In this article, we have a look at the best options for GW5 onwards in FPL, analysing fixtures, form and underlying data to find six players who are all worth having in your team.
Despite being the week before the international break, many are Wildcarding, and lots are weighing up if they should sell Szoboszlai.
Morgan Gibbs-White – £8m, MID
With over 238,000 transfers in, 26 points so far, and an explosive haul nature, Morgan Gibbs-White is the only place to start.
Not to mention, he has Coventry at home. Conceded 5 at their own ground last week, haven’t scored at all and four losses in their first four Premier League games since 2001.
He’s becoming the hype man of the FPL community, and rightly so. To add to an already amazing pick, he’s on penalties.
There’s every reason to get him in now, ahead of the plum fixture. He still plays Palace and Ipswich in the next four, though.
His long-term fixtures don’t look amazing, but not terrible – Forest are currently ranked 9th on the Ticker in this period.
The form that they carry away from home, however, is worth a note. Forest got 24 points away from home last season, to their 20 at home, and are one of the best teams for away fixtures. Fixtures such as Brentford, Bournemouth and Palace away shouldn’t be as tough of tests as they look on paper now.
He’s exactly the kind of player who randomly gets a hattrick in one of these games.
Vitaly Janelt – £5.0m, MID
Vitaly Janelt has the Elliott Anderson feel about him this season.
He’s already got the joint-most DEFCON in the whole Premier League, scored two goals, and is only owned by 2.5% of managers.
While everyone jumps at Pascal Gross, who scored a 17-pointer last week, Janelt saves 0.7m.
And if we look at xG numbers, Gross has been overperforming massively, grabbing 5 goal involvements from 2.3 xGI. Yes, the Brighton man is a good pick, but one who is very overhyped, especially considering his next five games, in which he plays Arsenal, City, and Liverpool.
The underlying data is very close – if we count points based on expected data, Gross takes it by less than a point. And DEFCON is more reliable than attacking returns.
But is that worth the 0.7m? It’s up to you to decide.
A potential set-and-forget for the rest of the season.
James Tarkowski – £6.1m, DEF
James Tarkowski is a great long-term pick.
He has great defensive contribution numbers, is reliable for clean sheets in the Everton defence, and has the occasional goal threat.
There’s nothing to dislike, except perhaps his price of £6.1m. He was the fifth highest-scoring defender in the game last season, with 2 goals and 3 assists to add to a rate of 10.19 defcon per 90.
And with Ipswich and Hull in his next two, this is the perfect time to jump on.
He hasn’t blanked yet this season, unless you count the 3-pointer in GW3, which included DEFCON points.
To add to that, Everton are currently 8th overall for expected goals conceded, with 5.5, better than the likes of Brentford and Sunderland, although not amazing.
Tarkowski has main appeal on a Wildcard, or as a long-term hold, given his reliability. However, with IPS (H) and HUL (A), now is the best entry point in a while.
His fixtures after that do take a slight dip.
Josko Gvardiol – £5.7m, DEF
Josko Gvardiol is already the second-highest scoring player in FPL this season.
He’ll be looking to hit the heights that saw him top the defenders’ list in the 24/25 season, with 153 points. An injury-hit 25/26 season wasn’t so good, but the Croatian will be hoping to put that behind him this year.
And with a goal in the opening game, two assists and two clean sheets, he’s off to a great start.
His underlying numbers aren’t great, with only 0.2 xG in the four games so far. However, his aerial presence means he’s still a constant goal-scoring threat.
Fixtures are one of his main attractions too, with a very solid run until a visit to Arsenal in GW12. Even that is eight Gameweeks away, on the 28 November. A lot can happen before than.
Murillo – £5.5m, DEF
Murillo is one the most under-the-radar picks in FPL right now.
Nottingham Forest have appeared to be one of the most solid defences in the league, sitting third for xGC behind only the title contenders Arsenal and Manchester City.
In addition, this is a Glasner team we are talking about. The Austrian coach managed Crystal Palace last year, with his 3-4-3 system creating DEFCON monsters in Lacroix and Richards, who averaged 10.93 and 9.97 contributions per 90 last year.
He’s hit 10 defcon in three of the four games so far. He could absolutely be one of FPL’s new DEFCON monster, and while his 5.5m price tag might put some off, the fixtures, plus the defcon, make him a solid pick.
Thierno Barry – £5.6m, FWD
Thierno Barry is an interesting FPL pick, but a really good one too.
He is a player who has potential to go big in the next few Gameweeks, with his xG tally only second to Haaland, and the fixtures to match. Ipswich at home, Hull away in the next two.
Then it gets a little worse, with Coventry the only ripe fixture in a dry run.
However, if he can be benched for Arsenal away, it is better than it looks at first glance. Chelsea and Newcastle rank 12th and 17th for expected goals conceded so far.
He’s only got one goal so far, while everyone else on the above list has at least two.
He also ranks joint-fourth for shots (13), joint-second for big chances (5) and joint-second for shots in the box (13).
The question is, can he finish those chances?
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