Fantasy football: Who to buy, sell and captain for gameweek 6
We climbed nearly 150 places in the WhoScored Invitational last weekend, with new additions Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min both pulling in big scores on their debuts for us.
Moving into gameweek six and we are eyeing another big move up the leaderboard in our own private league.
As ever, we aren't interested in keeping all of our knowledge to ourselves. We are here to help. Struggling with your squad ahead of tonight's deadline? Not sure who to sell, who to buy or who to captain? We have looked at the fixtures, delved into the statistics and believe we can help...
Player to Buy - Ross Barkley (Aston Villa) - 6M
After narrowly avoiding relegation on the final day of last season, Aston Villa have undergone a remarkable summer transformation and have started the new campaign as one of the best sides in the Premier League.
Unlike 12 months ago, Villa have recruited smartly this summer. Dean Smith's side are the only side left in the Premier League with a 100 per cent record after winning each of their first four fixtures.
Ross Barkley was one of the last players through the door at Villa this season but he has already made a tremendous impact at the club and has been hailed by his new head coach. Smith has promised Barkley a place in the England squad for next summer's Euros and he has made the perfect start to life at Villa Park, with two goals in as many games.
When you look at Villa's upcoming games, there is really no end to what they can achieve during the first half of the season. They only face one of the so-called big six in their next 10 Premier League matches. No one is expecting a title challenge of push for the Champions League but Villa can realistically acheive safety before the year is out. At the cost of just 6M, Barkley is a steal all things considered.
Player to Sell - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) - 11.8M
Hear us out... We are not dismissing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as an option for your Fantasy Football teams. He is clearly integral to any success Arsenal are to have this season. His record at the club speaks for itself. We are, however, merely pointing out there are currently better options at the current price point.
The Gunners have made steady progress under Mikel Arteta but the Gunners have struggled to create meaningful goalscoring chances so far this season. Remarkably, only West Brom (8) and Crystal Palace (6.4) average fewer shots pg than Arsenal (8.2) in the Premier League this season. Aubameyang has returned just one goal in five league appearances.
The 31-year-old is the third most expensive player on Fantasy Football. He has returned just 18 points so far this season, fewer than the likes of Dennis Praet (19pts, 5.5M), Pedro Neto (21pts, 5.5M) and even Jeff Hendrick (22pts, 5M). Over the course of the season that will obviously change but for now it's not good enough as one of the blue-chip Fantasy Football picks.
Looking at players at a similar price point and Bruno Fernandes has returned 31pts for his 10.5M cost, having played a direct hand in five goals in four league games. James Rodriguez, albeit injured this weekend, has returned 39pts at the cost of just 8M.
Aubameyang will get going at one point this season but Arsenal's upcoming league schedule suggests it won't be right now. Arsenal play Leicester this weekend before facing Manchester United, high flyers Aston Villa and Leeds, and then Wolves and North London rivals Tottenham. To reiterate, Aubameyang is a good option but is he the best option for his price?
Who to captain - Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) vs West Ham
West Ham showed great character to battle back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with Tottenham last weekend but David Moyes will know his side cannot make a similarly poor start when they host Manchester City this weekend. This is not a fixture West Ham have done well in recently, particularly on home soil.
City have incredibly scored at least four goals in each of their last five matches at the London Stadium, winning said matches by a combined scoreline of 22-1. What's more, David Moyes has never won against a Pep Guardiola side in his career, losing six of their previous seven meetings.
Raheem Sterling has been especially key in City's recent matches with West Ham. The England international scored a hat-trick on their last trip to the London Stadium and has a terrific record in general against the Hammers. Sterling has a WhoScored rating of 8.20 across his eight previous matches against West Ham as a City player, playing a direct hand in 12 goals in that time.