Fantasy Premier League (FPL) action returns after the first international break of the season on Saturday, September 16.
It was a high-scoring FPL gameweek last time out, with most of the highly-owned FPL assets delivering. Bryan Mbeumo, Mohamed Salah, James Maddison, Eberechi Eze, and Trent Alexander-Arnold all contributed some useful point hauls.
Erling Haaland backed his huge captaincy banking with a hat-trick, picking up a mammoth 20-point haul, finishing the joint top-scorer of GW 4 alongside Son Heung-Min, who also netted a treble.
My transfers to bring Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden in didn't work out well as I suffered a big red arrow despite captaining Haaland.
Plenty of FPL managers must be thinking of playing their wildcard during their international break, with Aston Villa and Newcastle having a fixture swing from here on in. Tottenham Hotspurs' impressive showings, especially Son's hat-trick, have raised questions about how essential their FPL assets are.
Son Heung-Min, Julian Alvarez, and James Maddison are the most popular transfers in, with Nicolas Jackson and Joao Pedro among the most transferred out.
Whatever your transfer plans are, ensure your team is locked in by the GW 5 FPL deadline on Saturday morning BST.
Gameweek 5 Deadline: Saturday, September 16 at 11:00 am (BST)/ 03:30 pm (Indian Standard Time).
FPL Gameweek 5 Fixtures
Gameweek 5 begins with Wolves' home game against Liverpool on Saturday afternoon. We then move to five simultaneous BST 03:00 pm kick-offs, with West Ham United hosting Manchester City.
Chelsea travels to the Vitality Stadium to take on Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon, with Everton taking on Arsenal at Goodison Park later in the day. The gameweek concludes with a Monday night meeting between Nottingham Forest and Burnley at the City Ground.
FPL team suggested for previous GW
Here's the suggested team for GW 4:
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (GK) (EVE) (£4.4 m), Matt Turner (NFO) (£4.0 m)
Defenders: Destiny Udogie (TOT) (£4.6 m), Ben Chilwell (CHE) (£5.6 m), Luke Shaw (MUN) (£5.3 m), Pervis Estupinan (BHA) (£5.1 m), George Baldock (SHU) (£4.0 m)
Midfielders: Bukayo Saka (ARS) (£8.6 m), Raheem Sterling (CHE) (£7.2 m), Richarlison (TOT) (£6.8 m), Bruno Fernandes (MUN) (£8.5 m), Phil Foden (MCI) (£7.6 m)
Forwards: William Osula (SHU) (£4.5 m), Erling Haaland (MCI) (£14.0 m), Nicolas Jackson (CHE) (£7.0 m)
Captain/Vice-Captain: Erling Haaland/Phil Foden.
GW 4 Transfers made: 2
Points Scored (- hits): 65 (-0): 65
Overall Points: 223
Overall Rank: 4,254,820
Free Transfers available: 1.
Money Remaining: £2.6 m
Transfers
1) Luke Shaw (MUN) (DEF) (£5.3 m) - OUT | Kieran Trippier (NEW) (DEF) (£6.5 m) - IN
2) Richarlison (TOT) (MID) (£6.8 m)- OUT | James Maddison (MID) (TOT) (£7.8 m) - IN
Luke Shaw and Richarlison are the biggest problems in my team going into this GW, and I aim to address that, even if means taking a -4 hit.
Newcastle has one of the best fixture runs from GW 5 onwards, and despite a lack of returns from him so far, I'm very happy to go with Kieran Trippier as my replacement for Luke Shaw.
They have faced some really tough opposition, but have put in good defensive numbers despite that. While the threat of rotation is inevitable, given the Magpies' UCL commitments, Trippier should be a good long-term pick.
Meanwhile, Richarlison hasn't been able to make the striker's spot his own and looks to be struggling for form and confidence. He's no longer first-choice, and as a result, I'm picking the Spurs midfielder I should have initially in James Maddison. He's the Premier League POTM for August and has been in excellent form and should do well.
Best FPL Team for Gameweek 5
Gameweek 5 Bench: Jordan Pickford (EVE) vs ARS (H), Pervis Estupinan (BHA) vs MUN (A), George Baldock (SHU) vs TOT (A), William Osula (SHU) vs TOT (A).
After a poor start to the season, I was briefly considering deploying my wildcard during the international break, but upon reflection, I felt that my transfers and decisions up to this point are building up to a wildcard post-Gameweek 8. I'm going to back the likes of Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson as they embark on a good fixture run.
Phil Foden, Nicolas Jackson, Raheem Sterling, and Kieran Trippier are the players I'll be banking on to give me differential FPL points in this gameweek. All of them have decent fixtures on paper, with Chelsea's away fixture against Bournemouth the best of the lot.
Pochettinho will want a reaction from his Chelsea side after the defeat to Nottingham Forest, and I'm hoping they convert the truckload of chances they've been creating.
Bruno Fernandes didn't contribute much in an attacking sense against Arsenal and I'm hoping he does more from an FPL point of view at home to Brighton. I'm also expecting more from Ben Chilwell, both in offense and defense.
Spurs have been playing some beautiful football and a home fixture against Sheffield United gives them the perfect opportunity to extend this positive momentum. Both Destiny Udogie and James Maddison have been superb FPL assets so far and I'm hoping they carry on their run of form.
Lastly, I might not captain Erling Haaland this week and I'll be keenly watching the West Ham-Man City game and hope that he doesn't punish me.
Gameweek 5 - FPL captaincy
I'm not quite convinced Erling Haaland is the best captaincy option in GW 5. Manchester City plays away against West Ham United, who have made a terrific start to the season, picking up ten points in their four matches.
They're always a difficult side to break down and will make things difficult for Haaland, similar to what Newcastle did in GW 2.
In contrast, both Sheffield United and AFC Bournemouth are deep in the bottom half of the points table and are among the bottom three teams for xGC (expected goals conceded).
That makes James Maddison and Raheem Sterling more attractive captaincy options for me and I'm likely going to back one of them in this Gameweek.
Best FPL XI for Gameweek 5 - Summary
Starting XI
GK - Matt Turner (NOT) vs BUR (H)
DEF: Destiny Udogie (TOT) vs SHU (H), Ben Chilwell (CHE) vs BOU (A), Kieran Trippier (NEW) vs BRE (H).
MID: Phil Foden (MCI) vs WHU (A), Raheem Sterling (CHE) vs BOU (A), Bruno Fernandes (MUN) vs BHA (H), Bukayo Saka (ARS) vs EVE (A), James Maddison (TOT) vs SHU (H)
FWD: Erling Haaland (MCI) vs WHU (A) and Nicolas Jackson (CHE) vs BOU (A)
Formation: 3-5-2
Bench: GK - Jordan Pickford (EVE) vs ARS (H), 1st Sub: Pervis Estupinan (BHA) vs MUN (A), 2nd Sub: George Baldock (SHU) vs TOT (A), 3rd Sub: William Osula (SHU) vs TOT (A)
Chips activated: None
Captain: James Maddison | VC: Erling Haaland.