Our Gameweek 5 Hot or Cold article is here to outline the current prospects of key Fantasy EPL players. The 'Hot' or 'Cold' status will help take away your emotional attachment to certain Draft Premier League players and help you bring in the players that you need to help you dominate your Fantrax Draft League!
These Hot or Cold ratings are based on the data contained within the Weekly Rest-of-Season Rankings produced by The FF Chaps. The Draft Society's exclusive weekly refresh of Fantasy EPL prospect rankings!
🔥🔥🔥 Gameweek 5 Hot List 🔥🔥🔥
These are Fantasy EPL players that have risen in our Weekly ROS Rankings! Keep an eye on these Draft Premier League players, and bring them into your Fantrax squad if you can.
Dwight McNeil
Position: Midfielder
Team: Burnley
GW4 Rank: 49
GW5 Rank: 36
What's Changed?: We need to talk about Dwight. The Burnley midfielder finished the 19/20 season as the 32nd highest scoring Fantrax player, and followed this up with ending the 20/21 season as 42nd best player. A decline in output, coupled with Burnley being pretty uninspiring by most counts, meant McNeil was given a Pre-Season Draft Ranking of 65 this season. That seemed like a pretty fair ranking at the time. But McNeil has started the season in ridiculous Fantrax form! He's the 17th highest scoring player so far, despite gaining zero attacking returns.
I've moved him up to 36th overall after four consecutive double digit scores. Even the biggest Burnley haters will surely have to accept that the Englishman is an asset to be recognized. So far this season McNeil has provided 15 Successful Dribbles, 11 Tackles Won, 7 Key Passes, 5 Accurate Crosses, and 4 Shots on Target as his main sources of points. I've got him in the same bracket as the likes of Pogba, Saka, Tielemans and Gross, but he has potential to even rival the likes of Foden, Sancho, JWP and ASM in terms of Fantrax output.
Even the biggest Burnley haters will surely have to accept that the Englishman is an asset to be recognized.
Ollie Watkins
Position: Forward
Team: Aston Villa
GW4 Rank: 24
GW5 Rank: 17
What's Changed?: Ollie Watkins has risen seven places in my Weekly ROS Rankings after a really impressive display during the 3-0 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday. Despite obviously not gaining any attacking returns, the Englishman racked up 13 points courtesy of 2 Key Passes, 2 Shots on Target, and 5 Successful Dribbles. This is in stark contrast to the zero points and literally zero positive actions on the game from colleague Ings. It remains to be seen how Villa will line-up when they are at full strength, but this was a very encouraging display for those Fantrax managers who were wondering how Watkins would fare when potentially being forced out wide. On this evidence, he's going to see more of the ball and therefore has more chances to pick up points. Ings remains in 18th place and has a greater goal threat, but Watkins is likely to be a more consistent source of points.
Joel Matip
Position: Defender
Team: Liverpool
GW4 Rank: 109
GW5 Rank: 77
What's Changed?: My final hot player to feature this week is Joel Matip, as he's risen a further 32 places up to 77th overall. I featured the Cameroonian defender in my Starting 11 of Sleepers pre-season, as he was almost guaranteed to start in GW1 against Norwich. Matip has stayed in the side ever since, and it's now his place to lose. With Konate and Gomez on the bench, he can't afford to put a foot wrong. And he hasn't. Matip is the 10th highest scoring defender so far this season, and now finds himself alongside the likes of Wan-Bissaka and Tierney in my rankings.
For the full list of all the Gameweek 5 risers, check out the Weekly ROS Rankings page!
❄️❄️❄️ Gameweek 5 Cold List ❄️❄️❄️
These are Fantasy EPL players that have fallen in our Weekly ROS Rankings. This may be due to poor form, they have been dropped from the best 11, they have suffered an injury, or received a suspension. It's time to consider trading out these Draft Premier League players from your rosters!
Riyad Mahrez
Position: Midfielder
Team: Manchester City
GW4 Rank: 18
GW5 Rank: 28
What's Changed?: I like to think I'm patient with Fantasy EPL players, especially the higher end assets. Publishing my ranks every single week means that I need to slowly move around most players - i.e. give them a chance to prove themselves before making major changes. But I've had enough of Riyad Mahrez. I ranked the Algerian in 19th overall during pre-season, and he had a Consensus Rank of 16th. I've kept the faith somewhat in recent weeks, but after a third game riding the bench I'm finally moved him down 10 places, now at 28th overall. Still a very good ranking, but I can't have a player in the Top 25 who is so inconsistent.
On the face of it, Mahrez's scores this season have been pretty good; 5, 12, 17. However, he only started the first game. Most Fantrax users play with Live Lineup Changes, and 99% of those managers would therefore have benched Mahrez for the scores of 12 and 17. I've got little interest in owning Mahrez, despite his explosive nature. He will probably end the season inside the Top 20 Fantrax players, but how many of those points will he score when he's actually in your Fantrax starting lineup is anyone's guess.
Recommendation: I would look to trade Mahrez out for a more consistent player. Use his big name status to leverage a trade for the likes of Watkins, Jota, or Vardy, as per our Gameweek 4 Trade Advice article.
Jack Harrison
Position: Midfielder
Team: Leeds United
GW4 Rank: 21
GW5 Rank: 31
What's Changed?: Similar to Mahrez above, I've also finally moved Jack Harrison down from my Pre-Season Ranking in the early 20s. The Englishman has scored pretty well so far this season considering his lack of any attacking returns. But there comes a point when you have to be worried about this lack of attacking returns! Having a base of 7 or 8 points per game is great, but there needs to be some level of goals of assists on top of that to create the excellent Fantrax asset. Harrison hasn't provided that so far, and now he has Dan James to compete with for his starting position. To an extent I'm reserving judgement to see if Bielsa moves Raphinha central to accommodate James on the opposite wing to Harrison, but this is certainly an area of concern and is also a reason I've moved him down in my rankings.
Recommendation: Harrison's trade value is fairly low at this point, due to the lack of attacking returns and arrival of James as mentioned above. If you want to move on from the Leeds winger, look to trade him away for McNeil, Saka, or Tielemans. Otherwise, keep the faith and hope that he stays in the side and starts bringing home returns. Leeds' fixture schedule does get a whole lot better from now, as per our Fixture Difficulty Tracker.
Timothy Castagne
Position: Defender
Team: Leicester City
GW4 Rank: 67
GW5 Rank: 89
What's Changed?: I'd stuck by my Pre-Season Draft Ranking for Timothy Castagne, the same as I did for Mahrez and Harrison, but now is the time to start moving him down the rankings. The Belgian full-back suffered a serious eye injury at the Euros, and is currently playing with a protective face mask, so I am being lenient on him as he may have lost some confidence after the injury. But in his two games so far this season, Castagne has managed two tackles won, two aerial wins, and one clearance. That's it. Five positive contributions based on Fantrax Scoring. With lots of competition for places at Leicester, Castagne's place in the side may be under threat. Pereira, Bertrand, and Thomas are all more than capable of establishing themselves as regulars ahead of the former Atalanta man.
Recommendation: Castagne was likely drafted by many as their DEF1 or DEF2, so this may be a hard one to take. But I would look to trade him out for the likes of Matip, Zouma, Reguilon, or maybe Semedo or Vestergaard. Castagne is likely to continue to fall down my rankings over the next few weeks.
For the full list of all the Gameweek 5 fallers, check out the Weekly ROS Rankings page!
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