Gameweek 5 brings two particularly attractive fixture runs into focus.
Everton have Ipswich Town and Hull City ahead, while Nottingham Forest host Coventry City before travelling to Crystal Palace and later visiting Ipswich.
Newcastle United also have a useful defensive sequence, and Manchester City’s suspension news creates another potential route into their attack.
These five players are not all season-long holds. Some are short-term punts, while others have the underlying numbers and fixtures to become longer-term picks. As always, check the final team news before making a transfer.
1. Thierno Barry
Price : 5.6m
Ownership : 6.7%
Position : Forward
Opponent : IPS (H), HUL (A), CHE (H)
Thierno Barry is one of the most appealing two-week punts in FPL. Everton face Ipswich and Hull in Gameweeks 5 and 6, giving him two excellent opportunities to turn his encouraging underlying numbers into goals. Hull have defended well so far, but their data suggests they have conceded fewer goals than the performances deserved.
Barry is averaging 3.5 shots per match, 1.3 big chances and 0.75 non-penalty expected goals. Add the possibility of penalty duties and a price of just 5.6m, and he becomes a very viable short-term forward. The beauty of the pick is that he can also sit on your bench if required. He does not need to become a season-long starter; he only needs to make the most of these fixtures.
2. Liam Delap
Price : 5.5m
Ownership : 1.7%
Position : Forward
Opponent : COV (H), CRY (A), ARS (H)
Liam Delap is a player I never expected to put on my watchlist, but his move to Nottingham Forest has changed the picture completely. The transfer has improved his chances of regular minutes, and the Gameweek 5 fixture against Coventry is exactly the type of match that makes a budget forward worth considering.
Delap is a huge differential at 5.5m and has already shown a willingness to shoot, registering six attempts and scoring in Forest’s win at Aston Villa. He is not on penalties, which limits his ceiling slightly, but he doesn’t need spot-kicks to become useful at this price. Forest’s upcoming schedule also includes Crystal Palace and Ipswich, making Delap an aggressive but appealing punt for managers willing to take a chance.
3. Morgan Gibbs-White
Price : 8.0m
Ownership : 13.1%
Position : Midfielder
Opponent : COV (H), CRY (A), ARS (H)
Morgan Gibbs-White would be my preferred midfielder for this fixture run, provided you have a plan to bench him in Gameweek 7 when Nottingham Forest face Arsenal. Before that difficult match, Forest have Coventry at home, Crystal Palace away and then Ipswich away in gameweek 8 – three fixtures that offer plenty of attacking potential.
Gibbs-White is excellent for minutes, takes penalties and is averaging 2.3 shots per start. He also provides a strong creative threat, ranking highly among midfielders for big chances created and expected goal involvements. That gives him multiple routes to points, similar to the likes of Pascal Gross, Dominik Szoboszlai and Bruno Fernandes. He is expensive at 8.0m, but his role and fixtures make the investment worthwhile.
4. Rayan Cherki
Price : 7.8m
Ownership : 28.2%
Position : Midfielder
Opponent : SUN (H), LIV (A), IPS (H)
Rayan Cherki has become a much more attractive option following Phil Foden’s suspension. The absence of Foden should improve Cherki’s chances of starting and could give him a more advanced role in Manchester City’s attack. That opportunity matters because Cherki is an outstanding footballer with the technical quality to produce at Premier League level.
The next three fixtures are not perfect, but Sunderland, Liverpool and Ipswich all have defensive weaknesses that City should be capable of exploiting. The main caution is minutes: Foden’s suspension creates an opening, but it does not guarantee Cherki 90 minutes every week. Even so, at his price and with his creative and attacking ability, he is a very appealing short-term buy – particularly for managers who want a differential City attacker.
5. Lewis Hall
Price : 5.2m
Ownership : 14.4%
Position : Defender
Opponent : HUL (H), COV (A), AVL (H)
Newcastle’s 4-1 defeat to Leeds will understandably make some managers nervous, but I would not let one result completely change my view of Lewis Hall. Newcastle now face Hull, Coventry, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, a run that should give them several opportunities to keep clean sheets.
Hall offers more than clean sheet potential. He has set piece involvement, a strong attacking role and impressive DEFCON numbers, giving him several routes to points even when Newcastle concede. At 5.2m, that combination is difficult to ignore. Newcastle are far from an elite defence, but if they keep even one or two clean sheets during this run, Hall has the attacking and defensive-contribution upside to produce a double-digit haul. He is one of the best defenders to target this week.
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