Brighton after five gameweeks
Brighton are third after Gameweek 5 and have scored more than anyone: sixteen goals, with a 4-0 win over Aston Villa, a 5-0 win at Coventry and a 3-0 win over the champions Arsenal in GW5. The only defeat was a 4-3 at Chelsea; the other game a 1-1 with Leeds. Three clean sheets, five conceded.
Fabian Hürzeler’s system is settled. For FPL managers Brighton have become the best-value club in the game: the players producing these numbers cost £4.5m to £6m.
Pascal Groß — the top scorer in FPL
Pascal Groß has more FPL points than any player in the game after five gameweeks: three goals and four assists from midfield. He is first on penalties, corners and direct free kicks — one of only three players in the game on all three, with Bruno Fernandes and Dominik Szoboszlai — and costs under £6m.
He is already among the most-owned midfielders in the game, which makes him less of an edge and more of a player you cannot afford to be without while Brighton keep scoring. Charalampos Kostoulas is the forward in the side, with two goals and three assists from four starts, and is owned by almost nobody.
De Cuyper, Vušković and Verbruggen
Maxim De Cuyper is the attacking defender: a goal, three assists and three clean sheets, second on corners, at £5.0m. Luka Vušković has played nearly every minute beside him with a goal and three clean sheets, owned by a fraction of De Cuyper’s managers. Bart Verbruggen has played every minute in goal at £4.5m and is the most-owned budget keeper in the game.
Lewis Dunk carries a fitness doubt. Kaoru Mitoma is out until around the GW6 deadline with a hamstring injury, and Yankuba Minteh until late November.
Brighton’s next five — plan for GW8
After the international break Brighton play Sunderland (A), Crystal Palace (H), Liverpool (A), Manchester City (A) and Brentford (H). The first two are the kindest; GW8 at Anfield and GW9 at the Etihad are rated 4 and 5 by the FPL difficulty ratings, and the five together make one of the hardest runs in the division.
That is a timing question, not a reason to sell. Hold Groß through it — set-piece takers score against anyone — and treat the defenders as the flexible part: keep De Cuyper and Verbruggen for GW6 and GW7, and weigh moving one of them before GW8. The live table on this page carries each player’s price, ownership and flag.