Palmer + Son in, Haaland out

It’s time to look ahead to Gameweek 5 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) with our early Scout Picks.

This is the first draft of our regular picks. They willthen be finalised and published much closer to Saturday’s deadline.

Plenty can change between now and then, of course, with Scout Squad nominations, midweek cup ties both at home and abroad, and a whole host of press conferences still to come.

We are, as ever, limited by certain restrictions in our selections:

• An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
• An overall squad limit of £100.0m
• No more than three players per team

GAMEWEEK 5 FIXTURES

Above: The Gameweek 5 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker

THE LIKELY LADS

With Manchester City and Arsenal facing off at the Etihad on Sunday, we could feasibly overlook their assets in Gameweek 5.

It’s a scary prospect, given that a certain Erling Haaland (£15.2m) has plundered nine goals in four games.

That said, the Gunners boasted the best defence in the Premier League in 2023/24, conceding just 13 times from 19 away matches. This season, it’s back-to-back clean sheets at Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur.

Recent history suggests it could be a cagey affair, too:

With that in mind, perhaps we should focus on other options with ‘easier’ fixtures, at least on paper.

Liverpool and Spurs representation looks likely, even if Bournemouth and Brentford have the ability to cause problems.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) has been desperately unlucky not to deliver an attacking return this season, with 11 chances created in his first four outings, the most by any defender.

Perhaps Gameweek 5 will prove to be a turning point, given that Bournemouth have conceded 18 key passes from their left flank, more than any other side except Brentford. That particular stat will be of interest to Pedro Porro (£5.5m) owners, too.

Above: Team sorted by key passes conceded (left flank) in Gameweeks 1-4

Further forward, Mohamed Salah (£12.7m) and Son Heung-min (£10.0m) are the two names that immediately jump out, but Luis Diaz (£7.7m), Diogo Jota (£7.6m) and Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) are also in the conversation.

Midweek minutes for Diaz and Jota against AC Milan could be key.

IN CONTENTION

You’d expect Aston Villa assets to garner a bit of interest this week, given that Wolverhampton Wanderers have gone 16 Premier League games without a clean sheet.

Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) was the chief architect of Everton’s downfall on Saturday, scoring a brace to finally get off the mark in 2024/25. He’s now joint-top with Haaland for big chances over the season, with eight.

Morgan Rogers (£5.1m) is far kinder on the budget, of course.

As for super-sub Jhon Duran (£6.0m), he unfortunately isn’t an option for the Scout Picks until he starts.

At the back, Lucas Digne (£4.6m) currently presents the strongest case for inclusion, having supplied assists in back-to-back Gameweeks. Ian Maatsen (£4.9m) is lurking, however, so a start for the Frenchman on Tuesday could potentially see us play it safe with Ezri Konsa (£4.5m) instead.

There are a few other appealing budget defenders to consider.

Our Rate My Team (RMT) tool currently likes Lewis Dunk (£4.6m) the most, but Yukinari Sugawara (£4.5m), Leif Davis (£4.5m), Levi Colwill (£4.5m) and Alex Moreno (£4.4m) are other names of interest.

Defensive coverage from some of those teams could, of course, be achieved by selecting Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m), Arijanet Muric (£4.4m) or Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) in goal. Muric, indeed, was excellent in Gameweek 4.

Cole Palmer (£10.6m) failed to register a single shot or penalty box touch in Gameweek 4 but he remains a strong candidate for inclusion, with West Ham United unconvincing under Julen Lopetegui so far.

Nicolas Jackson (£7.6m) is the cheaper alternative, having racked up seven shots and four key passes in his last meeting with the Hammers back in May.

Elsewhere, there are options aplenty in midfield: Bryan Mbeumo (£7.1m), Eberechi Eze (£6.9m), Kaoru Mitoma (£6.7m), Sam Szmodics (£6.0m), Yankuba Minteh (£5.5m), Dwight McNeil (£5.4m), Ben Brereton Diaz (£5.4m) and Omari Hutchinson (£5.4m).

Last week’s differential McNeil perhaps leads the charge, with Everton’s opponents Leicester City bottom of the table for set play attempts conceded (22).

Other names under consideration in the forward pool include Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.4m), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.9m), Eddie Nketiah (£5.9m), Danny Welbeck (£5.7m), Jamie Vardy (£5.6m) and Liam Delap (£5.5m).

Mateta makes the ‘bus team’, with Gameweek 5 opponents Manchester United defensively vulnerable up until the penalty on Saturday.

THE LONG SHOTS           

Fulham v Newcastle United feels quite delicately balanced.

You wouldn’t be particularly surprised at any of the three possible result outcomes here, so the likes of Antonee Robinson (£4.7m), Emile Smith Rowe (£5.7m), Harvey Barnes (£6.4m), Anthony Gordon (£7.4m) and if fit, Alexander Isak (£8.4m), all have their merits without being stand-out Scout Picks candidates.

Jarrod Bowen (£7.5m), Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m), Jorgen Strand Larsen (£5.5m) and Matheus Cunha (£6.5m) are other names who could emerge as the week goes on, but at this stage, it feels unlikely they will make the Scout Picks.

GAMEWEEK 5 BUS TEAM