FPL GW5: AllAboutFPL Founders Go All-In With Early Chips

Gameweek 4 left chaos in its wake. Leeds were the only side to win at home, popular picks misfired, and penalty drama swung ranks all over the place. Out of that mess, the two men behind AllAboutFPL, Surya and Srini, have gone aggressive for GW5.

Both have hit a chip. One Wildcard. One Free Hit. No half measures.

Surya: Wildcard Pulled Early After Free Hit Frustration

GW4: Free Hit, Big Score, Wrong Swing

Surya walked away from GW4 with 78 points on a Free Hit. On paper, that sounds solid. In FPL terms this week, it stung.

He backed the Arsenal triple-up and got the call right in principle, but not in detail. No David Raya. No Bukayo Saka. Both scored from the spot, both saved penalties, and both punished his version of the triple-up.

Add in Joao Pedro’s injury concern and several fires across the squad, and Surya decided he’d seen enough. The Wildcard is active for GW5.

Why Wildcard Now?

Three weeks of international break sit right after GW5. Most managers will wait, protect themselves from injuries, and reassess later.

Surya is going the other way.

His team, by his own admission, is “a mess” and he wants to reset the structure now rather than patch it. The Wildcard is built around a clear spine:

Erling Haaland
Cole Palmer
Bukayo Saka
Morgan Gibbs-White
Double Arsenal defence

To make that work, he’s targeting value from teams with strong upcoming fixtures and cheap enablers who can sit in his squad long term.

His current Wildcard draft, rated 91% on Fantasy Football Hub’s free AI Team Rating Tool, is projected at 59 points for GW5. The structure, not the one-week upside, is doing the heavy lifting here.

Defence and Goalkeepers: Arsenal Double-Up the Anchor

For Surya, doubling up on Arsenal at the back is “a no-brainer” on Wildcard. The Gunners’ defensive numbers and fixtures justify the risk.

Alongside them, Ezri Konsa comes in at 4.5m as a value pick, giving steady minutes and a decent ceiling at the price.

Muharemovic and Silva are his DEFCON favourites – low-cost defenders capable of churning out 4-pointers almost every week regardless of fixture difficulty. They’re not glamorous, but they’re reliable.

Munoz is the upside play. With Coventry, Crystal Palace and Ipswich in his next three or four, he’s the attacking full-back punt that could turn a solid backline into a high-ceiling one.

Midfield: Penalties, Talismans and One Big Differential

Saka and Palmer headline the midfield. Both are on penalties. Both are central to everything their teams create. Both feel like season-keepers.

There is a longer-term twist, though. Surya is already eyeing a possible move in GW11 or GW12, when Manchester United’s fixtures turn kinder. One of Saka or Palmer could make way for Bruno Fernandes at that point.

The real engine of this Wildcard, though, might be Morgan Gibbs-White.

He’s delivering across the board:

1st among midfielders for Big Chances Created (4)
5th for xGI (2.57)
Joint 2nd for Bonus Points (6)
11th for total FPL points (26)

He has multiple routes to points – creativity, set pieces, bonus – and a strong home fixture against Coventry in GW5.

King is the budget midfielder who gives this draft its edge. He faces three promoted sides in a row from GW6 to GW8 and operates as an advanced No.10, regularly getting into dangerous positions. Surya is backing him for a breakout run.

Vitaly Janelt completes the midfield as the eighth attacker and 5.0m budget cog. The numbers behind him are eye-catching:

GW1: 13 DEFCON
GW2: 10 DEFCON
GW3: 12 DEFCON
GW4: 20 DEFCON
13.75 DEFCON per 90
Eight corners taken already this season
Two goals on the board

At just 2.5% ownership, he’s a DEFCON gem in Surya’s words – a bench option who can quietly deliver when called upon.

Forwards: Haaland, Data Monster Barry, and a Fixture Punt

Up front, there is no debate over Haaland. He stays. He leads. He wears the armband.

