Draped in a vomit-yellow coat and sporting a mock gold sovereign ring, Adam Smith's satirical alter-ego Frankie Fryer was popularised on Sky's Saturday morning football show Soccer AM with his brash ‘mockney' mannerisms and intensely overenthusiastic catchphrase, “I do love playing away!” Fryer's adoration of visiting opposition stadia, generally speaking, comes with an underdog mentality as away teams aren't often victorious within English football. Until recently.
Of the forty Premier League matches that have taken place, only nine have resulted in the home outfit being awarded with three points. Numerous theories have been flung around to calculate the reason for this unlikely turn of events, perhaps overanalysing what may possibly be a freak occurrence considering that the season is a mere four weeks old. However, since away has become the new home for the time being, Gamweek 5 plays host to fixtures that ought to be considered more cautiously than usual. We aim to provide you with some Fantasy Football Tips for the Gamweek 5.
One of the most high profile sagas of the summer transfer window was Chelsea's unsuccessful pursuit of Everton's ball-playing central defender John Stones. The Toffees stood firm against generous offers made for the youngster and appear to have set the stage for what promises to be an enthralling encounter against the defending champions on the opening day back following the international break. Last season, Goodison-goers witnessed nine goals in a demolishing 6-3 win to the away team and unsurprisingly, Chelsea have been priced as early favourites for the tie once again.
Chelsea are yet to keep a clean sheet in the league this season and because Everton's Romelu Lukaku has already found the net four times in all competitions. The natural presumption for this match would be that there will be goals for both teams. As a result, defenders ought not to be considered for Fantasy Premier League starting XIs. However, each side do pose a significant threat at the other end of the pitch.
When comparing strikers in Fantasy Premier League terms, there really are only three statistics that hold significant relevance. These are goals, assists and minutes played. Diego Costa's bullish mentality has earned him a vigorous reputation that often proceeds him. A culmination of this and his ongoing struggle with a hamstring issue, the Spain international played over eight hundred minutes less than his Belgian counterpart, Lukaku last season. However, Chelsea's number 19 was far more able to make his time on the pitch count, netting on average 0.77 goals a game, a colossal sum in comparison to Lukaku's 0.28. Their respective assist tallies were relatively similar, with Everton's striker marginally coming out on top.
Lukaku has, nevertheless, started the season in fine form and looks hungry to continue. With almost fifty Premier League goals to his name at the tender age of twenty two, the price tag of £8.2m seems advantageously generous. If the Belgian wasn't to score against the blue side from West London, feel assured that he is a sound long-term investment, permitting haphazard difficulty with injury.
The standout fixture of Gameweek 5 pits two giants of the North West against each other. Liverpool travel to Old Trafford dreary and dumbfounded off the back of a rather embarrassing 3-0 home defeat to West Ham. Both teams have had a similar start to the season, with two 1-0 wins, a goalless draw and a loss each.
One would expect the side from Manchester to be the stronger of the two, but like their opponents, they have lacked firepower in front of goal. This game promises a possessive style of play from the home team and the result will hinge on how Liverpool set up to counteract this footballing method.
Roberto Firmino, still fresh from his £29m move to Merseyside from 1899 Hoffenheim earlier this summer, is yet to get off the mark in English football. However, his fierce shot and wicked turn of pace seem the most likely source of points for the away team, considering they break forward following switches in possession. Averaging a goal every three and a half matches for his former employers, Firmino will be keen to open his Premier League account sooner rather than later, and £8.2m appears to be good value for the Brazilian.
For Manchester United, defence seems the most likely form of attack speaking from a Fantasy Premier League perspective. Relatively affordable, United's back four has remained the same this season in all competitions. Unfortunately the cheapest of these is Daley Blind, who has been clumsily listed as a midfielder by the website. However, his defensive partner at left back Luke Shaw is beginning to show the Old Trafford faithful why the club decided to invest so heavily in the youngster, linking up cleverly with fellow left-sided team mate Memphis Depay.
Last week, Shaw registered an assist despite conceding two goals against Swansea and tallied up six valuable points in the process, making him United's highest scoring defender of the current campaign. Priced at just £5.6m Shaw, much like Lukaku, appears to be an intelligent long term purchase.
As international selections mercifully snatch footballers from their respective clubs, Fantasy Premier League managers ravenously nibble their finger nails in fear of injury. The most reliable slither of advice for this weekend would be not to make one's transfers too hastily and correctly assume that patience is key when considering this overdrawn and dour transfer opportunity.
