Who to Target for Fantasy Premier League 2025/26 – Gameweek 5

In this blog, we break down the standout performers, analyse the latest transfer trends, and reveal the early must-have picks from the fourth Gameweek of the 2025/26 FPL season.

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Expected FPL Points Review - A look at the stats

As the below image shows, Haaland tops the Custom Stats xFPL table for Gameweek 4 with a score of 12.6. The Norwegian international took five shots in the box, three of which were 'big chances' and also created a 'big chance' which Reijnders missed.

Semenyo rewarded his new owners with a 13-point haul, the Ghanaian international took two shots in the box, one of which was a penalty and attempted two assists, leading to an xFPL score of 10.0.

Salah's penalty was the only attempt in the game for the Egyptian international, he attempted just one assist and notched an xFPL score of 7.8.

Gyökeres attempted four shots in the box with only Haaland (five) faring better. The Swedish international was afforded two 'big chances' and attempted one assist but registered an xFPL score of just 6.6.

Palmer impressed in his cameo, the 23-year-old attempted five shots, three of which were in the box and was afforded two 'big chances'. He notched an xFPL score of 6.8 and shpuld be back on the radar for FPL managers.

What is xFPL?

xFPL is calculated primarily using expected goals (xG), assists (xA), which combine as Fantasy Premier League (FPL) involvements (xG + xA = xI), as well as expected clean sheets (xCS). These numbers are a result of underlying statistics (i.e. shot type and location will give a probability of scoring = xG). xFPL is the combination of these statistics and factors in appearance and bonus points to give an overall expected FPL point score.

Early FPL Transfer Activity Analysed - Which players are FPL managers buying and selling?

As shown in the below image from our Transfer Analytics feature, Semenyo is currently the most transferred in player ahead of Gameweek 5 with over 350,000 FPL managers bringing him in at the time of writing.

With three clean sheets and a goal over the opening weeks, Guehi is a popular acquisition with nearly 150,000 FPL managers bringing in the England international. Van de Ven has also notched three clean sheets and a goal, the Dutch international has also been brought in by a similar number of FPL managers.

Haaland's brace against Man. Utd. has taken him top of the FPL points (37), the 25-year-old has been bought by over 100,000 FPL managers already despite his fixture against Arsenal this week.

Aït-Nouri and Aina both missed out over the weekend due to injuries which has seen them sold by nearly 300,000 FPL managers combined. Ekitiké, Wood and Wirtz' blanks have also seen several FPL managers part ways with the trio.

A look at the Top 10 Forward transfer combinations shows that moving Watkins to either Gyökeres or Haaland is the most popular move this week, accounting for over 20% of all Forward transfers. João Pedro, Isak, Woltemade and Mateta are also popular.

The Top 10 Midfield transfer combinations is dominated by Semenyo with the Ghanaian international involved in all 10. Johnson, Cunha, Wirtz, Rogers and Elanga are some of the Midfielders making way.

The Top 10 Defender transfer combinations are fairly scattered with Van De Ven, Guehi and Virgil the most popular. The injured duo of Aina and Aït-Nouri are the players being sold.

Best Budget Defender: Guehi vs Van de Ven

Cheap defenders have flourished over the opening four Gameweeks with Guehi (29) and Van De Ven (27) sitting at fourth and seventh in the Defender Points Rankings.

As the above image from our Player Heatmaps feature shows, Guehi and Van de Ven have started every game for their respective sides with the England international notching just two FPL points more than the Dutchman.

As the stats in the above image from our Player Heatmaps feature shows, there is very little to split them. They have attempted the same number of shots in the box and landed one attempt on target each while neither has created a 'big chance' yet.

As the above image from our Fixture Difficulty Ratings shows, Spurs are ranked second for 'Defence Difficulty' over the next six Gameweeks while Palace are ranked in 20th, with games against Liverpool and Arsenal to come in the short term.

Based on the vast difference in Fixture Difficulty alone, Van de Ven looks to be the better pick.

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