Introduction
It is fair to say it has been an unusual season in terms of Telegraph Fantasy Football. We are seeing a few upsets, some teams playing well like Palace and relegation zone not filled with the newly promoted.
It’s a mad season so far, but someone needs to understand the sense in it.
Best Premium Picks for GW5
This week has been dubbed the Haaland week in most fantasy football games. This is because he is firing on all cylinders and playing the team most expect to come bottom. Unfortunately, in Telegraph Fantasy Football these is no triple captains or 12th man options, but it’s nice to have a top scorer in your team.
Salah is normally the other premium player that we talk about, but this week they have a truly tough task against them in Crystal Palace. The positive is that Liverpool tend to be winning their games at the death by scrapping a goal, maybe this week.
Other regular premium players include Cole Palmer who is likely injured for the next 2-3 weeks. Bruno Fernandes is another top player, and Man United have Brentford away, which is a game they should win. This means he could be a tempting pick.
Best Mid-Priced Picks for GW5
Antoine Semenyo, 3.1m, Bournemouth. This guy gets better and better, and I am still surprised Man United didn’t pursue this guy harder. Anyway, this season he is playing well and finds himself up against Leeds this weekend.
Matheus Cunha, 4m, Man United. Cunha has had a slow start to the season, especially after what we saw from him last year. Brentford could be a good game for him to find his form again.
Illiman Ndiaye, 3.2m, Everton. Playing West Ham, enough said. Ndiaye is Everton’s most effective goal scorer so technically if there are goals against West Ham he will be part of them.
Tijjani Reijnders, 3.5m, Man City. Tijjani is a well balanced midfielder that seems to chip in at every phase of play and do it effectively. He had another good game last week and this week he plays Burnley.
Pedro Porro, 3.8m, Tottenham. If you want a defender that attacks and can have clean sheets then Porro is on the list. He has been a staple in Telegraph Fantasy Football teams up and down the land.
Best Cheap Picks for GW5
Omar Alderete, 2.6m, Sunderland. Having a good season so far and the model thinks it will get better and be a threat at goal. This is probabaly going to be from set pieces, which gives him the edge over Mukiele.
Jaidon Anthony, 2.8m, Burnley. I have so much faith in this guy and he is living up to it this season. If Burnley go down, then Anthony will be staying up. He has the goals to his game and can also assist from time to time.
Adrien Truffert, 2.3m, Bournemouth. Another attacking full back, but also part of a solid defence. Truffert is always going to be part of the attack with his need to get forward. With Leeds playing deep, he is going to be improtant to stretch the play and get crosses in.
Elliot Anderson, 3m, Nottingham Forest. One of the favourites in the Telegraph Fantasy Football this year, along with an England appearance. Forest are home and are going dominate, so look this guy up.
GW5 Fixtures to Target
So this is where we use the model to target certain fixtures for this weekend to get us ahead. So let’s start with the fixtures the Telegraph Fantasy Football model recommends.
- Man City v Burnley – So this is the closest thing to a sure thing in the model, especially with the quality and number of chances that Man City create.
- Crystal Palace v Liverpool – While Palace are playing really well, the model is favouring Liverpool, probably because of the late goals. Regardless, Liverpool tend to find a way to win, but I don’t think it will be pretty.
- Brentford v Man United – This is a prediction I really am not sure about. The model says that Man United have one of the strongest teams in the league. The problem is that I am yet to see it in the league.
- Chelsea v Brighton – This game should be Chelsea despite not having Palmer available. It should technically be a shopping trip for Chelsea, selecting who they want to buy next.
Players to Avoid in GW5
The obvious ones to avoid are Palmer, any Wolves player due to playing Spurs and potentially Forest players. The reason I wouldn’t touch Forest players is that they currently trying to find their best players. Ange will find his team and it will be attacking, but how long that will take is another thing.
I would also avoid Burnley players because the indicators are saying that it is going to be ugly for Burnley. If you need to take someone, look at their midfield potentially, like Jaidon Anthony.
GW5 Differential Picks
These are players which have a very low owned rate of <= 0.50. They are overlooked players who can make the difference.
Omar Alderete is really striking an accord with me. The model has picked him out as an Elite defender who is not only good at defending, but from set pieces.
Bafode Diakite and Petrovic, this is unusual, a double pick from one team. Petrovice is a hugely under appreciated goal keeper and Diakite is seen as a complete defender. It’s double bubble if they get a clean sheet, but they offer so much more.
Trossard is an interesting one. He seems to be very effective on that left wing, but shares it with Martinelli. He is seriously underrated, especially in big games scoring and assisting. Could this be his weekend?
Conclusion
There is another fantastic weekend ahead of us, with some big games to play. This could be the weekend that Chelsea and Man United put their foot on the gas and go for it. Time to get some points this week.
Hopefully you enjoyed the tips and good luck!
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