GW5: The Week Semenyo Made Me Question Everything
Right, confession time before we start: I benched Semenyo. Sat there smugly with my "premium" forward on the pitch while Semenyo racked up 17 points — two goals, an assist, the lot — from my substitutes bench. I've been staring at my screen for ten minutes trying to find the silver lining. There isn't one. Let's move on before I throw my laptop.
That Man City 5-3 win over Sunderland was an absolute circus, and somehow the standout story from it wasn't even a City player banging in a hat-trick — it was Brobbey doing exactly that for the losing side. Three goals, seventeen points, on the losing team. FPL doesn't care about your league table, it cares about your box score, and Brobbey's owners will be feeling pretty smug despite Sunderland shipping five.
Elsewhere, Brighton put three past Arsenal without reply, which is the kind of result that makes you go back and check the scoreline twice (I did, twice, still 3-0). Tottenham somehow lost 3-2 at home to Aston Villa in a game that had goals flying everywhere — Manzambi and Buendía both cashing in for Villa owners. Brentford thumping Chelsea 3-0 was the other eyebrow-raiser of the weekend, and Schuster popped up with 14 points off the back of that.
Nottingham Forest lost to newly-promoted Coventry, 0-1, which tells you all you need to know about how unpredictable this league is five games in. And Leeds vs Crystal Palace finished a very forgettable nil-nil — sorry to anyone who captained into that one.
Top 3 scorers, and what it means:
Semenyo led the way with 17 points (2 goals, 1 assist) — see above, I don't want to talk about it anymore. Brobbey matched him with 17 from his hat-trick despite the defeat, proof that attacking returns don't care about the final whistle result. Dasilva rounds out the podium with 15 points off a goal for Coventry, which honestly nobody saw coming given where Coventry sit on the momentum charts (more on that in a second). If you've got any of these three, brilliant week. If you sold them recently... well, you're in good company. I sold nobody this week and still lost, which might be worse.
Momentum shifts:
Man City are sitting at 83/100 and it's not hard to see why after that five-goal show, even with a slightly shaky defensive night letting in three. United are quietly creeping up at 38/100 off the back of that Fulham draw — not glamorous, but momentum's momentum. On the flip side, Coventry's win over Forest hasn't done much for their overall momentum score, sat at a grim 4/100, and Ipswich are cratering at 32/100 after that home defeat to Everton. Brentford, despite battering Chelsea 3-0, are still showing 44/100 — a reminder that one big scoreline doesn't erase a rough patch instantly.
Injury watch:
There's a lot to track this week. Elanga, Dedić, J.Ramsey and Osula are all out for Newc