Welcome back to Hive FPL for our GW5 Preview.
With the first international break to follow GW5 it feels like we are heading for a natural reset point. Some managers will be waiting to see what happens during that hiatus before activating a Wildcard, others will be plotting a short-term assault on favourable fixtures and a few brave souls will already be looking for the next differential before everyone else catches on.
I wouldn't be surprised to see a mass exodus of players from the international squads that are being named this week through a variety of injuries or just straight up withdrawals.
That in itself makes it less likely that we'll see too many squad rotations this weekend despite most teams playing midweek.
In Division 1 we still have 2 teams with 100% records. 
We're also down to just 2 teams with 100% records in Division 2 too. Could this be the week that someone claims the 1000 MEDAL prize?
GW4 Results
Division 1
| Team | Hive Account | Score | Score | Team | Hive Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seskobob |  @deniskj | 88 | 69 | The Cella's |  @blanchy |
| Top Boy | @sperosamuel15 | 82 | 87 | Hiveheadz |  @borran |
| Hungry Lions |  @gvkanten | 80 | 67 | HaaBrunoLand |  @earplugs |
| Tengo Rangers |  @tengolotodo | 61 | 79 | Likodra FC |  @teofilex11 |
| fpl.racibo.pl |  @racibo | 78 | 78 | Legion fc |  @b0s |
| Blue Mooners |  @leebennett | 59 | 49 | Damola's Team |  @george-dee |
| Red Cards of Rohan |  @thoth442 | 87 | 63 | YAGMAN FC | @Yagman01 |
| BlockchainFPL H2H |  @blockchainfpl | 45 | 85 | Sutter Kane |  @suttercane |
| Ameerians |  @amirtheawesome | 69 | 91 | FC McKane |  @mckane |
| Suffragette City |  @talesfrmthecrypt | 90 | 62 | Ping Pong Frimpong |  @pingpongfrimpong |
Division 2
| Team | Hive Account | Score | Score | Team | Hive Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working 9 to 5 |  @aunt-granny | 54 | 63 | Top of the Pops |  @elvisking |
| HappyBoys | @Happyboy1 | 52 | 62 | It's Nice! |  @workingdad |
| Corner |  @artniche | 51 | 53 | Bennett's Boys |  @olibennett |
| HB-EVWU75 |  @kilvnrex | 70 | 80 | Cohlson |  @cohlson |
| Division 1 |  @omrys5 | 53 | 46 | Six and the City |  @princekwame |
| El equipo de Roberto | @Kraken99 | 81 | 89 | Simcard FC |  @akomoajong |
| twicejoy |  @twicejoy | 82 | 50 | Fire Power | Fire Power |
| Wild XI |  @wildlifelover | 66 | 57 | Jambo Villains |  @stuartcturnbull |
| Dirty Leeds |  @dirtyleeds | 71 | 83 | Stilgar_the_Fremen |  @dune69 |
| Steven's Team |  @stevenson7 | 79 | 87 | Chocopram |  @aaalviarez |
| Emeka4 | @Emeka4 | 80 | 94 | Herbae (Stevelight) | @Herbae |
| Blugrana |  @ronnie10 | 61 | 72 | Hadji |  @hadji |
| Blank | Blank | 69 | 55 | Mikmai1 |  @mikmai |
| Glasner Half Full? | @Doombot75 | 80 | 61 | Large in the Rear |  @chineduokafor |
| shamzy FC |  @shamzy | 82 | 87 | PChip FC |  @livinguktaiwan |
| Kingsleyy |  @kingsleyy | 64 | 59 | Uwabbs battalion | @Uwabbs001 |
| Tangram |  @desro | 71 | 79 | Skander's Team |  @skanderh |
| The Fantasy Devils |  @stranger27 | 53 | 77 | dewabrata |  @dewabrata |
| Los Magos del Balón |  @el-maestro | 59 | 70 | Acid's Team |  @acidyo |
| FC Uwelang |  @uwelang | 58 | 76 | Dani Deuder FDA |  @danideuder |
| Deals on Wheels |  @derek-trotter | 63 | 73 | The Mighty Fc | @Twicejoy-sports |
| Gen2shaid |  @gentleshaid | 70 | 55 | Form Factor |  @publioscelta |
| Solat |  @reservedsingle | 69 | 49 | Micheal87 | @Micheal87 |
| Los Porro Hermanos |  @jmehta | 79 | 64 | Garuda XI |  @aditya-p |
GW5 Fixtures
Division 1
| Team | Hive Account | Team | Hive Account | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC McKane | @mckane | v | Seskobob | @deniskj |
| Sutter Kane | @suttercane | v | Ping Pong Frimpong | @pingpongfrimpong |
| YAGMAN FC | @Yagman01 | v | Suffragette City | @talesfrmthecrypt |
| Damola's Team | @george-dee | v | Ameerians | @amirtheawesome |
| Legion fc | @b0s | v | BlockchainFPL H2H | @blockchainfpl |
| Likodra FC | @teofilex11 | v | Red Cards of Rohan | @thoth442 |
| HaaBrunoLand | @earplugs | v | Blue Mooners | @leebennett |
| Hiveheadz | @borran | v | fpl.racibo.pl | @racibo |
| The Cella's | @blanchy | v | Tengo Rangers | @tengolotodo |
| Top Boy | @sperosamuel15 | v | Hungry Lions | @gvkanten |
| Emeka4 | @Emeka4 | v | Herbae (Stevelight) | @Herbae |
Division 2
| Team | Hive Account | Team | Hive Account | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working 9 to 5 | @aunt-granny | v | Corner | @artniche |
| HB-EVWU75 | @kilvnrex | v | HappyBoys | @Happyboy1 |
| Division 1 | @omrys5 | v | Top of the Pops | @elvisking |
| El equipo de Roberto | @Kraken99 | v | It's Nice! | @workingdad |
| twicejoy | @twicejoy | v | Bennett's Boys | @olibennett |
| Wild XI | @wildlifelover | v | Cohlson | @cohlson |
| Dirty Leeds | @dirtyleeds | v | Six and the City | @princekwame |
| Steven's Team | @stevenson7 | v | Simcard FC | @akomoajong |
| Emeka4 | @Emeka4 | v | Fire Power |  @emekaj |
| Blugrana | @ronnie10 | v | Jambo Villains | @stuartcturnbull |
| Blank | Blank | v | Stilgar_the_Fremen | @dune69 |
| Glasner Half Full? | @Doombot75 | v | Chocopram | @aaalviarez |
| shamzy FC | @shamzy | v | Herbae (Stevelight) | @Herbae |
| Kingsleyy | @kingsleyy | v | Hadji | @hadji |
| Tangram | @desro | v | Mikmai1 | @mikmai |
| The Fantasy Devils | @stranger27 | v | Large in the Rear | @chineduokafor |
