THE FRIDAY NIGHT football between Chelsea and Liverpool tonight means an early kick-off to the Fantasy Premier League.
Managers tuning in here at Donegal Sport Hub and our league in conjunction with Champions Travel will also have to have their teams in early before the 7pm deadline.
Sometimes funny things can happen in the wake of the Champions League and Europa League getting underway, so it could be a weekend of the underdog.
So, what to do this week then, Gameweek 5?
1 – A Bridge too far?
Jurgen Klopp’s first year in charge at Liverpool has shown something of an improvement, with the age-old inconsistences – both of his managerial past and of Liverpool’s – still apparent.
Klopp, though, has produced some excellent results against the top sides – remember last season Liverpool won 4-1 at Manchester City, overcame Manchester United in the Europa League and won 3-1 at Chelsea.
This season has continued with four-goal wins over Arsenal and champions Leicester City and a 2-0 loss at Burnley. Roberto Firmino (above) scored two last weekend and landed 15 points and might be worth a punt at Stamford Bridge.
[adrotate group=”80″]2 – Antonio on a hot-streak
WHILE West Ham United haven’t made the start to the new season that many might’ve expected, Michail Antonio has been a revelation.
The 26-year-old has played for a host of clubs, most recently Nottingham Forest, and has started the season with a bang. Last weekend at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, Antonio scored twice against Watford to bring this season’s tally to four.
Watford won 4-2 but West Ham will look to get back on track at West Bromwich Albion tomorrow.
3 – Captain’s choice
The real game-breaker in Gameweek 4 was the Romelu Lukaku hat-trick on Monday night.
Anyone who took a punt on the Everton striker was rewarded with 17 points late in the day as Ronald Koeman’s revolution continues to gather pace at Goodison Park. Tomorrow, the Merseysiders welcome a Middlesbrough side who lost 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace last time out.
One of the features of the tenure of Koeman’s predecessor Roberto Martinez was losing home games that seemed to be infinitely winnable. Lukaku looks worth the gamble again, though, while Jamie Vardy – after Leicester’s great start in the Champions League – might be an option at home to Burnley.
[adrotate group=”80″]4 – Palace looking to build fortress
CRYSTAL PALACE last weekend gave a soundbite of how they would like things to run this season, when Wilfried Zaha set up Christian Benteke to head home against Middlesbrough.
Zaha also scored in the 2-1 win at the Riverside Stadium and scooped a decent 12 points from his trip to the north-east.
Palace welcome Stoke City to Selhurst Park where the locals will like to see the Eages’ transfer their competent season start away from home – just like last term – to south-east London.
[adrotate group=”80″]5 – Euros Blues?
MANCHESTER CITY had to wait an extra 24 hours – because of flooding – before taking to the field against Borussia Mönchengladbach this week but a home outing on Wednesday and Bournemouth the guests tomorrow would not a need for serious overhaul.
Elsewhere, their neighbours United were beaten in Holland by Feyenoord last night and travel to Watford for a tricky Sunday noon fixture.
You would expect Spurs to get back on track, following their 2-1 loss to Monaco at Wembley in the Champions League, at White Harte Lane against Sunderland.
Fixtures
Friday, September 16, 8pm
Chelsea v Liverpool
Saturday, September 17, 3pm
Hull v Arsenal
Leicester v Burnley
Man City v Bournemouth
West Brom v West Ham
Saturday, September 17, 5:30pm
Everton v Middlesbrough
Sunday, September 18, 12 noon
Watford v Manchester United
Sunday, September 18, 2:15pm
Crystal Palace v Stoke
Southampton v Swansea
Sunday, September 18, 4:30pm
Tottenham v Sunderland
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