Next to him, Barry is the headline value forward. Priced at 5.6m, playing 90 minutes without rotation risk, and facing two promoted teams in the next two Gameweeks, he ticks every box.

The underlying data is elite:

Only Haaland beats him among forwards for xG
Only Haaland beats him for xGI
Only Haaland beats him for shots, shots in the box and big chances

He has just one goal so far, which feels out of step with the numbers. Surya is backing the idea that “fixtures breed form” and expects this mini-run to spark a scoring streak.

Wissa rounds off the frontline. His next four:

Hull (H)
Coventry (A)
Aston Villa (H)
Crystal Palace (A)

Two promoted sides, two struggling teams, and no European distraction for Newcastle. That makes Wissa a high-upside punt in a team that can fully focus on the league. Garcia is still in Surya’s thoughts for that final spot, but for now, Wissa holds it.

Captaincy: Haaland Over the Tempting Differential

There was a brief temptation.

Gibbs-White at home to Coventry, predicted at 6.1 points by Fantasy Football Hub, has the kind of upside that could transform rank in a single Gameweek.

Surya, though, is keeping the armband on Haaland. His logic is simple: owning Gibbs-White is already a differential. Captaining him over Haaland would turn a smart edge into an unnecessary risk, especially when Haaland once again tops AllAboutFPL’s GW5 captaincy metrics.

Srini: Free Hit Fired to Attack GW5 Fixtures

GW4: Missed Swings and Midfield Regret

Srini’s GW4 went the other way. No Pascal Gross. No double Liverpool midfield. That combination alone dragged his score down.

His Chelsea attacking triple-up delivered, but with so many managers on similar picks, the gains were minimal. Missing both Saka and Raya was brutal. Their penalty heroics created a huge swing – and Srini was on the wrong side of it.

The response? Activate the Free Hit for GW5.

Why Free Hit in GW5?

Srini is targeting one Gameweek with laser focus.

GW5 offers a cluster of strong home fixtures for sides facing promoted teams or struggling opponents:

Everton vs Ipswich (H)
Nottingham Forest vs Coventry (H)
Newcastle vs Hull (H)
Leeds vs Crystal Palace (H)
Manchester City vs Sunderland (H)

The Free Hit gives him the freedom to load up on these matchups without worrying about long-term structure.

The Joao Pedro situation also feeds into the decision. Xabi Alonso has said no one is ruled out for the upcoming game but refused to reveal details of Pedro’s issue. He admitted Pedro could play the next match but then miss Brazil duty. The expectation is that Pedro likely misses GW5, recovers over the international break, and returns around GW6.

Rather than carry that uncertainty, Srini has wiped the slate clean.

Only two or three players from his original squad are expected to make it into his GW5 Free Hit draft. The rest is a one-week assault on the fixture list.

His current Free Hit draft is rated 95% by Fantasy Football Hub’s free AI Team Rating Tool and projected at 62 points.

Core Locks and Flexible Slots

There are six names Srini considers untouchable for GW5:

Haaland
Barry
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Bruno Fernandes
Morgan Gibbs-White
Munoz

Around them, five spots are still fluid. He’s exploring multiple combinations, but some principles are set.

There will be:

Manchester City defensive cover
At least one Leeds defender
At least one Everton defender

He likes three different structural options and leans towards the draft currently shown in his planning, but he’s open to late tweaks as team news and data sharpen closer to the deadline.

Captaincy: No Overthinking With Rested Haaland

For Srini, captaincy is straightforward.

Haaland has had a midweek rest. City are at home to Sunderland. The bookmakers and models line up: City have the highest goal-scoring odds of the Gameweek, and whenever they score, Haaland is overwhelmingly likely to be involved.

The armband goes on him. No detours. No punts.

The chips are down early for the AllAboutFPL founders. One Wildcard to rebuild. One Free Hit to attack. GW5 will show whether this aggressive approach sets the tone for the rest of the 2025/26 season, or leaves them chasing from behind.