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Adewale (The FPL Manual) provides a preview of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Gameweek 5 with tips, best captain picks, and top selections for the weekly Fantasy Challenge.
Hello, RotoBallers! Welcome to our weekly Fantasy Premier League Preview -- your go-to guide for the best fantasy tips and captain picks, along with a comprehensive overview of the top teams to target.
The Coca-Cola Beat the Icon challenge series began with the Classic Rivalry challenge, where players from Man City and Man United scored double points. This week, a new challenge series is at play, and we'll be sharing insights into the top fantasy picks to help you maximize returns.
The Gameweek 5 deadline for the 2025-26 Fantasy Premier League season is Saturday, September 20, at 06:00 a.m. ET, when Liverpool hosts Everton at Anfield. Check out the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the squad gets you all set for every EPL and UCL slate with our EPL DFS lineup picks and betting picks.
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— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) July 29, 2025
How To Play Fantasy Premier League Guide
Whether it's your first, second, or 20th season playing Fantasy Premier League, don't miss our How To Play Fantasy Premier League Guide for the 2025-26 season. It covers squad building, transfers, and all the new strategies coming to this great game for the current campaign.
Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 5 Tips
Target Chelsea and Wolves Assets
Gameweek 5 has a number of tough matchups to come. Arsenal hosts Man City at the Emirates, Liverpool and Everton face off in the Merseyside derby, and Chelsea travels away to take on a Man United side led by an adamant Ruben Amorim, who refuses to change his tactics.
However, among these clashes, Chelsea assets appear more appealing for selection this week. The Blues have started the 2025/26 season perfectly, still unbeaten in the league, and will look to capitalize on the Red Devils' defensive woes, a side yet to keep a clean sheet in the opening four games.
One player to look out for this week is Moises Caicedo, the engine. Caicedo has dominated the statistics for defensive contribution and also found the back of the net twice. He has a total of 29 FPL points and is joint-second for points among midfielders.
No player has made more tackles (16) OR more interceptions (12) than Moisés Caicedo in the Premier League this season.
He also has the best success rate of any midfielder to contest 30+ duels this season (65.79%). 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/sg57j1xCC4
— Squawka (@Squawka) September 15, 2025
This week, we'll also look at the Wolves. This may appear strange as a recommendation, but trust me, it isn't. Wolves have had a tough start to the season, scoring just two goals, conceding nine, and finding themselves at the bottom of the table. However, this weekend could yield a different outcome as they host newly promoted Leeds.
In Gameweek 4, they went all out in the first 20 minutes, producing four shots early on against Newcastle. Wolves came close to scoring on several occasions; however, they lacked the final finish to get a goal. Their 3-5-2 shape might improve with Rodrigo Gomes playing as a left wing-back and a solid threat in the box.
This quality will give fans hope that the Old Gold can avoid relegation this season. The Wolves board has also demonstrated trust by rewarding Vitor Pereira with a three-year contract as manager, believing he will turn things around.
A new three-year contract for Vitor Pereira ✍️
— Wolves (@Wolves) September 18, 2025
In the club statement released yesterday, Chairman Jeff Shi said, “Now is a time for stability. Vitor needs time to work with the squad, to build chemistry with new players, and we will do everything to support him and his staff.”
To this end, FPL managers should prioritize selecting assets from Chelsea and Wolves for Gameweek 5. According to market data goal projections, each club is expected to produce 1.61 xG and 1.16 xG (expected goals) against their opponents this weekend.
Recommended FPL assets for Gameweek 5
- Chelsea: João Pedro, Cole Palmer, and Moises Caicedo
- Wolves: Tolu Arokodare, Hwang Hee-Chan, and Rodrigo Gomes
Top FPL Gameweek 5 Captain Picks
The weekend fixtures present a list of fascinating options for your captaincy choice. Players like Erling Haaland against Arsenal, Antoine Semenyo against Newcastle, and Jean-Philippe Mateta against West Ham present strong cases. However, our top two captain picks this week are:
Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) - Liverpool vs. Everton
The Egyptian King returns to the top of the captaincy list for Gameweek 5 after scoring in two consecutive games.
