GW5 Preview: A Friday Deadline, a João Pedro Scare and the Easiest Haaland Call Yet

By Geomi George · Published 17 September 2026

Two things to know before anything else. The Gameweek 5 deadline is Friday evening, because Brentford v Chelsea opens the round on Friday night. And João Pedro — owned by three managers in four — is carrying a 75% injury flag into that very game. Everything below flows from those two facts. Check the countdown on the dashboard and read on.

What GW4 left behind

The full GW4 review has the detail; the short version is that cheap defenders and mid-priced midfielders carried a 69-point average while Anfield and the derby handed out blanks. The market has responded in one direction: Rogers, Groß, Gibbs-White, Gvardiol, De Cuyper and Schade have each been bought by more than a quarter of a million managers this week and all rose in price. Elanga (out, no return date), Szoboszlai and Cherki lead the exodus.

The João Pedro problem

An "unspecified injury, 75% chance of playing" flag on the game's most-owned player would be a talking point in any week. This week it is the whole deadline, because Chelsea play first — Friday night at Brentford — and there is no team-news window after the deadline closes. If he starts, fine. If he is left out, three-quarters of the game takes a zero from its most expensive forward slot with no way to react, and anyone who captained him is relying on their vice. Three rules: do not captain him at a 75% flag with a Friday kick-off; set a vice-captain from a Saturday or Sunday game — Haaland on Sunday is the obvious one — so a late withdrawal costs you nothing; and keep him rather than sell him unless Friday's press conference rules him out. A one-week flag on a player averaging over eight points a game is not a reason to take a hit. Palmer and Rogers, in the same fixture, are unflagged.

The fixtures that matter

• Man City v Sunderland (Sun) — City have conceded twice all season and Haaland has four goals in four; Sunderland travel to the Etihad on the round's hardest away rating. The clearest home banker on the grid.
• Nottingham Forest v Coventry (Sat, late kick-off) — Coventry have not scored a goal in four league games and have conceded ten. Forest assets are the value play of the week: Gibbs-White (form 6.5, the second-highest projected midfielder in our model) and Neco Williams at £5.0m.
• Everton v Ipswich and Newcastle v Hull — the other two difficulty-2 home games. Everton have the better of them: Tarkowski (form 7.2) and Mykolenko, who is queued for a price rise, face an Ipswich side that has conceded ten. Newcastle host a Hull team that has let in two goals all season, so it is a rebound spot for Newcastle's attack more than a clean-sheet bet for either side.
• Brighton v Arsenal — last week's 5-0 heroes meet the league's meanest defence (one goal conceded, three clean sheets). Keep Groß and De Cuyper; do not captain them.
• Bournemouth v Liverpool and Fulham v Man United — the two rated hard for the home side that could still produce points, because Bournemouth and Fulham have both been open at the back. Isak and Gakpo owners hold after the Fulham blank; Bruno owners note Fulham have conceded seven in four.
• Spurs v Villa — Spurs have not scored in four matches and Villa have one goal. Nothing to see here unless you own a goalkeeper.

The full grid, with difficulty ratings out to GW8, is on the fixtures page.

Captaincy corner

• Haaland (MCI, home v SUN) — our model's captain by a distance (9.5 projected points against 7.0 for the next option). Four goals, an expected goal involvement of nearly four already, and the easiest fixture of the round. After last week's lesson, we are not overthinking this one.
• Bruno Fernandes (MUN, away at FUL) — our vice-captain pick. In form (7.2), on every set-piece, and Fulham have conceded seven in four. He is being sold in large numbers after two quiet weeks, which is exactly when he tends to return.
• Gibbs-White (NFO, home v COV) — the differential armband. Owned by one manager in eight, at home to a side without a goal all season, and projected almost level with Bruno. If you are chasing in your mini-league, this is the swing.
• João Pedro or Rogers (CHE, away at BRE) — Rogers is the most-bought player of the week and Chelsea have scored ten. But it is a Friday game against a Brentford side that has conceded only four all season, and João Pedro's flag makes this the week to leave the Chelsea armband alone.

Whatever you choose, the team analyzer ranks the captain options in your squad by projected points, not ours.

Differentials worth a look

Bogle (LEE, 4% owned, £4.5m) is no longer a secret — he is the season's top scorer with 37 points, hosts Palace this week, sits in our Best XI and is about to rise in price, so anyone moving should move tonight. Schade (BRE, 6.5%) hosts a Chelsea side that has conceded nine and has no clean sheet; a difficulty-4 label on a fixture against a defence that leaky is worth questioning. King (FUL, 1.6%, £5.5m) has 22 points and hosts United, and Davis and Emersonn (IPS) both hauled at Palace and are rising, though Everton away is a harder ask. The usual small-sample caveats apply — the differentials guide explains how much weight four gameweeks deserve.

Before the deadline checklist

• Friday evening deadline. Not Saturday. Set the reminder now.
• Vice-captain from a weekend game. If your captain plays on Friday night, your vice must not.
• Prices tonight: Bogle, Mykolenko, Emersonn and Davis are queued to rise; Elanga, Pedro Porro, Shaw and Ben White to fall. The predictor updates through the evening.
• Flags to check at Friday's press conferences: João Pedro, Shaw, Pedro Porro, White (all 75%) and Mendy (50%, concussion).
• Look one week ahead. GW6 is Liverpool v City and Arsenal at home to Leeds — plan transfers with that in mind rather than reacting to GW5 alone.

The full optimized squad — 5-3-2, Haaland captain, Bruno vice — is on the Best XI page, and Friday's opener will be live in the Match Centre. Good luck for GW5.