Hive FPL Head to Head League GW5 Previews

[hivefpl]

After a fair few drab matches of late in both the Premier League and European competitions, will game week 5 offer a bit more excitement?

It certainly has the potential to do so with the stand out fixture this weekend between title rivals Man City and Arsenal. The Gunners have come under some criticism for their style of play of late but I doubt they'll care much if they can get a result at the Ethiad.

In some ways, Arsenal's tough run of fixtures, particularly away from home, in the opening 6 weeks of the season might actually have benefitted them in developing a style of play different from that which we've seen in the last couple of years. The question for FPL fans and particularly those who own Arsenal attacking assets, is will they be able to spring out of their low block tactics once this run of fixtures is over?

City themselves faced an Inter Milan side on Wednesday that gave them a fairly good dress rehearsal of what to expect on Sunday from another well organised defence. That being said, Pep was obviously disappointed with his sides inability to move the ball as quickly as he'd have liked in order to break down Inter. Every side has an off-day, it's unusual for this City side to have 2 in a row...

The early Saturday kick-off sees West Ham host Chelsea. The Hammers have lost both their home games so far this season meaning that new boss Lopetegui could come under some early pressure from the fans at the London Stadium who are never shy in venting their frustrations. For their part, Chelsea too have not had a great home record for some time but are 2 from 2 on the road so far this season.

The pick of the 3 O'Clock kick-offs is surely Villa vs Wolves in the Midlands derby. Villa marked their return to the top level of European football for the first time in 4 decades with a comfortable win in Switzerland. Watkins (FWD) continued the trend of coming-off in the 2nd half and required an ice-pack on his ankle but is expected to be fit. Bailey (MID) was on the bench for the game against Young Boys and could return to action in this one. For their part, Wolves rested a number of key players as they exited the League Cup in midweek. It's been a tough start to the season for them but a result here would certainly change the mood.

Is it too early in the season to be using the term '6-pointers'? Perhaps, but there are certainly a couple of massive fixtures this weekend involving clubs who are highly likely to be in the bottom third of the league in 6 months time.

Everton travel to Leicester with both clubs looking for a first win of the season. Toffees fans will be angered by the fact that their hosts managed to escape a points deduction for breaching FFP rules this season on a technicality but then again there's not much to be happy about as an Everton supporter at the moment. The club were knocked out of the EFL Cup at home by Southampton in midweek with supporters venting their frustration at the substitution of centre-forward Beto (FWD) for veteran full-back Young (DEF). Sean Dyche's side might enjoy being on the road this weekend...

Elsewhere, newly promoted Ipswich and Southampton go head-to-head also looking for their first wins of the campaign. The Tractor Boys won both matches against The Saints in last season's Championship and after a couple of difficult fixtures against elite opposition, they've more than held their own with draws against Fulham and Brighton. Southampton rested 10 players for their triumph at Everton in the cup. In general build-up play they were very good for half an hour against United last weekend but really lacked a cutting edge up front which given their available resources, doesn't look easy to remedy.

The remaining 2 matches at 3pm see Spurs and Liverpool both looking to bounce back from 1-0 home defeats last weekend with another home match in GW5. It won't however be an easy task!

Brentford (as they always seem to do) put up a good fight against City last weekend. The Bees have lost the excellent Wissa (FWD) up front but that might open up an opportunity for Carvalho (MID) who was very influential in midweek against Leyton Orient. At £4.8 million, he could be a great differential to consider if he becomes a regular starter. Like, Brentford, Spurs also went behind against lower league opposition in the cup and Big Ange needs a big performance in this one with Spurs carrying their poor form from the end of last season into the start of this.

As for Liverpool, Arne Slot continues to tweak the side he inherited rather than making wholesale changes. However, it'll be interesting to see if rotation does now come into the equation following his team's comeback in Milan. Fun fact, Liverpool have a 100% record at the San Siro which is some achievement!. They don't quite have a 100% record in home games against Bournemouth but it's not far off with 9 wins and a draw against the Cherries at Anfield.

The later kick-off on Saturday sees 2 sides who have given uneven performances so far this season go head to head. United's win at Southampton takes a bit of pressure off but it always feels like they are just one poor performance away from Ten Hag and his squad being broadly criticised. After such a good end to last season, Palace are struggling to get going this year. There are mitigating circumstances for Oliver Glasner's team but another defeat in this one, in front of what will be a boisterous Selhurst Park, might get fans a little nervous.

The final game of the weekend sees Brighton take on Forest with both sides having enjoyed an excellent start to season. In fact, if other results go their way then one (if not both) of these sides could find themselves in the top 4. It's still very early doors but the thought of Nottingham Forest representing English clubs in Europe is one that should warm the hearts of all true football supporters especially as we mark the 20 year anniversary of the death of Brian Clough.

