The Gameweek 5 Scout Notes now switch focus to the 247th Merseyside derby, which Liverpool edged.
With defensive midfielders scoring two of the three goals at Anfield, there wasn’t much joy for FPL managers.
Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) emerged with only five points, thanks to an early assist, while both clean sheets were wiped out and two 10%+ owned Liverpool attackers were benched. Jack Grealish (£6.8m), the fifth-most-selected FPL midfielder, also blanked.
Hugo Ekitiké (£8.8m) owners were the main winners, then, with the striker scoring the opener and bagging eight points.
WHY SLOT BENCHED WIRTZ AND ISAK
The two benched Liverpool attackers we alluded to were Alexander Isak (£10.5m) and Florian Wirtz (£8.3m).
Isak’s demotion was widely anticipated after his first start of 2025/26 in midweek. Wirtz’s, less so, especially after his best game in a Liverpool shirt.
Fitness, you won’t be surprised to hear, was behind both decisions.
“The same as it was Macca on the bench against Atletico Madrid. Like I said, it’s three games in seven days, not in eight days. This is Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday, early kick-off. One of the most intense games that we have to play, so we try to manage it during the Burnley and Atletico games.
“For today, I think Dominik Szoboszlai, who played both of those games as well, is more used to the intensity of the Premier League and this programme than Florian is, coming from Germany. So it’s only to do with so many games in limited time.” – Arne Slot on benching Florian Wirtz, ahead of kick-off
“Normally, when you don’t play a player, I don’t think there is any player in the world that says, ‘Okay, I can understand your decision’. Maybe they can understand your decision but they would have made a different one themselves. I would be surprised if you asked him today, that he would say, ‘This is the best choice to make for me not to start this game’.
“And it is all to do with match fitness, of course, with him missing out on so many team sessions and hardly any games. It was good to see him play for an hour in midweek and let’s see how many minutes he can make today.” – Arne Slot on benching Alexander Isak, ahead of kick-off
The pair both came on in the second half, Isak for Ekitike and Wirtz for Cody Gakpo (£7.7m). Gakpo was again quite quiet, and it’ll be interesting to see if Slot considers using Wirtz on the left from the start going forward. The German playmaker had switched to that role midway through the match against Atletico Madrid, indeed.
EKITIKE LAYS DOWN A MARKER
There are no guarantees that Isak will be starting in Gameweek 6, either.
Positional rival Ekitike reminded the Swedish striker, his manager and the rest of us of his own abilities with not just a well-taken goal on Saturday but also his all-round contribution. His touch, speed, link-up play and eye for goal are almost reminiscent of Fernando Torres at times – the good early-Liverpool-days Torres of course…
Ekitike was, in fact, only one defensive contribution away from being the first forward to bank DefCon points this season.
Above: Eight players banked DefCon points at Anfield on Saturday, with Ekitike close to joining them
You could see Slot starting Isak against Southampton in the EFL Cup, perhaps, with Ekitike coming back in next weekend.
“We have two number nines of excellent quality, like our competitors have as well. Now it’s really a good thing because Hugo is definitely not ready, coming from a different league, to play three times 90 minutes, in this pace, in the way we play. We have a high-intensity game, we constantly try to press.
“It’s a high-pace game we try to play and Alex – as we all know now because I said it so many times and I think it was out in the open before as well – has only trained two weeks with the team, which he didn’t do for four months. So, to have two [options] now is definitely necessary.” – Arne Slot
MIDWEEK REST INCOMING FOR SALAH
Salah’s fine assist for Ryan Gravenberch‘s (£5.5m) opener was almost added to with a goal. The Egyptian curled narrowly over in the first half, and later produced a tame effort on target that he probably should have done better with.
It was some way short of Wednesday’s six-shot display – he had only two attempts here – but there are slow signs of Salah starting to get back to his old levels.
He’ll get the midweek off, too, along with the other minutes monsters from the last seven days.
“The ones that played three times 90 [this week] are Virgil [van Dijk], Ibou [Konate], Mo [Salah], Ryan and Dom [Szoboszlai], the ones that are used to this intensity at this level, and again they showed up really good.
“I can tell you now you won’t be seeing them on Tuesday. If that’s any help for Southampton, then they will know.” – Arne Slot
That may not stop Salah from being a makeweight as FPL managers rush to recruit Erling Haaland (£14.2m) for the Burnley game:
GREALISH IMPRESSES DESPITE BLANK
Everton were under the cosh at first on Saturday but they didn’t concede too many gilt-edged chances. Liverpool, indeed, were kept to under 1.0 xG by their cross-city rivals.
And slowly, Everton grew into the game. Grealish was, unsurprisingly, at the centre of most of their good work, a constant threat down the left.
He teed up Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.0m) for a chance that the budget midfielder should have done better with, while it was the loanee’s cross that Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m) cushioned back to Idrissa Gana Gueye (£5.4m) for Everton’s consolation. Two blanks for Grealish but he should have returned last week and he could have done so at Anfield.
West Ham at home should be a good chance to return to the FPL points, with some okay-ish fixtures to follow. The one match you maybe wouldn’t want to field him in, away at Manchester City, he’s ineligible for anyway.
One thing that does dent Grealish’s appeal a little is the lack of a convincing centre-forward to finish the chances he creates. Beto (£5.4m) toiled on Saturday and was replaced at half-time, while Thierno Barry (£5.8m) is still learning his trade.
“I thought Barry came on and had moments, as well, linked play a couple of times. So, he had bits of that but he’s still learning as well and certainly, it’s a big place to learn coming to Anfield.” – David Moyes
At the back, James Tarkowski (£5.5m) banked DefCon points for the fifth consecutive Gameweek. That’s the equivalent of two-and-a-half clean sheets he’s registered just through defensive contributions.
