both have a Liverpool full-back. There are then good match-ups within the Premier League fixtures themselves with Konsa (DEF) and Villa taking on Johnson (DEF) and Ipswich while Porro (DEF) and Spurs visit Mazroui (DEF) and United.
Further forward and the injury to Joao Pedro (FWD) impacts both sides. Suffragette City do have a genuine 8th player to choose from in midfield/attack but Whyte FC will need to dip into the market or play Winks/4th defender.
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Hungry Lions were unlucky to lose their GW5 head to head with what turned out to be the 2nd best total of the round in Division 1 and I think this one has the makings of a really good fixture with interesting differentials across the pitch.
Likodra FC, as they always do, love to go in big on attacking full-backs with both Liverpool FBs in their side plus Digne (DEF) and Porro (DEF) looking to add attacking returns to clean sheet bonuses. That being said, a back 3 of Aina (DEF), Saliba (DEF) and Munoz (DEF) look very strong for GW6 too.
Luis Diaz (MID) who scored only 8 times in the entirity of last season has already netted 5 in 5 this term and with Palmer (MID) and Chelsea just beginning to click through the gears then those two could be key variables in this game. On the other side Eze (MID) and Bowen (MID) haven't quite hit the heights that managers would have hoped for but they remain their sides' primary attacking threat and so you'd expect a points return sooner rather than later.
Up top and Haaland (FWD) just does what Haaland does while Welbeck's (FWD) form and extended run in the side make him a very attractive buy. Likodra have gone for Solanke (FWD) who has scored in his last 2 appearances for Spurs and Watkins (FWD) who like many of the players that went away with England this summer has taken a bit of time to warm-up to the new season but has 3 goals in his last 2 EPL games.
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To finish off we have a Haaland vs no Haaland team. Solat FC have certainly been reliant on the City striker to get them points so far this season. His 18 as captain last week accounted for over a third of their total score.
At the back, both sides are doubling up on defenders from the 2 tightest defences in the League so far this season. Whether Wolves or Leicester can get even a consolation goal might go a long way to deciding this one.
In midfield is where BlockchainFPL have genuine strength and depth with Palmer (MID) and Saka (MID) likely to be key differentials. Solat FC with be hoping that Chelsea's poor home record of late continues as they host Brighton with 2 Seagulls midfielders in their current squad.
Upfront, Solat FC have a significant amount of firepower and will be hoping that City v Newcastle game is open. However, Isak (FWD) has been rated as a doubt for the game with a toe injury. BlockchainFPL are without Joao Pedro (FWD) and with Muniz (FWD) having started on the bench for the last 2 EPL matches they may need to bring in reinforcements even where Semenyo (MID) could come into a 5 man midfield.