One thing to watch out for more generally this weekend is the potential for illness to disrupt player availability. Everton (because of course nothing can go right for them) have had a few players off sick this week and on a personal level, a lot of people I know seem to be unwell to varying degrees. In FPL terms that means that having some depth on your bench is a real must for GW5.

Division 1

GW4 Results

Team	Hive Account	Score	Score	Team	Hive Account
Skander	@skanderh	64	79	Espressos	@aaalviarez
Creekside FC	@pappyelblanco	41	38	Herbae	@herbae
YAGMAN FC	@yagman01	49	58	FC McKane	@mckane
HallAnd Oats FC	@thoth442	51	55	Legion fc	@b0s
Simcard FC	@akomoajong	52	49	NONZ FC	@nonsowrites
Lazz	@martinlazizi	62	79	Shamzy F.C	@shamzy
Vickoly FC	@vickoly	46	38	Suffragette City	@talesfrmthecrypt
INEOS REVIVAL	@deniskj	40	42	Likodra FC	@teofilex11
Whyte FC	@Ipalibo	53	70	Solat FC	@reservedsingle
Hungry Lions	@gvkanten	52	37	@BlockchainFPL H2H	@blockchainfpl

GW5 Fixtures

Team	Hive Account		Team	Hive Account
Solat FC	@reservedsingle	v	Skander	@skanderh
Likodra FC	@teofilex11	v	@BlockchainFPL H2H	@blockchainfpl
Suffragette City	@talesfrmthecrypt	v	Hungry Lions	@gvkanten
Shamzy F.C	@shamzy	v	Whyte FC	@Ipalibo
NONZ FC	@nonsowrites	v	INEOS REVIVAL	@deniskj
Legion fc	@b0s	v	Vickoly FC	@vickoly
FC McKane	@mckane	v	Lazz	@martinlazizi
Herbae	@herbae	v	Simcard FC	@akomoajong
Espressos	@aaalviarez	v	HallAnd Oats FC	@thoth442
Creekside FC	@pappyelblanco	v	YAGMAN FC	@yagman01

Division 2

Team	Hive Account	Score	Score	Team	Hive Account
ARFANTASY FC	@arfa	48	36	SportsNerd	@saf-ul-wahab
ALH	No Hive Account Linked	53	50	The Urge	@kenzzi
Change Name	No Hive Account Linked	64	39	Cygnus FC	@donjaun
Tangram	@desro	22	62	KELLYMAN FC	@justfavour
Holozing.com	@acidyo	34	62	The Dream Team	@spidersilk
Happyboys FC	@happyboy1	46	27	HIVE KILL STEEM	No Hive Account Linked
Ballgasms	@preshpresh	65	45	OG Squad	@graat
Outside of Time	No Hive Account Linked	42	59	Stevenson FC	@stevenson7
Headies	@Headies	50	52	Hungry Lions	@gvkanten
Trinex fc	@og-gamershub	34	29	Akatsuki	@seki1
GunnersLoverFC	@nwt93	60	54	ACX United	@pvmihalache
Tilia	No Hive Account Linked	31	77	Emeka4	@emeka4
Dapomola fc	@dapomolaaaa	30	50	Barca	@muka-vybz
Hiveheadz	@borran	47	63	Smiley Team	@carita-feliz
TGIF	@gentleshaid	63	75	Yahuzah	@yahuzah
Mighty Fc	@twicejoy	42	78	Chris Football Club	@hiveworld
Newton Heath FC	@samirich	66	52	The Cella’s	@blanchy
Diistroyers	@diikaan	45	57	Hadji	@hadji
Holte Me Close	@stuartcturnbull	60	59	ArgyeeChitthuFC	@agct1226
Mollina United	@femisapiens	45	68	Blue Balls	@belemo
11 idiots	No Hive Account Linked	33	73	foloxfc	@thelonegreywolf
Tengo Rangers FC	@tengolotodo	52	31	Coldone	@nasfyneboy92
Tricky Trees 2024	@doombot75	69	53	Formidable Milano	@damolexy
Monitox	No Hive Account Linked	35	67	Hornstra XI	@elvis123
Ref's team	@sperosamuel15	54	57	The Beast	@iamchuks
Lame Ducks	No Hive Account Linked	80	67	RHYDA	@rhyda1
Ifeyemi Fc	@valchiz	69	47	rubilu	@rubilu
Jungle Boy	@george-dee	44	58	Wanderteam	@kelvinpeters
Olawalium FC	@olawalium	75	48	samostically	@samostically
Kraken99	@kraken99	50	55	Kane and Unable	@jmehta
Micheal Fc	@micheal87	77	37	racibo	@racibo

