After a two week international break, our beloved Premier League returns this weekend.
However, this unfortunately reignites several stress factors we constantly endure playing FPL. The ‘ifs, buts, and maybes’ that continually play tricks on our minds.
The Gameweek 5 fixtures:
Saturday
Liverpool vs Newcastle
Manchester United vs Leicester City
Sheffield United vs Southampton
Brighton vs Burnley
Wolves vs Chelsea
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace
Norwich vs Manchester City
Sunday
Bournemouth vs Everton
Watford vs Arsenal
Aston Villa vs West Ham
Questions and queries will surround the prospect of deploying your precious Wildcard following the international break (for those with the chip still intact). Injuries and fatigue, as predicted, have infected FPL squads and managers will be looking for a change.
Although the idea of a Manchester City triple-up will set you back a hefty amount, we simply cannot ignore the current form of the players within the squad.
Pep Guardiola's side faces Norwich away this Saturday and if the history books are anything to go by, we could be in for a thrilling match with a plethora of goals.
During the previous nine encounters between the two sides in all competitions, extraordinarily, there have been a grand total of 38 goals scored.
Kevin De Bruyne, King Kev, the Ginger Pele. What else is there to say about this man? The man is a master at the art of football.
It comes as no surprise to us that he recorded a 23-minute hat-trick of assists against Scotland in a 4-0 victory on Tuesday, not to mention his 82nd-minute strike to seal the game off.
In seven games combined for club and country this season, KDB has now amassed eight assists and two goals.
Priced at £9.8m, the Belgian international has remarkably produced a goal involvement every 58 minutes since the start of the new campaign.
In each of Manchester City’s Premier League fixtures so far, De Bruyne has produced an attacking return. We expect the 28-year-old to be within the mix of goals once again, his 16 chances created are more than any other player in FPL.
On the other hand, we still haven’t highlighted Bernado Silva or Raheem Sterling.
Alongside KDB, the duo also produced four or more attacking returns for their national sides over the last fortnight.
International records over the two-week break:
Bernardo Silva
Minutes: 179
Goals: 1
Assists: 3
Raheem Sterling
Minutes: 161
Goals: 2
Assists: 4
With just the one goal in three league appearances for the Cityzens, Bernardo Silva has started slowly to the 2019/20 season, but his duty with Portugal suggests anything but that.
Away from home this season, Sterling has tallied 28 points and produced four goals whilst on his travels. The Englishman has mustered up a total of 37 points and sits joint-second for total points scored in FPL.
Over the international break, even City’s current first-choice left-back, Oleksandr Zinchenko, has been in on the action. The Ukranian has fired in single strikes against both Lithuania and Nigeria.
Despite missing out on a call-up with Argentina, Sergio Agüero is possibly the pick of the bunch this weekend.
Well-rested, Agüero could be set to unleash fire.
The Argentine forward recorded a 16-point haul in his previous outing and has been in prolific form, scoring in every top-flight fixture this season, including two braces.
The 31-year-old boasts a phenomenal account against Norwich, supplying six goals and four assists in seven appearances over the years, making him a worthy candidate for the captaincy armband.
Following on from Norwich comes a home encounter against Watford, another fixture in which Agüero has blossomed in, scoring 10 ten in seven games against the Hornets.
A City triple-up would be perfect ahead of their next fixture.
Considering the Canaries have conceded more goals than any other side in the league this season and by the looks of their injury list, it could be about to get a whole lot worse for Daniel Farke’s side…
