The positive headlines of Gameweek 5 were once again stolen by one player in particularly, who continues his remarkable start to life in the Premier League. Erling Haaland (£11.9m) feasted on Forest, the Norwegian treating himself to a second successive Premier League hat-trick and consecutive 17-point-hauls as Man City brushed aside Nott’m Forest by six goals to nil at the Etihad Stadium. The exploits of Harry Kane (£11.4m) paled in comparison as he could only gain an assist and five points in Spurs’ 1-1 draw with West Ham. However, TSZ’s hot-streak of differential captain picks continued as Julian Alvarez (£6.2m) bagged a brace and 12 FPL points in his first start for Man City.
With a turnaround of less than 48 hours, FPL managers have little time to waste in terms of preparing for Gameweek 6. As always, we’re on hand to help, running the rule over some selected premium captain picks as well as a differential selection ahead of Saturday’s 11:00 deadline.
PREMIUM OPTIONS
Erling Haaland (£11.9m) vs AVL (a)
It will take a very very brave FPL manager not to place the armband upon Erling Haaland as he aims to become the first player in Premier League history to score three consecutive hat-tricks. Nine goals in five English top flight appearances is an extraordinary return and he sits comfortably top of the FPL point-scoring charts in all positions.
Aston Villa will be the next team tasked with trying to stop Man City and Haaland, who after being substituted off in the second-half stands an excellent chance of starting once again. Steven Gerrard’s men are yet to keep a clean sheet this season and the pressure is ramping up on the Aston Villa boss. Haaland should prove too strong for a flaky home defence and once again secure a significant FPL score.
Mo Salah (£13.0m) vs EVE (a)
Those who opted to captain Mo Salah over Haaland in Gameweek 5 will have likely suffered a red arrow, however, the Egyptian at least minimised the damage with ten points of his own thanks to two assists as Liverpool came from beyond to beat Newcastle late on at Anfield. Haaland’s exploits have cast a shadow over Salah so far this season, but with 35 points to his name so far, he is the fourth highest scoring FPL player in all positions.
The Merseyside derby is always a feisty encounter, especially at Goodison Park and it goes without saying that Salah will be desperate to make his mark on the fixture. Each of his two Premier League goals scored so far in 2022-23 have come away from home. This bodes well for his Gameweek 6 prospects and those needing to make up ground in their respective mini-leagues could find themselves in the usual position of captaining Salah, knowing that he isn’t the highest captain player of the weekend.
Harry Kane (£11.4m) vs FUL (H)
Like Salah, Kane’s performances this season haven’t gotten the attention they may have in previous campaigns as a result of Haaland’s hauls, but the England international has started the season extremely well for Spurs. In the past, Kane had struggled in August but he seems to have put those demons firmly behind him, having recorded four goals and one assist across the opening five gameweeks.
A home fixture against Fulham in Gameweek 6 will no doubt pique the interest of many in the world of FPL with the Cottagers a newly promoted team. As well as Marco Silva’s side have started the season, a third fixture in the space of eight days is a big ask for them and it would be no surprise if their performance levels dropped ever so slightly this weekend. This would naturally bode well for Kane and those who opt to name him skipper.
DIFFERENTIAL OPTION
Jadon Sancho (£7.3m) vs ARS (H)
When Erik ten Hag was named as Man Utd manager, fans immediately racked their brains as to which players would benefit the most from playing under the Dutchman. Fast forward five gameweeks and one player who appears to finally be showing the qualities which prompted United to splash out so much money to sign him in summer 2021, is attacking midfielder Jadon Sancho (£7.3m).
The 22-year-old has netted twice in the last three gameweeks, accruing two separate ten-point-hauls in the process, an impressive return for a player with such a cheap FPL price-tag. Sancho will want to maintain that consistency here in Gameweek 6 with fierce rivals Arsenal the visitors to Old Trafford. As was the case with our recommendations of Wilfried Zaha and Julian Alvarez in previous gameweeks, picking a differential skipper could reap rewards for those managers looking for a poing of difference.
