Six Gameweek 5 standouts to target on waivers.
Every player below carried an Up trend from Gameweek 5 on the TFF Players page, and none of them are rostered above 50% in a typical Top Four Fantasy league. This week's list picks the strongest fresh claim at each position: one forward, two midfielders and two defenders.
Lewis Hall and Olivier Boscagli both showed up again this week too, but both were already covered here as priority picks in earlier Gameweeks, so this list sticks to names appearing for the first time.
Forwards
Brian Brobbey — Sunderland, 50% owned, 28 pts
Brobbey scored a hat-trick in Sunderland's 5-3 defeat at Manchester City, levelling twice in the first half before completing his treble on the hour to make it 4-3. It made him only the sixth player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick in a losing game.
He started as Sunderland's central striker and played the full 90 minutes, adding four shots on target, four aerial duels won and two successful dribbles on top of the goals. Priority add in 10-12 team leagues, and the standout individual performance of the whole Gameweek.
- Why add: a hat-trick against Manchester City, only the sixth in Premier League history scored in a losing game
- Role and minutes: undisputed starting striker, 90 minutes
- Next three: vs Brighton, at Bournemouth, vs Leeds
- Risk: the hat-trick came in a 5-3 loss, and a striker leaking that many goals at the other end still needs Sunderland's defence to tighten up if the games stay this open
Midfielders
This scoring model rewards work as much as end product in midfield. Tackles, interceptions and chance creation set the floor, and any goal involvement on top of that is pure upside.
Enzo Le Fée — Sunderland, 50% owned, 19 pts
Le Fée sent Brobbey through for Sunderland's first equaliser in the 12th minute at the Etihad, then kept combining with him for the rest of the afternoon as the sides traded goals. He finished the match with five chances created, two of them rated big chances, plus three accurate crosses and two interceptions.
He's a fixture in Sunderland's front four behind Brobbey rather than a pure ball-winner, and that creative volume held up in one of the most chaotic games of the season. Worth a priority claim in 10-12 team leagues while he's still available at just half the league.
- Why add: assisted Brobbey's opener and created five chances, two of them big chances, in an eight-goal thriller at the Etihad
- Role and minutes: first-choice attacking midfielder, 90 minutes
- Next three: vs Brighton, at Bournemouth, vs Leeds
- Risk: Sunderland's defence has now shipped five twice this season, and a playmaker's output can swing as hard as his team's results if the goals keep flowing at both ends
Savinho — Tottenham Hotspur, 13% owned, 17 pts
Savinho forced two good saves from Aston Villa's goalkeeper inside the box in the opening exchanges, then hit the target again from the edge of the area, as Tottenham slipped to a 2-3 home defeat. He finished the match with four chances created and four successful dribbles, more of both than anyone else on the pitch.
He's Tottenham's first-choice right winger after an £85m summer move from Manchester City, and that kind of underlying output travels even through a run in which the team still hasn't scored from open play. Priority add in 10-12 team leagues at just 13% owned, given the price tag and the guaranteed minutes.
- Why add: forced two good saves and led Tottenham's attack with four chances created and four dribbles in a narrow home defeat
- Role and minutes: first-choice right winger, 90 minutes
- Next three: at Man United, vs Coventry, at Chelsea
- Risk: Aston Villa's Matteo Ruggeri shut him down after the break and Tottenham shifted him out to the left, a sign he can be nullified once an opponent adjusts
Defenders
Centre-backs who win the ball back and full-backs who join the attack both score well here. A clean sheet alone isn't enough without volume behind it, especially from back lines still working things out.
Dan Ballard — Sunderland, 50% owned, 12 pts
Ballard was Sunderland's defensive anchor in the 5-3 defeat at Manchester City, winning six aerial duels, the best defensive number of anyone in this list, on top of two blocked shots and two interceptions. Sunderland still shipped five in a wild, end-to-end afternoon, but Ballard's individual defensive workload held up throughout it.
He's the central partner alongside Kevin Danso in Sunderland's back four, and that kind of aerial and defensive volume is a repeatable profile regardless of the scoreline around him. Worth a claim in 10-12 team leagues, with the caveat below.
- Why add: won six aerial duels, the best defensive number among this week's picks, in an eight-goal thriller at the Etihad
- Role and minutes: first-choice centre-back, 90 minutes
- Next three: vs Brighton, at Bournemouth, vs Leeds
- Risk: Sunderland have now conceded five in back-to-back defeats, and a centre-back's clean-sheet upside is capped while the defence keeps leaking this badly
Ryan Giles — Hull City, 25% owned, 8 pts
Giles fired in 15 crosses, four of them accurate, plus four corners and two chances created in Hull's 2-1 defeat at Newcastle, a result that ended their unbeaten start to life back in the top flight. He was booked just after half-time but kept overlapping down the left for the full 90 minutes regardless.
He's Hull's first-choice left-back and already has three clean sheets and an assist to his name this season, a two-way profile that travels even in a losing performance. Worth a claim in 10-12 team leagues while he's still only a quarter owned.
- Why add: 15 crosses and two chances created from left-back, even in a defeat that ended Hull's unbeaten start
- Role and minutes: first-choice left-back, 90 minutes
- Next three: vs Everton, at Fulham, vs Brentford
- Risk: this week's return was modest next to his season-best 16-point Gameweek 4, and a crossing-heavy full-back can go quiet if service into the box dries up
The strongest claim, and the best bet to survive
If you can only make one move this week, it's Brian Brobbey. A hat-trick, even in a losing performance, is as clean a claim as this list produces, and he's still only half-owned. If he's already gone, Enzo Le Fée's creative floor from the same fixture makes the next-best case, and Ryan Giles is the value stash most likely to still be sitting on the wire in a month if you're planning ahead rather than reacting to last week's numbers.
