FPL Gameweek 5 players to buy
The Gameweek 5 deadline is 6:30pm on Friday 18 September. Then nothing for three weeks. Gameweek 6 doesn’t lock until 10 October, and some national teams play four times in the gap.
Most of the community plans to roll this week and carry the spare transfer into October, by which time you’ll know who got injured on international duty. For most teams it’s the right call.
The fixtures make rolling hard. Man City host Sunderland, Newcastle host Hull, Everton host Ipswich and Forest host Coventry. If your team has a real hole, this is where to spend the transfer.
TL;DR: the Gameweek 5 buys
| Player | Price | The case | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
 Gibbs-WhiteNFO MID | £7.9m | 1.07 non-penalty xGI at Villa, the most of any player that weekend. On penalties | If you can afford him, buy |
 Dewsbury-HallEVE MID | £6.5m | Ipswich at home and Hull away, the two games Foden is banned for | Sell Foden, buy him |
 TarkowskiEVE DEF | £6.1m | 29 points already, joint top projected defender this week | Two good fixtures, and defensive contributions cover the hard ones |
 BarryEVE FWD | £5.6m | The cheapest way into Everton’s two fixtures | If you can bench him in Gameweeks 7 and 8, buy |
 HallNEW DEF | £5.2m | Seven corners taken this season, joint top projected defender | Buy for the five-week run, not just Hull |
 WissaNEW FWD | £6.2m | Second best projected forward this week, behind Haaland | Keep him through Gameweek 9 |
 SakaARS MID | £9.5m | 15.6 projected points over the next three, three more than Isak | The premium to aim for |
 MuharemovićLEE DEF | £5.0m | Palace at home, the team conceding the most xG | One week, then bench him at Arsenal |
 KonsaARS DEF | £4.5m | Arsenal have the best clean sheet projections over the next five | Wait for Gameweek 6 |
Prices as of Wednesday 16 September.
The fixtures, Gameweeks 5 to 9
| Team | GW5 | GW6 | GW7 | GW8 | GW9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest | COV (H) | CRY (a) | ARS (H) | IPS (a) | BRE (a) |
| Everton | IPS (H) | HUL (a) | CHE (H) | ARS (a) | NEW (a) |
| Newcastle | HUL (H) | COV (a) | AVL (H) | CRY (a) | EVE (H) |
| Man City | SUN (H) | LIV (a) | IPS (H) | AVL (a) | BHA (H) |
| Arsenal | BHA (a) | LEE (H) | NFO (a) | EVE (H) | LIV (a) |
| Leeds | CRY (H) | ARS (a) | MUN (H) | SUN (a) | BOU (a) |
Goals and clean sheets need separate projections this season, because Chelsea score and concede freely. Over the next five gameweeks, Man City lead for projected goals, with Arsenal, Newcastle and Chelsea level behind them. For clean sheets, Arsenal are far ahead, followed by City, Newcastle, Fulham, Spurs and Forest.
The best projected XI for this week has three Everton players (Tarkowski, Dewsbury-Hall, Barry) and three from Newcastle (Hall, Thiaw, Wissa).
Morgan Gibbs-White, Forest, £7.9m
He’s the player the community wants most this week, and plenty of managers can’t afford him.
At Villa he created seven chances and got one assist, which was still enough for maximum bonus. He has scored or assisted in each of his last eight Premier League away games: six goals, four assists. He takes penalties and some set pieces, plays 90 minutes, and Forest have no European games. He’s 12.2% owned.
Coventry are the only Premier League side without a point, and Brighton beat them 5-0 on Sunday. The score flatters Brighton, though: Coventry made the better chances in the first half and played much of the game with ten men. Even so, bookmaker odds give Forest 1.86 goals this week, level with Liverpool and behind only City and Newcastle.
Palace away in Gameweek 6 is fine. Arsenal at home in Gameweek 7 is the week to bench him. He’s the second choice captain this week, behind Haaland.
Everton, but only for two
Two good fixtures, then Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle. That run decides who you buy.
Tarkowski (£6.1m) has 29 points from four games: two clean sheets, a goal and two sets of defensive contribution points. He suits managers who don’t want to sell again in three weeks, because a defender who earns defensive contribution points can still start against Chelsea.
Dewsbury-Hall (£6.5m) had 15 goal involvements last season, and his minutes look safer than Garner’s or Barry’s. Barry (£5.6m) is the cheap option. He takes a lot of shots and scores from few of them. If you have a spare forward or midfielder to play when Everton face Chelsea and Arsenal, he’s a good buy. Garner (£6.0m) averages 13.61 defensive contributions per 90, third best among midfielders, and takes some free kicks.
Nobody knows who takes Everton’s penalties. Garner, Dewsbury-Hall and Barry are all candidates.
Newcastle, for longer
Five fixtures, and you wouldn’t bench a Newcastle player for any of them. If you’re making one move, that makes Newcastle the better buy.
