FPL GW5 Fixture wise Stats and Eye Test-Based Review

FPL GW5 proved to be a mixed bag for FPL managers & here in this blog, we review the stats and key numbers from FPL GW5 that caught our eye.

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FPL GW5 Fixture wise Review

Tottenham Hotspur (0.73) 0 – 3 (2.26) Chelsea

Spurs Chelsea was an intriguing tactical battle of two halves. Nuno set his side up in an atypical 4-3-3 with Kane playing the inside left channel trying to win the physical battle with Christensen at RCB while Son was looking to isolate and run in-behind Thiago Silva at every opportunity. Gio Lo Celso played inside right and the mercurial Ndombele earnt a start after a good midweek showing in the Conference League.

They pressed high and had Chelsea pinned back and struggling to create in a good first half but a combination of a tactical switch from Chelsea and potentially tired legs from Spurs caused the intensity of their press to drop in the second half as Chelsea grew into the game. Chelsea on the other hand had Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal for the injured Mendy, Azpilicueta played right wing-back despite Reece James’ return from suspension and Alonso kept his spot at left wing-back yet again. Thomas Tuchel reacted to Spurs pressing Chelsea back by switching them to a 3-5-2, adding an extra body in midfield to help in the build-up to escape the press – a change that allowed Chelsea to regain control and put on a professional second-half clinic.

Key Player Stat Review

Marcos Alonso (5.7, DEF) may not (and probably still should not) be considered a safe starter despite having started every league game thus far. However, he’s a force to be reckoned with when he does start, looking extremely threatening all game and notching a tremendous 4 shots, all from inside the box, 1 big chance, and 4 chances created – game-high in each of these categories. He had an xGI of 0.72 and an xG of 0.52 – very strong numbers for a defender. He took some corners, including his assist for Thiago Silva’s opener, and was constantly involved in the final third.

Romelu Lukaku (11.6, FWD) looked extremely impressive in his link-up play for Chelsea and had some promising openings – the chemistry between him, Havertz, and Mount in attack is still clearly in development. He had 3 shots, all in the box, 3 chances created, 1 big chance created, and an xGI of 0.73 with 0.19 from xG. He was unfortunate not to have notched a return.

Mateo Kovacic (5.1, MID) fresh off a price rise surprisingly topped the xGI metric with 0.99 courtesy mainly his 1 shot, in the box, being a big chance. Word of caution as I wouldn’t expect these kinds of numbers from him to continue.

Kai Havertz (8.3, MID), Rudiger (5.5, DEF), and Thiago Silva (5.4, DEF) all notched up 2 shots in the box each, as well.

For Spurs, the plan was clearly to have Son attempt to run into space behind Thiago Silva as central CB (MOTM performance from him) and this is how he got his 1 big chance which Kepa managed to smother. Son (10.0, MID) produced 2 shots, 1 in the box, 1 big chance en route an xG of 0.42, and xGI of 0.47.

Harry Kane (12.2, FWD) started played a large part of the game deeper, from the inside left channel, as part of a tactical move by Nuno much to his ‘Fantasy’ detriment. The Spurs talisman managing 2 shots, both from outside the box to produce a rather modest xG of 0.14.

In the end, it was the change to 3-5-2 and a half time sub on of the immense N’Golo Kante that helped Chelsea overpower Spurs but they’ve now produced double-digit different goalscorers already this season and we’re still in September – a hugely talented squad that look like they’ll largely be sharing points with investment in the defense and Romelu Lukaku looking prime options ahead of a tantalizing fixture shift for them in GW8.

West Ham (1.64) 1 – 2 (1.96) Manchester United

Jarrod Bowen did a fine job as a striker in the absence of the suspended Michael Antonio for West Ham, new signing Nikola Vlasic coming into the team in midfield as his replacement. Manchester United lined up in their 4-2-3-1 but could call upon the impressive Scott McTominay again in the pivot allowing Paul Pogba to play in his LM-CM hybrid role, a ploy that allows them good balance. Mason Greenwood kept his right-wing spot, Jadon Sancho dropping to the bench. United were evidently looking to pick out Ronaldo in the box at every opportunity and the veteran movement remains sharp as ever.

A deflected strike from Said Benrahma gave West Ham the lead before Cristiano Ronaldo leveled, following in his own header that was saved by Fabianski. Despite some heroics from the Pole in goal, substitute Jesse Lingard produced a fine finish on his return to the London stadium to push United into the lead. A dramatic end to the game saw VAR uphold the award of a penalty to West Ham for a Luke Shaw handball, David Moyes subbed on specialist Mark Noble for the spot-kick only to see his penalty saved by David De Gea, who has a notoriously poor record saving spot-kicks – giving United yet another away win.

