Kick-Off: Gameweek 5 Fantasy Preview

Michael Carrick celebrated the only goal against Galatasaray.

European fixtures took place this midweek and players who played will certainly face stamina problems. Be prepared for unanticipated squad rotations.

GAMEWEEK 4 TOP SCORERS

1. Alexander Buttner (£5.5m, 17 pts): Great game by the Dutch as Patrice Evra's (£7.0m, 0 pts) position is threatened much earlier than expected. One of the man to scout but it is quite risky to own him at the moment.
2. Yao Gervinho (£7.3m, 15 pts): A sudden bombastic performance by the Ivorian. Doesn't look like a good fantasy prospect yet, especially when he only did averagely last season.
3. Matthew Lowton (£4.5m, 14 pts): Another erratic score like Gervinho. I do not recommend any Aston Villa defenders  at this moment unless they can tighten up the back line a bit.
4. Dimitar Berbatov (£7.1m, 13 pts): The new ace at Craven Cottage. One of the best third fantasy man up front at the moment.
5. Demba Ba (£7.7m, 12 pts): Man in fury. His potential will pretty much depend on Alan Pardew's tactical plan though.

FEATURED: Liverpool v Manchester United @ Anfield
Liverpool aim to get their first victory of the season as they await Manchester United's challenge at Anfield.

Justice seems to reach the doorsteps of Hillsborough victims finally after latest release of evidence last Wednesday, claiming that part of the deaths could be avoided if the police and emergency services authorities were more efficient. Definitely a very emotional moment for the players and supporters.

Jonjo Shelvey (£5.3m) scored a brace in Liverpool's 5-3 victory over Young Boys and could push for a start against Manchester United but Luis Suarez (£9.4m) and Raheem Sterling (£4.6m) should be the main threat of Liverpool again. The back-line seriously needs to be tightened up though if they are to sustain United's extravagant offence led by Robin Van Persie (£13.5m) and co. Big, big challenge.

Alexander Buttner (£5.5m) may start ahead of Patrice Evra (£7.0m) — who did poorly in Champions League — again. He certainly needs to do more to get good fantasy points again though. Shinji Kagawa (£8.6m) assisted Michael Carrick (£5.9m) in the Red Devils' Champions League win against Galatasaray — a man to watch.

As exciting as always despite the increased gap between them. Nonetheless, I don't think United can grab a win here as Liverpool always play at higher levels against greater oppositions.

Prediction: LIV 1-1 MUN

TEAM FOCUS: Tottenham
Tottenham will be hoping to get start their winning streak after breaking their victory duck against Reading, and a home game against Queens Park Rangers presents a great opportunity to do so.

Jermaine Defoe (£7.6m) should be the first pick against with Emmanuel Adebayor (£9.4m) suffering an injury. Great chance for a brace of goals again for the English. Another man who is expected to perform is Gareth Bale (£9.3m), who finally opened his goal account last gameweek against Reading.

Defensive wise they are also quite probable to get their first clean sheet of the season, so while I am not encouraging you to get their defenders (especially when they face Manchester United next gameweek), you should play them this gameweek if you have any of them in your fantasy team.

PLAYER FOCUS: Ba
Demba Ba (£7.7m) is certainly the man to watch, having scored both goals in the Magpies draw against Everton. A little bit risky with him missing the Europa League tie against Maritimo possibly due to recent disputes, but nonetheless a risk worth to be taken in my opinion.

Also on my radar is West Brom's Romelu Lukaku (£6.5m), who should start following Peter Odemwingie's suspension. He definitely has the quality to shine, just like what he had shown against Liverpool.

GAMEWEEK 5 DREAM TEAM

Foster

Walker — Ivanovic — Demel

Hazard (C) — Morrison — Ben Arfa — Bale

Torres — Defoe (VC) — Berbatov

Subs: Jaaskelainen — Puncheon —  McAuley — Santon

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Saturday Screamers: BerbaTOP at London

Berbatov hitting the second goal from the spot in Fulham's 3-0 victory against West Brom.

20 goals were produced in 8 Premier League games yesterday! Here are some highlights:

• BerbaTOP. Former Golden Boot winner Dimitar Berbatov (£7.0m, 10 pts) was the man in Fulham's comprehensive victory over West Brom, scoring the first 2 goals for the team. Looks like a great value buy with as his price is certainly much lower than what his ability suggests. Good to go if you are low on budget.
• Also providing super value returns is budget midfielder Alex Kacaniklic (£4.6m, 9 pts), who provided 2 assists. Certainly one of the best fifth midfielder across FPL at the moment.
• Meanwhile, Arsenal recorded a whopping 6-1 victory over Southampton, with Yao Gervinho (£7.3m, 12 pts) the top scorer with 2 goals. Not so sure about his prospect yet, as I believe he is quite susceptible to rotation.
• Lukas Podolski (£8.5m, 6 pts) is the man that you should go for instead as he scored a direct free kick goal and was the main reason for Southampton's first own goal of the match. The German certainly played well as a centre forward and left Olivier Giroud (£8.8m, 1pt) pondering on the bench.
• Kieran Gibbs (£5.8m, 8 pts) provided 2 assists, while Santi Cazorla (£9.2m, 5 pts) carried forward his fine form with another assist. The only poor performer was Wojciech Szcznesny (£5.5m, 2pts) who made a silly mistake and costed the whole defensive line precious clean sheet points.
• At Old Trafford we saw Manchester United thrashed Wigan 4-0, with Alexander Buttner (£5.5m, 14 pts) providing a superb penalty box dribble plus narrow angle goal.
• "Chicharito" Javier Hernandez (£7.5m, 7 pts) missed a penalty but compensated with a goal and an assist later, while Paul Scholes (£5.3m, 8 pts) scored yet another goal in this 700th game as a Red Devil.
• Owners of Robin Van Persie (£13.5m, 1 pt) will surely be disappointed, as the Dutch only featured as a substitute and provided nothing for the day, which is definitely an unacceptable return for his price.
• Meanwhile, Asmir Begovic (£5.0m, 4 pts) made numerous fantastic saves as defending champions Manchester City had to satisfy with a draw at Britannia Stadium.
• Newcomer Javi Garcia (£5.5m, 6 pts) has shown fine aerial ability with a header goal plus another near header goal, but in long-term Yaya Toure (£8.2m, 2pts) continues to be the best pick among City midfielders after yet another superb display.
• Poor finishing and calamitous defence continues to haunt Liverpool as the Reds are yet to enjoy their first victory this season after a 1-1 draw with Sunderland. Raheem Sterling (£4.5m, 5 pts) delivered fantasy points finally after some fantastic displays.
• Luis Suarez (£9.4m, 5 pts) scored the equaliser for Liverpool, but Steven Fletcher (£7.0m, 6 pts) is the better man to own at the moment with 3 goals already in 2 games for Sunderland.
• Swansea were back on earth as they succumbed a 0-2 defeat to Aston Villa. Matthew Lowton (£4.5m, 11 pts) and Christian Benteke (£6.5m, 5 pts) provided the 2 goals, but one should take more time to assess their fantasy potential before deciding whether or not to get them.
• West Ham enjoyed their third clean sheet of the season in only four games after a goalless draw with Norwich, while Chelsea's attacking elites failed to get the ball pass Julio Cesar (£5.0m, 7 pts) in an intense derby at Loftus Road.

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