Our Jack Woodfield fears for Tottenham in his Gameweek 6 preview, and fancies David Silva and Kyle Walker to reap further rewards when Man City host Crystal Palace.
The 58 points average of Gameweek 5 suggests the FPL gods finally took mercy on managers following the previous three averages of 44, 43 and 44.
Sergio Aguero's imperious 20-point haul against Watford lifted him to the top of the point scoring charts; Harry Kane further punished his long-suffering owners; Manchester United won 4-0 again - making it nine goals the Red Devils have scored in the last 10 minutes of league games this season; and Chelsea, Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Tottenham and West Ham all drew goal blanks to rob managers of capital gains.
Capital punishment
And it's in London - specifically, the London Stadium - where one potentially problematic fixture catches my eye ahead of Gameweek 6. Fresh off an all huff and no puff stalemate with Swansea at Wembley Stadium, Tottenham now travel to the ground where last season West Ham effectively ended their title bid. That 1-0 win on 5 May, courtesy of Manuel Lanzini's strike, saw the Hammers at their combative best, buoyed by the desire to prevent their bitter rivals closing the gap on Chelsea, and this could again be a horrid fixture for Spurs. Dele Alli was uncharacteristically quiet during that game in May, and despite nearly giving Spurs the lead against Swansea - his close-range second-half header resembled more of a clearance - Alli is yet to reach his lofty standards of last season. I'd be tempted in the interim to swap him for a cheaper, more in-form option (see David Silva, below). Of course, Alli wasn't alone in his ineffectiveness against Swansea. Christian Eriksen disappointed; Ben Davies didn't even start. But their stellar starts justify more patience. Meanwhile, the 28.4% of managers who own Harry Kane will be feeling the strain, but there are stats of encouragement. Not only has Kane had the most shots on target and goal attempts this season, but he's hit the crossbar three times. Unlucky, some might say; others might say bad misses. Either way, he's getting in the right areas. The double Golden Boot winner is surely due to resume his GW4 heroics soon (and at this point he looks more likely to score a league goal at any other stadium than Wembley).Shots on Target 11] Kane & Lukaku 10] Joselu 08] Kun 07] Rashford & Jesus Goal Attempts 32] Kane 24] Lukaku 17] Joselu & Kun 16] Morata
— FPL (@FPL_vs) September 18, 2017
Essentials collection
Sead Kolasinac (£6m) Garth Crooks compared Sead Kolasinac to a "brick toilet" after Arsenal's 0-0 with Chelsea, and without getting bog-ged down in that analogy, there's no disputing that the Bosnian has made a massive impact since arriving in North London. Kolasinac has already provided two assists from left wing-back and given Arsenal's newly-showcased defensive resiliency against the Blues and with two upcoming home fixtures against West Brom and Brighton, there's scope for the defender to add to his 23-point tally. David Silva (£8.3m) He's been one of the Premier League's finest midfielders of the decade, yet David Silva has arguably been one of the surprise midfield gems of the season so far. The Spaniard made nine assists last year, and after just five games he is more or less halfway towards that total. His four assists is joint-second only to Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and having been owned by just 167,664 prior to GW1, his ownership has since tripled. City have scored 15 and shipped none in their last three. Next up? Rock-bottom Crystal Palace at the Etihad. Matt Ritchie (£5.9m) Matt Ritchie is performing similar heroics at Newcastle. The winger also has four assists and his expert deliveries have yielded three goals in two games. At this point, given his discount value, Ritchie is an essential purchase - particularly given in-form Newcastle's upcoming winnable home fixtures with Brighton, Liverpool and Crystal Palace.Kyle Walker (£6.5m) Kyle Walker owners were left distraught following his (very harsh) GW2 red card. But those who stayed loyal are raucously, antagonistically laughing last. A pair of clean sheets and assists has rewarded Walker's owners with 19 points since his GW4 return, and he seems to have locked down the right-back slot despite valiant competition from Danilo. Palace left-back Jeffrey Schlupp will have his hands full keeping Walker at bay.Matt Ritchie (NEW) is the second player this season to record assists in 3 consecutive #PL matches, after Henrikh Mkhitaryan (MUN).
— FPL Statistics (@HypeTrainStats) September 18, 2017
Gameweek 6 risk factors
Sergio Agüero (£11.6m) and Gabriel Jesus (£10.5m) Given Sergio Aguero's hat-trick heroics at Watford and Gabriel Jesus' four goals in three games, it seems unthinkable either would be dropped against Palace. Right? Well, here are City's next four fixtures: Wed 20 Sep: West Brom (A) - Carabao Cup Sat 23 Sep: Crystal Palace (H) - Premier League Tues 26 Sep: Shakhtar Donetsk (H) - Champions League Sat 30 Sep: Chelsea (A) - Premier League We all know Pep Guardiola well enough to recognise that rotation will be inevitable, and it renders Aguero and Jesus' positions uncertain at best against Palace, particularly as Pep will likely view Palace as the easiest of the four games. Jesus is yet to start on the bench under Guardiola in the league this season, but potential rotation should be considered if you're planning on acquiring either for GW6. Maya Yoshida (£5m) & Jack Stephens (£4.9m) Southampton centre-backs Maya Yoshida and Jack Stephens have been stoic since they were thrown together by Claude Puel towards the end of last season. But new signing Wesley Hoedt has started in two consecutive GWs (with Yoshida and Stephens benched one week each), and Virgil Van Dijk is back in the fold following his late appearance against Crystal Palace. Cedric Soares and Ryan Bertrand are much more secure starters to bank on while Mauricio Pellegrino settles on his preferred centre-back pairing.Raheem Sterling (£7.8m) Raheem Sterling has three goals in three league games, but it's still hard to gauge his role under Pep Guardiola. Whilst he's played 90 minutes in both of City's last two league games, Sterling doesn't seem to own a starting slot the way Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Gabriel Jesus do. Moreover, in Guardiola's 4-4-2 system he will have to share game time with Leroy Sane. His minutes played in Wednesday's Carabao Cup game with West Brom could be indicative of his starting potential in GW6. Eden Hazard (£10.5m) and Alexis Sanchez (£11.9m) I've been hot on the trail of last season's highest point-scoring midfield duo since their recent first-team reintegrations, and made to look foolish after both Eden Hazard and Alexis Sanchez were benched in GW5. With Chelsea and Arsenal both in Carabao Cup action on Wednesday night, it's still too early to tell whether they're sure of starts in GW6. Additionally, both Chelsea and Arsenal face tricky opposition in GW6: Arsenal (H) vs. West Brom; Chelsea (A) vs Stoke. Patience may be prudent for those yet to acquire either. Follow Jack for more FPL insight... Follow @JWoodfield365I was at @CPFC v @SouthamptonFC this afternoon and Wesley Hoedt was flawless - absolutely first class. £5m in @OfficialFPL - one to watch.
— Michael Byers (@byerstweets) September 16, 2017
