Gameweek 5: Fantasy Football Preview

As I type the fallout from the Boris Johnson cabinet reshuffle is dominating the UK news media, but should we be surprised that Boris has decided to do this now?

Far be it for me to call the Prime Minister a populist, but even he must have seen the buzz and clamour about wildcards in FPL over the last couple of weeks and thought that he too fancied a bit of that.

So out goes Dominic Raab, and in comes Liz Truss. Farewell Gavin Williamson and welcome on board Nadhim Zahawi. So long Robert Jenrick, and hello to Michael Gove.

Life is really but a game, isn’t it?

Onto GW5!

Defender: Max Kilman, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Last week I tipped a Wolves defender and Romain Saiss did not let me down, delivering a first clean sheet of the season as Wolves walloped Watford.

This week I like their prospects of another clean sheet against a Brentford side who have only scored three goals this season, and two of them were against Arsenal, so y’know….

Therefore, I’ve decided to pick a player that sounds like he would be what Americans would have called James Bond, had they thought of him first – Max Kilman.

Now I’d like to make it clear that to the best of my knowledge Max has never harmed a fly, but he can do your team a power of good with a clean sheet this weekend. Owned by less than 0.5% and costing just £4.5m, can you afford NOT to go with him?

Midfielder: Demarai Gray, Everton

Great managers don’t just create good teams, they unleash the potential of good players to become great players.

Rafa Benitez is once again doing Rafa Benitez things, with Everton sitting joint top of the Premier League after picking up three wins and a draw in their opening four fixtures.

Rafa’s capture of the eternally-promising-but-never-delivering Demarai Gray raised a couple of eyebrows this summer, but in fairness it’s proven to be a masterstroke thus far. A goal in three consecutive games means that Gray is finally starting to deliver on the undoubted potential he has always possessed, but never quite realised.

An away fixture beckons to an Aston Villa side who have conceded seven in four games with just one clean sheet against Newcastle United. For £5.7m he’s looking like a real bargain pick.

Forward: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal

During pre-season when Harry Kane was taking an extended holiday, all the FPL talk was of avoiding ‘premium’ forwards and instead load your team with high-value midfielders.

Then Ronaldo and Lukaku arrived and that plan was ripped up faster than a Brexit trade deal. Suddenly we all needed an expensive striker or two.

However, there’s a man who in the not too distant past plundered 22 goals in consecutive seasons, smashing the 200-point barrier, and today he costs less than ten million FPL pounds. He’s owned by just 2.2% of players, and he got his goal tally moving last weekend with the only goal of the game and all three bonus points.

This weekend he faces a Burnley side who seem to have become everybody’s second-most-hated team. They’ve shipped eight goals in four games, and if (admittedly it’s a big if) Arsenal can turn things around, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang may well prove to be a bargain.

Captain: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool

Way back in GW1 I may have casually mentioned that Trent may become a viable captaincy choice this season, but even I hadn’t thought it would come this early.

However, with three clean sheets, two assists and eight bonus points in just four games, the time is now. Two 12-point hauls already and a home fixture against a more adventurous Crystal Palace side coming to Anfield (who he has scored against in the past).

It’s bold. It’s brave. It’s not for the faint of heart.

Outsider: Andrew Omobamidele, Norwich City

If you’re like me, you normally brave the International breaks, get your head down and wait for the fun to return. However, this time I learned something while watching the Republic of Ireland play, and that is the emergence of Andrew Omobamidele. He was sensational against Portugal and Serbia, and even caught the eye of his club manager at Norwich as Daniel sat up on his couch, said ‘Farke’ and put him in his first XI last weekend.

Just £3.9m you know. He’s an FPL squad enablers dream.

Your move…