Big Questions for GW5

What's on our minds going into the fifth week of the season?

Well the first International Break actually went fairly quickly.

Or at least, it seemed to to us. Part of that might be because we have been squirreling behind the scenes to get a bunch of stuff off the ground during the break time, so keep a look out for some exciting things we’ll have out over the next few weeks. Some things you might expect us to do and things you might not are in the ideas mixer. We’re keen to just try a lot of things and see what works for you and us so keep your inboxes open!

We’re also one week away from the point we typically start to trust expected metrics from a sample size basis a little more. You can find our expected Fantasy Points and WAR models at the usual place. I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to say you’ll see some content looking at xFpts performance soon...

Looking ahead, we’re back at it in the Premier League this weekend and, once again, we’ve got questions. Specifically we’ve got:

• A good time to head to Old Trafford?

• Do Wolves have any chance of slowing the Liverpool forwards?

• Can Brentford keep their momentum up and show us they’re for real this year?

• How will Man City approach a tricky trip to the London Stadium?

• Who can we trust to actually start for Nottingham Forest?

---

Will Evan Ferguson be healthy for Old Trafford?

In probably the premium fixture of the GW, Brighton are heading north to Old Trafford to face Manchester United. United are currently in the midst of a mini-crisis (if there can truly be such a thing after 4 games). They’ve been pretty unconvincing so far, have taken 2 goal beatings from Tottenham and Arsenal and made hard work of fixtures against Wolves and Nottingham Forest. They’re 11th in the league on points, they’re 11th in expected goal difference per 90 too. Going in, it felt like the International Break was much needed for them, giving them opportunities to try to get Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund back healthy. But as one door opens, another closes. Between in-fighting, injuries and legal troubles, they find themselves looking pretty disrupted (and likely vulnerable) this weekend.

Unlike United, Brighton likely didn’t want the International Break to start. They’d just beaten Newcastle 3-1 off the back of Evan Ferguson’s hat-trick. They’ve also added Ansu Fati to the mix, which provides cover for the loss of Julio Enciso at worst, and adds one of Europe’s most exciting youngsters at best. But, as a slightly bitter chaser to the good vibes, Ferguson just missed featuring in Ireland’s International games with a newly reported injury. Fantasy-Football Treasure Ben Dinnery reported it as a patellar tendon injury on Twitter. That’s not ideal, because it could be something that lingers for a while, but it’s equally likely not enough to rule him out for any lengthy period of time. We’d imagine he probably does start but have a contingency, just in case. If he does start, you pretty much have to play him here.

On the other side of the coin, I’m not sure anyone other than maybe Aaron Wan-Bissaka should be drawing the start amongst United defenders. It’s been pretty universally bad for United Def options since Luke Shaw’s injury. It’s not even all that clear who will line up given the injuries within the group. The latest news is that Lisandro Martinez joins Raphael Varane as a doubt. It’s not far from Lindelof and Maguire starting again, both looking shadows of the duo that, at one point, anchored one of the leagues best defensive units back between 2019 and 2021. We’re not optimistic for you this week United fans (sorry Andrew). Pray the physios are working their magic.

Manchester United vs Brighton - 3.00pm UK, 10am US kickoff, Saturday

---

Can Wolves slow the Liverpool attack?