GW5 Fixtures

Team	Hive Account		Team	Hive Account
Diistroyers	@diikaan	v	ARFANTASY FC	@arfa
Holte Me Close	@stuartcturnbull	v	Newton Heath FC	@samirich
Mollina United	@femisapiens	v	Mighty Fc	@twicejoy
11 idiots	No Hive Account Linked	v	TGIF	@gentleshaid
Tengo Rangers FC	@tengolotodo	v	Hiveheadz	@borran
Tricky Trees 2024	@doombot75	v	Dapomola fc	@dapomolaaaa
Monitox	No Hive Account Linked	v	Tilia	No Hive Account Linked
Ref's team	@sperosamuel15	v	GunnersLoverFC	@nwt93
Lame Ducks	No Hive Account Linked	v	Trinex fc	@og-gamershub
Ifeyemi Fc	@valchiz	v	Headies	@Headies
Jungle Boy	@george-dee	v	Outside of Time	No Hive Account Linked
Olawalium FC	@olawalium	v	Ballgasms	@preshpresh
Kraken99	@kraken99	v	Happyboys FC	@happyboy1
Micheal Fc	@micheal87	v	Holozing.com	@acidyo
racibo	@racibo	v	Tangram	@desro
Kane and Unable	@jmehta	v	Change Name	No Hive Account Linked
samostically	@samostically	v	ALH	No Hive Account Linked
Wanderteam	@kelvinpeters	v	SportsNerd	@saf-ul-wahab
rubilu	@rubilu	v	The Urge	@kenzzi
RHYDA	@rhyda1	v	Cygnus FC	@donjaun
The Beast	@iamchuks	v	KELLYMAN FC	@justfavour
Hornstra XI	@elvis123	v	The Dream Team	@spidersilk
Formidable Milano	@damolexy	v	HIVE KILL STEEM	No Hive Account Linked
Coldone	@nasfyneboy92	v	OG Squad	@graat
foloxfc	@thelonegreywolf	v	Stevenson FC	@stevenson7
Blue Balls	@belemo	v	Hungry Lions	@gvkanten
ArgyeeChitthuFC	@agct1226	v	Akatsuki	@seki1
Hadji	@hadji	v	ACX United	@pvmihalache
The Cella’s	@blanchy	v	Emeka4	@emeka4
Chris Football Club	@hiveworld	v	Barca	@muka-vybz
Yahuzah	@yahuzah	v	Smiley Team	@carita-feliz

Comments

[reservedsingle]

This Jhon Durran is just "eyeing" me. How many managers are bold enough to have him in their team? Would be a charge to brave move though. Not sure I can risk it. 😂

[talesfrmthecrypt]

If Ollie Watkins gets injured or suspended then everyone is piling in on him :-)

Otherwise, it is risky to have a guy who's not a guaranteed starter

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[doombot75]

Well I’m 2-2 in head to head so let’s see if I can move into a winning record for the first time this season, lost Wissa to that injury so bought in Chris Wood, hopefully he can find his scoring boots over the next couple of matches although Brighton away could be difficult for Forest

Great summary as always

Off to an ok start this week with a goal from Palmer

[talesfrmthecrypt]

Yeah shame about Wissa, good player and good FPL buy.

The one thing with Brighton is they will usually give you a chance!

!BEER

[doombot75]

Wood came good, surprised to see him take the penalty though.

[beerlover]

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[graat]

Wonderful analysis as always.
I need a fit Watkins for my team, I am running out of patience 😅

Meanwhile, I observed that the points here are not exactly the final points on the app for example my total point for gw4 is 53 but documented as 45 here while my opponent had 69 but documented as 65.
When deciding at the end of the season, what will be used? The app or will these one be collated from these posts?

[hivefpl]

Yeah, difficult one with Watkins, clearly carrying a bit of a knock at the moment and Villa will have a lot of games this season. Add to that the form of Durran off the bench and Villa are probably in a better position than many other sides when it comes to resting and rotating their centre forwards.

The points are taken from the official FPL game, there is no difference.

Your team scored 53 points in GW4 but FPL deduct 4 points per additional transfer that you make beyond your weekly free transfer(s). Looks like you had banked 3 free transfers but ended up making 5. Those 2 additional transfers cost you 8 points as reflected on the official FPL game itself.

Same situation with your opponent who made 1 additional transfer at the cost of 4 points, hence the difference.

[graat]

Oh, yeah. I totally forgot about that.
Thanks for the clarification.

[talesfrmthecrypt]

No worries 😀

!BEER

[beerlover]

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[preshpresh]

This is beautifully written and well analysed. Looking forward to your next report, I always enjoy reading through.
Don't forget to captain Haaland ;)