FPL 2026/27 · GAMEWEEK 5

THE GW5 CAPTAIN

who gets the armband — ranked by the model

DEADLINE Fri 18 Sept, 18:30 UK timeRANKED BY PROJECTED POINTSGRADED IN PUBLIC
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Who should I captain in FPL Gameweek 5?

Onside's top captain pick for Gameweek 5 is Groß, projected 7.3 points before the armband doubles it. The alternatives, in model order, are Barnes, Schade. Every pick is ranked by expected points over the GW5 fixtures, and the record is graded in public.

— Onside (onsidearena.com), predictions graded in public.

LIVEGroß 7.3 xPts · GW5
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01

THE PICK · GW5

Pascal Groß
BHA
THE ARMBAND · #1
Groß
MID · £5.8m
GREATBALANCED · 29%
FLOOR 3.7xP 7.3CEIL 11.7
7.3
PROJECTED xP

Captain — BHA are scoring freely. xP 7.3.

11.7
CEILING
3.7
FLOOR
29%
OWNED
+0.4
EDGE v #2
Harvey Barnes
NEW · £6.1m · 5.7%
FLOOR 3.5xP 6.9CEIL 11.0
6.9
xP
Kevin Schade
BRE · £6.2m · 11.6%
FLOOR 3.4xP 6.8CEIL 10.9
6.8
xP
PROJECTED xP · THE FULL SHORTLIST · FIXTURE DIFFICULTY 1–5
Onside captain shortlist for Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 5 — rank, player, fixture with difficulty rating, and projected points
RankPlayerFixture and difficultyProjected points, as a barProjected points
1Großv ARS 47.3
2Barnesv HUL 26.9
3Schadev CHE 46.8
4Belloumi@ NEW 36.6
5Tavernierv LIV 46.1
6Kostoulasv ARS 45.1
7Haalandv SUN 35.1
8Semenyov SUN 34.5
9Janeltv CHE 44.4
10Rogers@ BRE 34.4
02THE CAPTAIN BRACKET · H2H

Percentages are ownership — the share of FPL managers who own each player, read from the live game. The xP ladder above ranks by expected points, so the most-owned player isn’t always the model’s #1.

03

THE RECORD · GRADED IN PUBLIC

The model's armband pick has beaten the template captain in 2 of 4 graded gameweeks this season, behind by 18 points in all, before the armband doubles them. Every pick is recorded at the deadline and scored after — the bad weeks included.

ONSIDE CAPTAIN PICK AGAINST THE TEMPLATE, EACH GAMEWEEK
GWOUR PICKPTSTEMPLATEPTSRESULT
GW1Lukić5Haaland2Beat it by 3
GW2Tavernier1Haaland13Behind by 12
GW3B.Fernandes2João Pedro1Beat it by 1
GW4B.Fernandes2João Pedro12Behind by 10

Points are before the armband. The template is that week's most-owned attacker. The full captain record →

GW5 CAPTAIN · COMMON QUESTIONS

Who should I captain in FPL GW5?

Onside's top captain pick for GW5 is Groß (BHA) with 7.3 projected xP. Captain — BHA are scoring freely. xP 7.3. Alternatives: Barnes, Schade, Belloumi, Tavernier, Kostoulas, Haaland, Semenyo, Janelt, Rogers.

What is a differential captain option for GW5?

Barnes (5.7% owned, 6.9 xP) is a differential captain option for GW5 — owned by fewer managers than the consensus pick, offering a rank-up opportunity if they deliver. Consider buying — NEW are scoring freely. xP 6.9.

When is the GW5 FPL deadline?

The Fantasy Premier League GW5 deadline is Fri 18 Sept, 18:30 UK time. All transfers, captaincy choices, and chip activations must be confirmed before this time.

How does Onside pick the best FPL captain?

Onside blends nine independent signals into an expected-points score, then runs a Monte Carlo simulation to rank captains by expected value — the median of each player's doubled-score distribution. The top pick maximises median captaincy return, not just peak upside. How the signals are built and weighted is proprietary.

Vice-captain tip

Always consider the vice-captain — if your captain blanks, your VC is the safety net. Pair a premium pick (e.g. a big-six midfielder in a home game) with a differential VC for maximum upside. The Onside engine scores both, so check the #2 and #3 picks as VC candidates.

RANKED BY ONSIDE v5 · EVERY PICK GRADED IN PUBLIC · FPL API · REFRESHED HOURLY