| Los Magos del Balón | @el-maestro | v | PChip FC | @livinguktaiwan |
| FC Uwelang | @uwelang | v | Uwabbs battalion | @Uwabbs001 |
| Deals on Wheels | @derek-trotter | v | Skander's Team | @skanderh |
| Gen2shaid | @gentleshaid | v | dewabrata | @dewabrata |
| Solat | @reservedsingle | v | Acid's Team | @acidyo |
| Los Porro Hermanos | @jmehta | v | Dani Deuder FDA | @danideuder |
| Garuda XI | @aditya-p | v | The Mighty Fc | @Twicejoy-sports |
| Micheal87 | @Micheal87 | v | Form Factor | @publioscelta |
GW5 Tips and Tactics
Forest attract attention
With a first win of the season under their belt, a home match against Coventry this weekend and then some attractive fixtures to come, Forest are certainly attracting a lot of attention.
While Morgan Gibbs-White is sweating on a possible England recall, he continues to be one of the standout midfield options thanks to penalty duties, an advanced role and a favourable run of fixtures.
In defence, Daniel Munoz is back in a Glasner system that has served him so well for the past couple of seasons. His attacking involvement offers multiple routes to points and clean sheets are increasingly becoming an added bonus rather than the primary reason to buy him.
We've noted Liam Delap in previous blogs as well who comes in at the nice £5.5mil price for a 3rd striker. He got his first goal of the Premier League season last time out and he'll be relishing the opportunity to get more thanks to some consistent game time.
The concern is that expectations are now much higher. Forest have gone from being a team to monitor to a team everyone wants a piece of and that usually means the value of owning their players can disappear quite quickly. If you are thinking of bringing in any of these players, it's probably worth acting now!
The Bruno Conundrum
Few players have divided opinion this season quite like Bruno Fernandes.
The underlying numbers for the most expense midfielder in the game this season have remained strong. His creativity is unquestioned. Penalties and indeed the occasion def con bonus add another layer of appeal.
His season total of 29 points puts him equal 3rd amongst midfielders after 4 game weeks in what is still a very congested field of contenders. Yet, he's blanked in 3 of the 4 matches so far, relying on almost 80% of his points this season coming from that monster haul against Ipswich.
It may well be that another big score is just around the corner with matches against Fulham and Spurs but if it doesn't come? Well then we're probably getting into a situation where a lot of managers who are yet to use their wildcard are thinking about shaking things up and no Bruno means funds to spend elsewhere.
After a derby defeat against 10 men, this is about the worst thing that could have happened to United
The other concern is that United as a whole seem to be slipping into a familiar pattern. The great start under Carrick last season already feels like a distant memory for some supporters. Is he out of his depth? Will United be forced into yet another mid-season managerial change?
FPL managers love stability and if Bruno and his team fail over the next couple of GWs then I doubt they'll be much of that around Old Trafford.
Differential watch
Every season contains moments where mini-leagues are won by managers willing to back the less obvious names.
Pascal Gross was hovering around 10% ownership at the start of the season and that dropped further after he blanked in the opening fixture. His popularity has essentially doubled after his exploits in GW4.
Ahead of Gameweek 5, a few names continue to fly slightly under the radar.
Marcus Tavernier - not the first time or the last I'll write about him. He's very unlucky to play at time when England have such a huge number of left-footed attacking midfielders to choose from, otherwise I suspect he'd have won a good number of caps. His combination of open-play threat and set-piece duties gives him genuine upside. He is in less than 6% of squads at present despite having scored 29 points this season.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - continues to quietly accumulate promising underlying numbers while remaining overlooked by much of the player base (5.5% ownership). Everton have back to back matches against promoted sides which might see Dewsbury-Hall, who delivered 15 GIs last season, getting some more points on the board.
Captaincy thoughts
The armband remains the biggest decision every week.
Most weeks begin with managers searching desperately for reasons not to captain Haaland.
Most weeks end with them wishing they hadn't overthought it.
That doesn't mean alternatives shouldn't be considered and it shouldn't be forgotten that Haaland blanked twice against Sunderland last season.
Fernandes remains capable of double digit returns against vulnerable opposition like Fulham.
Gibbs-White's could be a differential captain option if you've got him in your squad - high risk, high reward.
Alternatively Saka is more the 'Mr Dependable' option with a single goal in 3 of the 4 games. His ownership (12.5%) is still pretty low for a player who grinds out decent season, after decent season.
But captaincy is ultimately about ceiling.
Even with all the excellent midfield options currently available, Haaland still possesses the highest ceiling in the game. Sometimes the boring decision is the correct one!