Hall (£5.2m) has taken seven corners this season and is Newcastle’s most attacking defender. Thiaw (£5.0m) costs £0.2m less and earns more defensive contribution points. Wissa (£6.2m) may now take penalties, since Newcastle’s previous takers have left, but nobody has confirmed it. Barnes (£6.0m) has played 90 minutes in every game and carries more goal threat than Elanga.
Two warnings. Hull are harder to beat than their fixture difficulty rating suggests: they led 2-1 at Stamford Bridge before drawing 2-2, and the projections give Newcastle only a 41% chance of a clean sheet. And most Gameweek 5 previews came out before Leeds beat Newcastle 4-1 on Monday night. Hall scored no points in that game, and the FPL site now lists Elanga as injured.
Saka and the premium question
Saka (£9.5m) has three goals in four games, including a late penalty at Sunderland. He takes penalties when Gyökeres is off the pitch, and Gyökeres has played 12 minutes all season. Saka is projected for 15.6 points over the next three gameweeks, and Isak (£9.1m) for 12.6.
If Saka costs too much, Ødegaard (£6.7m) is the cheaper route. From open play the two are close: 2.3 non-penalty xGI for Ødegaard this season, 2.5 for Saka. Ødegaard created six chances at Sunderland and still blanked. The extra £2.8m for Saka buys penalties.
Defenders for one week, and one for later
Muharemović (£5.0m) has Palace at home. Palace concede more non-penalty xG per game than any other team. Henderson is out with a foot injury, and Palace had a player sent off in their home defeat to Ipswich. Bookmaker odds give Leeds a 34% chance of a clean sheet, which is decent in a week of poor defences. Bench him at Arsenal in Gameweek 6.
For Forest at home to Coventry, N.Williams (£5.0m) is the safer pick. Muñoz (£5.4m) made his first Forest start at the weekend, but only because Forest were short of centre backs, and he may not keep the place.
Konsa (£4.5m) and Calafiori (£5.8m) are the long term picks. The problem is timing. Brighton away is Arsenal’s worst clean sheet chance until Liverpool in Gameweek 9, and both defenders are projected for only 3.7 points this week. Buy them for Leeds at home in Gameweek 6.
Sell, hold, or leave alone
| Player | Call | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Foden, MCI £7.0m | Sell | Sent off in the derby. Misses Gameweeks 5 and 6, back for Ipswich in Gameweek 7 |
| O’Reilly, MCI £6.4m | Sell | Benched for the derby. Gvardiol has started all four games at left back |
| Wirtz, LIV £7.4m | Sell | One assist in four games |
| Szoboszlai, LIV £7.0m | Your call | No open play returns yet, but he takes penalties and set pieces and plays 90 minutes. Some managers will give him Bournemouth away, then sell before City in Gameweek 6 |
| White, ARS £5.5m | Wait for news | Went off at half time at Sunderland, and the FPL site gives him a 75% chance of playing. Don’t rush into Timber |
| Cherki, MCI £7.8m | Hold | With Foden banned he’s likely to start against Sunderland. He came off at half time in the derby because City were down to ten men |
| Gross, BHA £5.6m | Not yet | 17 points last week, but Arsenal next. Buy him for Sunderland away and Palace at home |
| Belloumi, HUL £5.0m | Don’t chase | A brace at Chelsea, but 0.13 xG per 90 and off after 59 minutes |
| Tavernier, BOU £6.1m | Split | Bournemouth play in Europe on Thursday, then face Liverpool and Chelsea. Some managers would wait until Gameweek 7, others would buy now |
Realistic transfers
None of these need a hit. The figures use current prices, and your selling price may be lower.
| Transfer | Money | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|
| Roll | +1 free transfer | No injuries or bans in your team. Most of the community is doing this |
| Szoboszlai to Gibbs-White | Costs £0.9m | You’d keep Gibbs-White after Coventry. If he’s only for one game, roll instead |
| Foden to Dewsbury-Hall | Frees £0.5m | Foden’s ban covers the same two weeks as Everton’s good fixtures |
| O’Reilly to Tarkowski | Frees £0.3m | If you need money for a later move, Muharemović frees £1.4m instead |
| White or Maguire to N.Williams | Frees £0.5m, or costs £0.1m | A one week punt on Coventry. For a long term replacement, Konsa |
| Isak to Wissa | Frees £2.9m | Only if you were selling Isak anyway. The patient option is one more week at Bournemouth, then sell before City |
Captain
Haaland at home to Sunderland. He has four goals in four games and is projected for 7.0 points, the most of any forward. Bookmaker odds give City 2.38 goals and a 48% chance of a clean sheet, the best of the round on both counts. Gibbs-White is the vice captain. If you hold a triple captain, save it for Ipswich at home in Gameweek 7.
After Friday’s deadline, search any FPL manager to see who in your mini-league made a transfer and who rolled.