Fantasy Premier League, Gameweek 6: Teams with best fixtures, players to buy and captaincy options

The international break brought with it a change of fortunes for Fantasy Premier League managers. A rich average haul of 60 points in Gameweek five was a welcome change after two back-to-back average scores of below 50 in the previous two gameweeks.

Four out of the five most transferred in players last week delivered returns with Tottenham’s Son Heung-min and Harry Kane, who were the leading captaincy picks, returning with rich hauls.

Once again there was a rich goal return in the Premier League with two 3-3 draws even though the league saw its first goalless draw of the season.

With defences struggling and the top teams beginning their European campaigns in midweek, expect more goals as teams battle fatigue.

As Gameweek six approaches, here are the teams which FPL managers need to look at based on the difficulty of the fixture, not just for this week but also in coming gameweeks.

Fixture Difficulty

The big ins and outs

Player sales and purchases are good indicators of the likely top performers in the coming gameweeks but this parameter also tends to be volatile. Performances in just one gameweek can affect the ownership of players. However, the price rise/fall of a player depends directly on the movement in the player market in FPL, so it’s an important factor to look at when you are trying to maximise your squad value.

Top picks for GW6

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool): When Liverpool play at Anfield, you have Salah in the team, especially against a team from the bottom half of the table. Salah has taken the most shots in the league so far and is also on penalty duties for Liverpool who have the highest xG tally in the Premier League.

Against a Sheffield United team that has lost four out of the five games so far, Salah is a must-have this week.

Harry Kane (Tottenham): Like Salah, Tottenham’s Kane is also in the must-have category. The English striker is in the form of his life and has been revolutionised by Mourinho in a slightly deeper role. He has taken most shots in the Premier League along with Salah and leads the xGi (expected goal involvement, a parameter determining a player’s chances of getting a goal or an assist) in the Premier League. Kane has also created the most number of big chances in the league.

Also on penalty duties for Spurs, Kane is a goal threat and also a prime assist provider. Even against a Burnley side who don’t concede a lot of goals, Kane has to be in your FPL team.

Neal Maupay (Brighton): The Brighton forward has had an excellent start to the season scoring four times and assisting once in the five matches so far. He has benefited from Brighton’s attacking style of play and his xG (expected goals) tally is only second to Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Up against a West Brom side that has the league’s joint-worst defence, Maupay is set to be among the goals for a Brighton side that hasn’t got what it deserved so far in its matches. At £6.6 million, he is quite a cheap option as well. With penalties in his locker as well, he can be an excellent option even for the long term.

Roman Saiss (Wolves): Nuno Espirito Santo’s side jumped to fifth place in the table and seem to be slowly finding their feet. A second consecutive clean sheet for Wolves showed that they are back doing what they do best which is shut out teams. Facing goal-shy Newcastle and Crystal Palace in their next few games, having a Wolves defender is pretty necessary.

Saiss is the pick of the lot and carries a goal threat as well. Having already scored this season, he saw his goal ruled out against Leeds in the last game. Another important reason for owning Saiss is his bonus point count. He has scored bonus points every time Wolves have kept a clean sheet and that streak is likely to continue in the next two games.

Marcus Rashford (Manchester United): Often neglected by FPL managers either for Bruno Fernandes or Anthony Martial, Rashford has been making big contributions. He followed up a fifteen points haul against Newcastle with another goal against PSG in the Champions League.

Up against a leaky Chelsea defence against whom he has a fine record (five goals and three assists in 11 games), Rashford is the man to go for this week, especially considering he will play up top in the absence of Martial. Low on ownership, he could also be a quality differential pick.

Differential picks

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City): The Argentine striker is a goalscoring legend in the Premier League with the best goals-per-minute ratio in the competition’s history. However, injury saw him make a delayed start to the season. With striker options aplenty, he has been neglected by FPL managers so far with an ownership of just 2.2%. Available at a price of £10.4 million, now is the time to buy Aguero who will sooner rather than later come to the party and be the most sought-after asset. He is usually fixture proof and getting him early could be hugely beneficial.

John McGinn (Aston Villa): McGinn has been the silent hero of Villa’s stunning start to the Premier League season. With four assists and a goal to his name, he has been a consistent performer for Villa. He has created as many big chances in the Premier League as Jack Grealish and is much cheaper than Villa’s star man. At just £5.5 million, he is very cheap and with an ownership of just 2% could be a very effective differential considering Villa’s fixtures. His teammate Ross Barkley, is also another differential option to consider.

Adrian (Liverpool): Goalkeepers don’t usually make these lists, but Liverpool’s Adrian given Alisson’s injury and their upcoming fixtures could be a very good player to win. Sheffield United have the fifth-lowest xG in the league and are unlikely to improve that at Anfield. With another home game beyond that, Adrian could be a very nice goalkeeping option to have at just £4.5 million.

Captain’s conundrum

A lot of options from the big sides are quite attractive when it comes to captaincy for GW 6. Spurs duo of Kane and Son is in red-hot form and either of them could be a great option to place the armband on. Spurs have scored 11 goals in their two away games this season. However, against Burnley, it would be pretty much like a home game for Spurs as the home side would sit back and defend limiting their chances on the counter-attack.

Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling who scored in the last two league games is also a good differential option even though City face an in-form West Ham side. Sterling scored a hat-trick in the corresponding fixture last season and usually does well on the road for City.

However, when it comes to Salah at Anfield, you don’t look any further. The Egyptian has started the season well and has the potential of racking up plenty of points this week against Sheffield United. His teammate Sadio Mane, who made our top picks for consecutive gameweeks, is also an excellent differential captain pick.

Elsewhere, for those in the mood of some adventure, Brighton’s Maupay, in-form Calvert-Lewin and United’s Fernandes could also be options worth considering.

FPL Deadline for GW6: 11:00 pm IST, Friday, October 23, 2020.

(Stats Courtesy: Fantasy Premier League website, FBref.com)