Key Player Stat Review

Cristiano Ronaldo (12.7, FWD) produced some truly remarkable numbers in this game. His eye-catching movement and instincts in and around the box and trigger happy nature from receiving in good positions were evident and backed up by an astounding 7 shots, all from inside the box, 3 big chances, and 13 penalty area touches for an xG of 1.84 and xGI of 1.88 – a game-high in each of these categories and by some margin. As his heat map below shows, he spent a lot of his time inside the West Ham penalty box and will make himself an asset nearly impossible to avoid if he continues to perform as he has in his first two games.

Bruno Fernandes (11.9, MID) had a great performance. He had 3 shots, 1 in the box, created 3 chances of which 2 were big chances ending with an xG of 0.10 and xGI of 0.32 – numbers that don’t do justice to his threatening in-game showing but make it hard to justify an FPL asset at his price.

Paul Pogba (7.8, MID) back in his favored left-centre position, notched 2 shots from outside the box and 2 chances created for an xG of 0.09 and xGI of 0.27.

Luke Shaw (5.5, DEF) caught the eye playing high up almost as a left-winger on a flank that United like to create overloads on in their build-up (heat map below) producing an impressive looking 5 chances created and 1 shot, on paper, however, an xA total of just 0.22 for his 5 chances created suggest their ‘low quality in nature, as chances. Their inability to keep clean sheets, even against Wilson-less Newcastle and Antonio-less West Ham, have hindered his points output thus far but with chance creation and BPS numbers like he has, he remains capable of explosive double-digit hauls.

Mason Greenwood (7.7, MID) struggled, managing 0 shots and a solitary chance created.

For West Ham, Jarrod Bowen (6.3, MID) playing up top in Antonio’s absence, put up a great showing. 4 shots, 3 in the box, 1 big chance, 3 chances created, an xG of 0.50, and xGI of 0.66 are a healthy return for the winger, who’s also taking some set pieces for his team.

Said Benrahma (6.4, MID) got a fortunate deflected goal in a performance where he managed 3 shots, all from outside the box and a big chance created.

Brighton and Hove Albion (1.56) 2 – 1 (1.53) Leicester City

Brighton continued their impressive start to the season making it 4 wins from their opening 5 games resigning Leicester City to their third defeat in 5. Graham Potter’s team have been churning out an efficient underlying ‘process’ for months now and he’ll be delighted to see his team convert these into results, something his side have notoriously struggling with. Brighton lined up in their regular 3-4-1-2 with Danny Welbeck joining Neal Maupay up top, Leicester City rolling out a 4-3-3 with James Maddison playing as a right-winger and Soumare in midfield.

Brighton’s game plan looked heavily skewed to progressing the ball down their left flank (see photo below) where Marc Cucurella bombing up and down the flank was joined by Trossard to create overloads in the space vacated by a marauding Ricardo Pereira.

Shane Duffy continued to be a menace from set-pieces and his header drew an unfortunate penalty against the arm of Vestergaard that Maupay converted before a set-piece header from Welbeck doubled their lead. Lookman, a more natural winger, came on for Maddison and looked far more threatening than the man he replaced as Leicester tried to work their way back into the game. Jamie Vardy got on the end of an excellently worked move for 2-1 before a couple of VAR offside calls denied a luckless Leicester from equalizing twice, the side slumping to a defeat.

Key Player Stat Review

Jamie Vardy (10.4, FWD) continues to tick over, under the radar, with another goal taking him to second in the FWD standings for total points. He took 3 shots, all in the box with 1 big chance and 2 chances created to end up with a commendable xG of 1.01 and xGI of 1.07. In a season with new premiums stealing the spotlight, Jamie Vardy remains consistent if not explosive.

Youri Tielemans (6.4, MID) was afforded more license in this 4-3-3 shape taking 5 shots, 1 in the box, creating 2 chances with 1 big chance for an xGI of 0.87, 0.71 of which came from his xA tally.

Harvey Barnes (6.8, MID) created 4 chances towards a modest xGI of 0.21.

Maupay (6.5, FWD) led the way for Brighton, converting his penalty and notching 1 additional shot from inside the box for a total xG of 0.91.

Trossard (6.4, MID) had 2 shots, 1 from inside the box and 4 chances created towards an xGI of 0.27

Other notable numbers include Yves Bissouma (4.6, MID) producing an xG of 0.17 at his basement price and Shane Duffy (4.3, DEF) keeping his spot and being an absolute handful from set plays, getting 2 shots from inside the box one of which won a penalty.

Leicester have made a disappointing start to the season, plagued by defensive injuries. A combination of these defensive injuries and probably an element of stubbornness from the manager has kept Kelechi Iheanacho consistently out of the lineup despite his blistering form at the back end of last season. We might expect Leicester to continue to change formations and personnel to find a winning balance making an investment into their assets a tricky proposition on the eve-of-a-kind run of games.

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