Mohamed Salah has a solid goal-scoring record against local rivals, Everton, scoring eight goals in 13 appearances, and will rely on his recent form to keep him going. Salah is our RotoBaller captain for the week.
Power and precision from Mo 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/sVwvx1WhuR
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 18, 2025
João Pedro (£7.8m) - Chelsea away at Man United
The 23-year-old has been the most consistent FPL asset this season, producing five attacking returns in the opening four matches.
Although he is ranked 17th in this week's market goal projection, we are well aware of his abilities and know he can also create for the team, as he currently averages 0.81 xA (expected assists) per 90 minutes thus far.
Facing off against an out-of-form Man United side, Pedro is a top favorite to get an attacking return this weekend and a compelling option for captaincy.
Joao Pedro, 5 G/A. 👀 pic.twitter.com/kgCiGEuobZ
— Bridgways. (@Bridgways) September 14, 2025
RotoBaller's FPL Team of the Week
Have you used any of your chips yet? No? Then you are in luck. Our FPL Team of the Week will help share insights into the best assets to have each gameweek. This section will significantly benefit managers who are planning to activate their first set of chips (Free Hit, Bench Boost, Wildcard, or Triple Captain chip).
Here are our recommended FPL picks for Gameweek 5.
Courtesy: fpledits.com
Factoring in recent price changes and market data projections, this team is projected to score at least 56 FPL points with Mohamed Salah as captain. Feel free to make your own modifications where necessary.
FPL Challenge: Coca-Cola Beat the Icon
The FPL Challenge section for the 2025-26 season is back, and RotoBaller remains your go-to source for valuable insights on selecting the right assets for any challenge.
Coca-Cola Beat the Icon is the latest series added to the fantasy challenge game. Your favorite Coca-Cola ambassadors are mixing things up, as each task given is a unique challenge to tackle head-on. This series will span seven gameweeks, i.e., Gameweeks 4 through 10.
Here are the tasks presented by each icon below:
- Gameweek 4: Rio Ferdinand - Classic Rivalry
- Gameweek 5: Manny - Red vs. Blue
- Gameweek 6: Alex Scott - Young Guns
- Gameweek 7: Mary Earps - Zero to Hero
- Gameweek 8: WillNE - Ice Cold
- Gameweek 9: Nemzzz - Iconic
- Gameweek 10: Tays - Winning Feeling
We will share insights on our top fantasy recommendations to select from each week.
Gameweek 4 FPL challenge team finished with 75 points, finishing in the top 45%. The main highlight was Haaland, who bagged 52 points against Man United, while Declan Rice got rested, earning one point from the bench.
Our overall season rank saw a minor drop to 3,271; let's improve with this week's selection and push for a top 100 finish at the end of the Coca-Cola series.
Gameweek 5 Fantasy Challenge: Red vs. Blue
The Merseyside Derby is here! Liverpool and Everton are set to brawl for three points this weekend. This week's task prompts managers to select players participating in this clash, as they are set to earn double points.
Given an unlimited budget, you can select a 6-a-side team and a maximum limit of three players per club.
Have you got what it takes to beat Manny at the Red vs Blue Fantasy Challenge? 🔴🔵
Play Beat The Icon with @CocaCola now ⬇️
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) September 18, 2025
RotoBaller's top six picks for this week's challenge are:
- In goal, Wolves' Sam Johnstone is our keeper of the week and a solid pick for saves and clean-sheet points against Leeds.
- In defense, Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk is a top-notch defender set to hit DefCon points and an attacking threat from corners against Everton.
- In midfield, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo are top midfield options who fit the requirement for double points in this week's challenge. Arsenal's Noni Madueke has been a delight to watch and could get a goal against title rivals, Man City.
- In attack, Chelsea's in-form forward, João Pedro, leads the attack, rounding off our lineup in a 1-3-1 formation.
Captain of the Week: Mohamed Salah (c)
Best of luck to everyone participating in this week's challenge!
Stick around for more 2025-26 Fantasy Premier League content coming soon. Hit us up on X @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!
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