Gameweek 5 proved a disappointing set of fixtures for the Should Have Done Better Tables, which aim to predict future returns based on underlying statistics. However, there were two notable names who managed to convert promising numbers into Fantasy points.
In total there were 21 goals scored last time out, 10 of them coming from the Manchester Clubs, leaving 18 teams to scrimp, scrape and forage among the scraps. Three of the games were goalless, which further harmed the tables’ chances and a total of nine teams failed to find the net.
This article will take a look back at the fortunes and misfortunes of Gameweek 5’s table toppers and then, exclusively to FFScout Members, I will run through the table’s latest names who offer a strong chance of attacking returns in Gameweek 6.
Gameweek 5 Review
Midfielders
Forwards
Analysis
Ahead of Gameweek 5, there were 21 players who ‘Should have done better’, of these, there were three no-shows (Mesut Ozil, Steve Mounie and Soloman Rondon), and only two players coming away with any attacking returns… slim pickings this weekend for everyone involved.
The players to ‘drop-off’ the list this week were:
Antony Martial – If the Manchester United attacker could nail down his position, he would be Fantasy Football gold. Fielded as a late substitute for much of the season he is seemingly playing second-fiddle to Marcus Rashford despite doing everything right in his short cameos – serving up three goals and an assist in 120 minutes of premier league football.
Sitting in the ‘Should have done better’ table after no returns in the Gameweek 3 and 4 encounters, Martial’s six chances created put him second in the pile. A more selfless player than his direct competition, Rashford, it is the Englishman though who seems to be more in favour with Jose Mourinho for the spot on the left flank. Martial’s points in the Gameweek 5 fixture came courtesy of a penalty, which he won, and duly converted.
Jermain Defoe – One of the most popular mid-price forward picks at the start of the season, the veteran striker’s season has got off to a stumbling start. Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe alluded to Defoe’s lack of match fitness at the start of the campaign, but will his Gameweek 5 goal ignite his season? Bournemouth’s fixtures over the next six look very tough on paper (eve, LEI, tot, sto, CHE), and it will remain to be seen if the former England frontman can kick on from here.
His strike partner, Josh King, still sits in the table too, and is yet to score or assist in any game so far this season; seemingly a shadow of the player that he was last time out. The Cherries, on a whole, have been very poor so far this season, with only one player averaging more than three points a game (Andrew Surman – 16 points). The rest of the team seemingly settling with racking up only the appearance points for their dwindling supply of FPL managers.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace were yet again unable to break their duck for the season. The Eagles’ fans will soon forget what to do if and when the ball finally finds its way into the back of the net in the league. I can picture the scene; Selhurst Park ‘erupting’ with the muted murmurs of ‘what just happened?!’, ‘what do we do now?!’, ‘why is that big Belgian bloke running towards the corner flag pumping his fist?!’
With Christian Benteke, Andros Townsend and Yohan Cabaye all featuring in the table last week, there was so much promise for Crystal Palace to get off the mark against Southampton, who struggled at home to Watford in their previous encounter. Instead, all Palace fans have to cling on to ahead of their Gameweek 6 fixture against league heavy-weights Manchester City, are further promising underlying stats.
Overall, it was a quiet week for many involved, but the above names may well be worth remembering as we go into a Gameweek 6 which will hopefully be more prolific.
