Fantasy Premier League managers have a handful of awkward calls to make before gameweek six, and BBC Sport’s FPL expert Pras has worked through the biggest of them — starting with the most sold player of the international break, João Pedro.
Despite being the most transferred-out asset during the break, the Chelsea forward is still owned by around 65% of managers. From a points-per-million standpoint Pras rates him as one of the best picks in the game, and he points to Chelsea’s fixture run as excellent over a long stretch. His advice is to hold the forward and use the bench, unless Chelsea’s manager rules him out completely.
Captaincy is less straightforward. Erling Haaland is away at Liverpool, Cole Palmer is at home to Bournemouth, Bukayo Saka has the Saturday lunchtime kick-off at home to Leeds, and Bruno Fernandes is at home to Spurs. Pras considers Fernandes to have the best fixture and the best chance of a big score, but notes that not many managers own him. Of the rest, he says he could be talked into any of them, and he is leaning towards the safe option of Haaland — reasoning that even in a tougher game, if Manchester City score, the striker should be involved. For managers wanting to be different, he would look at Saka or Palmer, both at home. What puts him off Saka is the possible Havertz injury affecting Arsenal’s attack, plus an early kick-off straight after a long break; what puts him off Palmer is João Pedro, because if the forward is not fit the Chelsea attack suffers, as it did in gameweek five against Brentford.
On Ezri Konsa, Pras believes it is too late to buy the Arsenal defender. He has a slight niggle from the England camp, Cristhian Mosquera is fit, and William Saliba is on the mend, albeit with an unclear timescale for his return. Owners should not sell, in his view, because Konsa still represents excellent value — but on a wildcard or with a free transfer there are better defenders in the £5m price bracket.
Fulham are worth a look, with all three promoted sides to come in the next three games. Gonzalo Garcia at £6m is the pick Pras likes: he may be on penalties, and his underlying numbers have been better than his FPL returns suggest. Josh King is the alternative, with strong data at 0.44 xGI and good minutes, having played 90 minutes in three of the first five games.
Dominik Szoboszlai is not an urgent sell, though there are FPL concerns about his role. He is being used as an eight rather than as a 10 or at right-back, which Pras sees as the worst of the three for route to points — no real attacking threat from the 10 spot and no defensive contribution from full-back, leaving set pieces and the odd shot from outside the box. Even so, he would not rush him out.
Pascal Gross, meanwhile, is close to a must-buy at his price. The Brighton midfielder is still under £6m, plays 90 minutes, and his 47 points already explain why he is the most-transferred player this week. Ownership sits at about 30%, and a run of Sunderland away followed by Crystal Palace at home is decent. Pras describes him as an easy set-and-forget midfielder who keeps playing 90 minutes and keeps trickling points in.