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Gameweek five threw up some surprises with Manchester City losing to Norwich City and Chelsea putting five past a usually resilient Wolves outfit. Chelsea assets are not being considered for this week’s picks due to the difficult fixture against Liverpool, and I am not mentioning the obvious picks like Pukki, Sterling and Salah as they are all owned by over 40% of teams already.
Mount picked up an injury in the midweek Champions League game against Valencia and is currently a doubt for the Liverpool game but is not included in the players to drop list as the extent of the injury is not known.
Check out the 3 Players to Pick for your FPL Team this Gameweek
#1 Sergio Aguero (WAT)
Sergio Aguero has notched attacking returns in every game so far this season and only Teemu Pukki (49) has notched more Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points than his 46. No forward has taken more than his 19 shots or 16 shots in the box (SiB) and only Pukki (12) has landed more shots on target (SoT).
He is also top for ‘big chances’ with seven and joint-fourth with Roberto Firmino for chances created with seven. The defending champions are top for goals (16), shots (102), SiB (74), SoT (38) ‘big chances’ (22) and will be looking to bounce back after their defeat to Norwich last week.
Their opponents Watford are yet to keep a clean sheet, conceding 10 goals. Only Chelsea (11) and Norwich (12) have conceded more and only six teams have allowed opponents more SoT than the Hornets’ 24. Aguero is the standout pick for the armband this gameweek.
#2 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (AVL)
Like Aguero, Aubameyang has registered FPL returns in every game this season and only Pukki, Aguero (both six) and Tammy Abraham (seven) have scored more goals than the Arsenal man. His 16 shots ranks fifth amongst forwards and he is also ranked fifth for SoT with seven.
Only Ashley Barnes, Abraham, Aguero (all eight) and Pukki (12) have landed more SoT than the Gabonese’s seven and only McGoldrick, Rashford (both six) and Aguero (seven) have been afforded more ‘big chances’. Arsenal have scored eight goals in their five matches, only five teams have scored more and only Chelsea (31), Liverpool (33) and Man. City (38) have landed more SoT than the Gunners’ 26.
Their opponents Villa have been lucky to concede only six goals so far. Only Norwich (93) and the Gunners themselves (96) have allowed opponents more shots than the Birmingham outfit’s 90 and they are also fifth-worst for SiB allowed with 52. Arsenal embark on a kind run of fixtures for the next few weeks and it’s a great time to bring in the Gabonese into your squad.
#3 Roberto Firmino (CHE)
Firmino put in an impressive display after coming off the bench vs Newcastle, setting up both Salah and Firmino for their goals. 19 attempts for the Brazilian is joint-top amongst forwards with Aguero and his six SoT is only beaten by five strikers.
No forward has registered more penalty box touches than his 36 and only three have created more chances than his seven. What separates Firmino from the rest is the quality of chances he creates, no forward has created more than his five ‘big chances’. Although the Reds have a difficult fixture run coming up, they need to keep winning to maintain their lead at the top of the table and the Brazilian usually steps up in the big matches.
Despite their defensive problems, their attacking numbers are still good. Only Man. City (16) have scored more goals than their 15 and they are second only to the defending champions for shots (91), SoT (33) and ‘big chances’ (18). Chelsea’s defensive woes are well documented and Firmino is a great differential with most opting for Salah and Mane.
Check out the 3 Players to drop for this Gameweek
#1 Harry Kane (LEI)
Kane managed only an assist in Spurs’ 4-0 win against Crystal Palace in gameweek five, which is not good enough for a player priced at 11m. He only took one shot from outside the box, which was speculative at best and had an expected goals (xG) of 0.06 for the game.
Meanwhile, Son took five shots and notched a brace at 1.5m cheaper and with Aubameyang and Aguero doing the business, Kane does not merit a place in your squad. This is not based on just one game, have a look at his underlying statistics.
He is ranked ninth for shots (14), 11th for SiB (nine), 16 for SoT (four) and 13th for ‘big chances (three). These are shocking for a player who relies on high shot volume for his goals and he simply cannot be trusted with the armband anymore. Spurs are also creating fewer quality chances, their total of eight ‘big chances’ is the fifth-lowest in the league with only Villa (seven), Burnley (six), Newcastle (five) and Palace (four) creating fewer.
#2 Sokratis / David Luiz (AVL)
While the fullbacks both notched attacking returns against Watford in gameweek five, Arsenal’s centre-back pairing was again shocking and Sokratis, in particular, was at fault for letting Watford back into the game with his sloppy passing.
Luiz did not help matters by committing his second foul leading to a penalty this season, and the pair look woefully short of confidence. Although their total of eight goals conceded doesn’t look too bad at first glance, they have been very lucky not to concede more. They have allowed opponents 96 shots, more than any other team across all of Europe’s top 5 leagues.
They have allowed 30 SoT, the third-worst in the league with only Spurs (31) and Norwich (34) more generous. They also allowed opponents 11 ‘big chances’, the sixth-worst in the league and only Sheff. Utd have committed more errors leading to a goal (three) than their two. Despite the kind fixture run coming up, the Gunners’ defence simply cannot be trusted.
#3 Andrew Robertson (CHE)
Liverpool lost to Napoli in their midweek Champions League game making it just one clean sheet in eight games for the Reds this season. The loss of Alisson to a calf injury in gameweek one has limited their ability to play out from the back and Adrian is simply not as good a shot-stopper as the Brazilian.
They have allowed opponents eight ‘big chances’ in five league games, with four teams faring better. No team has committed more defensive errors than their six and they have been fortunate that only one has led to a goal.
In their next seven games, Liverpool play Chelsea, Leicester, Manchester Utd, Spurs and Manchester City, all of whom will fancy their chances of breaching the shaky Reds’ defence. Robertson’s attacking output has dipped this season too, he has created just seven chances compared to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 21 and only one ‘big chance’ to his four.
Also check out: EPL fixtures EPL table Champions League table
