With Manchester City hosting Chelsea, the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal & Manchester United will look to capitalise in Gameweek 5.
QPR v Stoke City
Hardly a glamour tie to kick the gameweek off and in all honestly probably not one worth touching from a fantasy football point of view. Both sides’ defences were popular selections at the start of the season but unfortunately they have failed to deliver. QPR looked awful last week against a rampant Manchester United and Stoke have now lost two home games already without managing to register a goal. Give this one a wide berth this week as although it could easily be 0-0, neither side can be trusted at present.
Key Stat
3 of the 4 games involving Stoke this season have finished 1-0, with only 5 goals being scored in all their league games so far.
Star Pick – Eduardo Vargas
Having lost Loic Remy, Vargas is by far the most potent attacking threat QPR possess. It would be baffling if he doesn’t start this game and being currently owned by 0.0% of players it’s safe to say he is a slight differential option.
Aston Villa v Arsenal
Villa have surprised everyone so far this season and could face Arsenal at a good time considering both their current injuries and poor form. The Gunners do still possess a lot of quality though and should still be considered favourites, albeit in a tight game with few goals.
Key Stat
Arsenal have drawn their last 3 league games, failing to grab a win since the opening day despite averaging 1.66 goals a game.
Star Pick – Alexis Sanchez
The Chile International is slowly growing into this season, potentially having finally managed to shake off a World Cup hangover. He is the type of player that can score from nothing and could make the difference in a tricky fixture for Arsenal.
Burnley v Sunderland
These are the games that Burnley need to pick up 3 points in if they are to avoid relegation this season, but unfortunately Sunderland demonstrated last week that they are prepared to dig deep and pull out results. Burnley have mustered just 1 goal so far in the league and that was 3 games ago. As a result it is simply not possible to back them at present so any differential gambles in this game should come from the visitors.
Key Stat
Neither side have managed to win a game so far this season, with Burnley also failing to score in their last 3 games.
Star Pick – Sebastian Larsson
The midfielder has been perhaps the most creative player so far, with 2 assists and 1 goal in 4 games. He takes a lot of the free-kicks and corners so is always a dark horse for points.
Newcastle United v Hull City
It was mentioned last week that Newcastle simply do not score enough goals. They lost 4-0 to Southampton and nothing has changed meaning despite being at home to Hull it is still hard to make a case for them. They do have some decent forward players but all seem to be patchy players making it impossible to guess when they will perform. Hull were pegged back twice against West Ham on Monday and could fancy themselves to pinch this one here.
Key Stat
Newcastle have conceded at least 2 goals in 5 of their last 6 home league games. Not a great stat for a team that struggle to score themselves.
Star Pick – Nikica Jelavic
The forward already has two goals to his name and could finally be regaining some of the clinical form he displayed at Everton.
Swansea City v Southampton
Both sides have had a strong start to the season and this one has the potential to be a great fixture. Probably best to avoid both sets of defenders as clean sheets are unlikely, which conversely means the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic could all feature prominently.
Key Stat
Swansea have attempted the fewest crosses per game in the league (13.5). Any chances are perhaps likely to come from more central areas.
Star Pick – Gylfi Sigurdsson
A goal and 4 assists already this season, there is no reason to suspect that the playmakers form will dip this week.
West Ham United v Liverpool
Liverpool have been unimpressive so far, with even manager Brendan Rodgers admitting that they are some way off the levels of last season at the moment. They appear to be missing Daniel Sturridge badly and his continued absence this week will make it another tough challenge for them. If West Ham sit tight they will frustrate Liverpool, if they go for the win however, they could be badly exposed to The Red’s pace.
Key Stat
Liverpool have scored at least 2 goals in 8 of their last 9 away matches, only failing to do so against Manchester City last month.
Star Pick – Raheem Sterling
The youngster will be tasked with carrying his senior teammates again this week. Rodgers should have worked out by now that Liverpool are a much better side when playing Sterling at the tip of the diamond behind 2 upfront.
Leicester City v Manchester United
Leicester finally got what some of their previous performances had deserved last week, coming away with an overdue victory. They are up against it here and it’s a safe bet that they will start slightly cagey against such a strong United attack. Indeed, it shouldn’t matter what The Foxes do as RVP, Wayne Rooney and Radamel Falcao should have far too much quality for them, particularly when assisted by Angel Di Maria and Juan Mata.
Key Stat
There have been 2 or less goals in each of Leicester’s last 3 league games AND United’s last 4 away games. Perhaps this won’t be another United walkover..
Star Pick – Wayne Rooney
It remains to be seen who will make way to accommodate Falcao, but club captain Rooney should definitely be safe from the drop.
Tottenham Hotspur v West Bromwich Albion
West Brom have managed just 2 goals so far this season and in truth need to sort themselves out quickly. Spurs will view this game as a great chance to get back on track after just a point from their last two games and can be expected to do just that. Provided they score in the first half to keep their own fans off their back, Spurs should win comfortably here and possibly even keep a clean sheet.
Key Stat
West Brom have failed to score in each of their last 4 Premier League away matches – decent evidence for a Spurs clean sheet.
Star Pick – Emmanuel Adebayor
A goal and 2 assists isn’t exactly the start that Adebayor was looking for, but he is clinical and could kick start his tally this week.
Everton v Crystal Palace
The Toffees finally rectified their previous defensive errors last week, much to the delight of the huge number of players who have the Everton fullbacks in their squads. Palace look likely to continue struggling this season without Tony Pulis and as a result are likely to slump to a fairly tame loss here.
Key Stat
Everton have scored at least 2 goals in each of their last 8 home league games.
Star Pick – Romelu Lukaku
He got his season off and running last weekend and this looks a good game for him to get a run going.
Manchester City v Chelsea
This is a fixture that really jumps off the page and could be a pivotal 6-pointer between the two sides most likely to win the title. Games between these two can often be very tight affairs so be prepared for the same here. Despite the sheer amount of attacking talent on display, losing the game is too costly and as a result both sides are unlikely to fully flex their attacking muscle.
Key Stat
City have scored at least 2 goals in 11 of their last 12 league games, whilst Chelsea have scored 2+ in each league game this season.
Star Pick – Sergio Aguero
It is simply too hard to oppose a fully fit Aguero at the Etihad.
Written by Chris Martin
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