FPL Gameweek 5: Is it time to bench boost?

In our weekly chip pollAbout 7% of users say they are planning to use their bench boost in Gameweek 5.

That is about as much as they have said that they did this together in the previous three game week.

After we received a broader look at the chip strategy last week, we focus specifically on the bench boost here and we ask: is the time to hit ‘play’?

Many of those who are planning to use the bench boost have undoubtedly taken thoughts and have adjusted their squadrons accordingly.

But for those on the fence we look at the considerations.

Promote Trio Face teams in turmoil or transition

Many of our squadrons contain one, two or maybe three £ 4.0 million keepers and defenders. It is usually these kinds of players, that is, the bank food, that we ‘boost’ when using the chip.

It is fair to believe that most of these £ 4.0 million will play for Burnley, Leeds United of Sunderland:

Above: the seven most £ 4.0 million and among players all play for a newly promoted club, of whom the top six should start in Gameweek 5

And they all have decent luminaires in game week 4-that is not something that we thought we would say at the beginning of 2025/26.

Leeds United Travel to a bottom of the Wolverhampton Wanderers table, who could possibly be re -broken down by the absence of Jorgen Strand Larsen (£ 6.4 million).

Sunderland now organizes Aston Villa, who are badly flopped in the first four game week. They are the only side that still scores a Premier League goal.

And finally, Burnley organizes a Nottingham Forest side in a state of transition after the recent management change.

They are not all excellent luminaires, but competitions that look less daunting than a month ago.

A rare opportunity to play Darlow

If you are one of the approximately 280,000 managers who owns Karl Darlow (£ 4.0 million), you may have a very narrow window to place it.

Darlow started the season with playing the second violin behind Lucas Perri (£ 4.5 million) But an injury to the Brazilian has given his Understudy a chance to impress – even if it is just a short chance.

Just a mention for Karl Darlow

First PL game in almost four years and takes two world shelves

Steered clamped on the ball and all the game got off his line

I am not going to promise Perri, but Farke said there is less need to hurry back, was a compliment that he earned #Lufc

– Isaac Johnson (@isaacjohnsonll) September 13, 2025

It is not only the minutes, but also a decent post, with wolves struggling in attack.

Clean sheets are up – lettuce up while the iron is hot?

Sunderland, Burnley and Leeds have already combined five clean sheets this season and we are only mid -September. Rabble last year received eight in the whole of 2024/25!

It may not always be the case that the new boys look so solid. Leeds and Burnley, for example, are largely injury -free at the back, for example and an important future dismissal or two can weaken defensively.

Division, clean sheets are up. We have already had more than 20% of the shut-outs that we saw in 2023/24. Again, this can be a Blip-Like that we look at in a follow-up piece but Why should you not drive a bank at the top of a golf that your budget defenders now stimulate?

Mixed week before stimulating cheap attackers

Anton Stach (£ 5.0 million) – the only FPL – midfielder who hits double digits for both shots and opportunities created this season! – and Elliot Anderson (£ 5.5 million) have very decent competitions this week, so if one of these two is your ‘eighth attacker’, then they are very boost. Josh King (£ 4.5 million), on condition that he keeps his place, Brentford has at home.

It’s not as good as you do if you count Tijjani Reijnders (£ 5.7 million) and Kiernan Dewsbury–Hall (£ 5.0 million) under your ranks. One meets the average defense of Arsenal, the other is gone in Liverpool.

And then there is Marc Guiu (£ 4.4 million). In the meantime we had a challenge for a start in the Sunderland XI or at least get decent minutes off the bank. But a loan that later recalls and, despite the injuries at Chelsea, he does not even make the Premier League competition day team of his parent club. He was an unused replacement in the Champions League on Wednesday.

If Guiu is your third attacker, it is obvious that it is far from ideal for stimulating it, since he will not be on the field in Old Trafford on Saturday evening.

Gameweek 5 Bench Boost V Other weeks

Looking at other possible windows in which the Bankboost can be used, we have isolated the luminaires of Burnley, Leeds and Sunderland above.

Gameweek 8 immediately stands out. Burnley and Leeds play each other, with Sunderland that organizes wolves from the bottom of the table. Gameweek 9 is also decent for Burnley and Leeds, if not the black cats.

Again, in both game week it is a mixed bag for some of the more popular budget midfielders/attackers. Dewsbury-Hall has a hard time against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Anderson has Chelsea and Bournemouth. King meets Newcastle and Arsenal.

It is at least better for Stach and Reijnders, of whom the last Everton and Aston has Villa. In the meantime, Guiu is confronted with Bos and Sunderland, and by that time we may have a better idea of ​​how many minutes he will get for Chelsea – or that he is a clear ‘sale’.

Last thoughts

So, to summarize, Gameweek 5 looks like a decent time for a bench boost if you have:

• Dubravka or, especially, Darlow as your second ‘keeper
• One or two cheap defenders of the promoted clubs
• Don’t lead
• Anderson, Stach and/or King as banked attackers, with the reservation that the minutes of the latter are not completely safe

A question that you should ask yourself is: if I didn’t play a bench boost, I would start these players anyway? Man City is confronted with Arsenal in Gameweek 5, so you can entertain the idea of ​​starting Anderson, regardless of and, say, someone like Rear seat (£ 7.5 million). Is this a week when you would start Joe Rodon (£ 4.0 million) over Riccardo Calafuri (£ 5.7 million) in normal, chipless conditions? The decision to make is whether arsenal assets are ‘boostable’.

It is of course all very squadron.

We would probably favor Gameweek 8, given an empty canvas, just like the promotioned trios lumbles are superior in that week. It can be accompanied by a game week 6/7 Yoker sign, which can be used to drill into luminaire changes for Arsenal et al and the rid of dead wood such as guiu. If his expected minutes are still strong, Lyle Foster (£ 5.0 million) has a strong game week 8 match and can be a decent guiu alternative. Darlow may not start of course.

The disadvantage of Gameweek 8/9 is that it is still a month removed and that the FPL landscape looks somewhat different by that time. Will Leeds and Sunderland still look so stubborn at that time? That is the risk that we will take the chip until mid -October.