FPL Gameweek 5: Your Team Is Locked for the Next 22 Days
Gameweek 6 is not until 10 October. Whatever you pick at the Gameweek 5 deadline you hold for 22 days, and the break pays one free transfer, not three.
Jump to section
- Do you get extra free transfers during the break?
- Which players to sell before the break
- Should you sell João Pedro in Gameweek 5?
- Do FPL prices change during the international break?
- Which teams have the best fixtures in Gameweeks 6 to 10?
- Is Calvert-Lewin worth buying in Gameweek 5?
- What to do before the Gameweek 5 deadline
- What this data does not cover
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Data current as of: 17 September 2026, read from the live FPL game ahead of the Gameweek 5 deadline on 18 September at 17:30. Coverage: Prices, ownership and availability flags are live. Projected points are per-fixture expected points for Gameweek 5. Fixture difficulty is FPL’s own FDR, 1 easiest to 5 hardest.
Gameweek 6 does not kick off until 10 October. The Gameweek 5 deadline is 18 September at 17:30, which puts 22 days between the team you submit this week and the next time it scores a point.
That changes what the deadline is for. A normal gameweek deadline is a one-week bet. This one parks your squad for three weeks, through an international window, while prices keep moving and injuries resolve without you being able to react.
Days between GW5 and GW6
22
GW5 deadline 18 September, 17:30. GW6 deadline 10 October, 10:00. The longest gap of the season so far.
Do you get extra free transfers during the break?
No. Free transfers accrue per gameweek, not per week. Gameweek 5 to Gameweek 6 is one gameweek transition however many days it spans, so it pays out exactly one free transfer. Three weeks of thinking time, one move.
The bank caps at 5, as set out in the 2026/27 rules. If you are sitting on 1 or 2 free transfers now, the break is not going to top you up while you wait, and there is no mechanism that rewards you for the calendar. Plan the squad you want to own on 10 October and use this deadline to get closer to it.
The flip side is that a hit taken now is a hit you amortise over a single gameweek that happens to sit three weeks away. There is no extra value in rushing a minus 4 through before the break.
Which players to sell before the break
Three weeks is a long time to carry a player who cannot return points. Watkins and Foden cannot play in Gameweek 6 at all, and Elanga has no return date.
| Player | Owned | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Watkins (AVL, £7.8m) | 2.7% | Joined Al Hilal permanently, 0 minutes this season |
| Foden (MCI, £7.0m) | 2.8% | Suspended until 17 October |
| Elanga (NEW, £6.2m) | 8.6% | Injured, no return date given |
Watkins has left the Premier League. He cannot score again this season and 2.7% of squads still hold him. Foden’s suspension runs to 17 October, which covers Gameweek 6 on 10 October entirely, so holding him means a dead slot until Gameweek 7 at the earliest.
Elanga is the live one. No return date means no information, and 327,927 managers have already moved him out this week. If you want the slot working on 10 October, this is the deadline to do it at.
Should you sell João Pedro in Gameweek 5?
João Pedro (CHE, £7.8m) is the most-owned flagged player in FPL at 75.0% ownership, listed with an unspecified injury and a 75% chance of playing. He has 33 points from 360 minutes, 3 goals and 3 assists. For Gameweek 5 he projects 3.65 points on 55 expected minutes and a 61% start prior, which is the model pricing in the flag rather than ignoring it.
Chelsea travel to Brentford on Friday 18 September at 19:00, 90 minutes after the deadline goes. That timing is the whole problem: you commit before any team news lands.
The 22-day gap cuts in a useful direction here. An unspecified knock with a 75% flag is overwhelmingly likely to be resolved by 10 October, so selling him protects one gameweek and costs you the player for the fixture run after it. He has also risen from £7.5m to £7.8m, and 219,587 managers bought him this week despite the flag.
The decision is about Friday night, not about October. If you can afford a blank from a 75% ownership asset, hold. If a blank from a captain-adjacent pick would sink your week, the bench is the cheaper hedge than the transfer.
Do FPL prices change during the international break?
Yes. FPL price changes run on daily transfer activity, not on matches, so nothing about the break pauses them. Squad value shifts for all 22 days with no football to justify it.
The pattern so far this season is that the risers are the players the market has already agreed on.
| Player | Launch | Change | Owned |
|---|---|---|---|
| De Cuyper (BHA, £4.9m) | £4.5m | +0.4 | 24.1% |
| Calafiori (ARS, £5.8m) | £5.5m | +0.3 | 50.2% |
| João Pedro (CHE, £7.8m) | £7.5m | +0.3 | 75.0% |
| Cherki (MCI, £7.8m) | £7.5m | +0.3 | 28.2% |
| Groß (BHA, £5.7m) | £5.5m | +0.2 | 19.4% |
De Cuyper at £4.9m has gone up 0.4 from launch and is the clearest example of a cheap defender the market re-rated fast. Buying him now costs 0.4 more than it did in August, and waiting through the break to decide will probably cost more again.
Which teams have the best fixtures in Gameweeks 6 to 10?
Fulham and Coventry have the easiest Gameweek 6 to 10 run at 2.40 average FDR, followed by Sunderland at 2.60. Leeds and Brighton have the hardest at 3.60. That block runs from 10 October to 7 November, between this break and the next one, and it does not reward the same clubs the opening did.
Fulham are the swing. They had the second-toughest opening run in the game at 3.33 average FDR across Gameweeks 1 to 6, and they have the joint-best run from Gameweek 6 to Gameweek 10 at 2.40. Bournemouth, who had the single hardest opening at 3.67, come out at 2.80.
Newcastle move the other way in relative terms. They shared the kindest opening run at 2.83 and stay reasonable at 2.80, but the clubs around them have improved more.
Is Calvert-Lewin worth buying in Gameweek 5?
For Gameweek 5 alone, yes. For the block after it, the fixtures argue against him. Calvert-Lewin (LEE, £6.0m) is available, 23.2% owned, and has 20 points with 2 goals and an assist from 329 minutes. His 2.48 xG says the finishing has been slightly unlucky rather than lucky, which is the better way round. He projects 4.49 points for Gameweek 5, ahead of the flagged João Pedro on 3.65.
Leeds have the joint-worst Gameweek 6 to 10 run in the game at 3.60 average FDR: away at Arsenal, home to Man Utd, away at Sunderland, away at Bournemouth, home to Tottenham. Buying a Leeds attacker at this deadline means buying that run and holding it for the whole block.
The same caution applies to Bogle (LEE, £4.5m), the highest-scoring player in FPL on 37 points at 3.9% ownership. Bogle projects 5.03 points for Gameweek 5 with a 42.5% clean sheet chance, and the price and the return are both real. The fixtures behind him are the worst on the board, and a £4.5m defender with hard fixtures stops being a clean sheet source and becomes a defensive contribution lottery.
If you want Leeds exposure, Gameweek 5 at home to Crystal Palace on 20 September is the fixture to have it for, not the five that follow.
What to do before the Gameweek 5 deadline
Three things, in order:
- Clear anything that cannot play. Watkins and Foden cannot return points before Gameweek 7.
- Resolve the flags you cannot afford to carry blind, given the team news lands after the deadline.
- Point the squad at Gameweek 6 to 10 rather than at Gameweek 5, because that is the run it will actually be scoring in.
The one thing not to do is treat three idle weeks as a reason to act. One free transfer is one free transfer, and the fixtures after the break are known now.
Check your own squad against the Gameweek 6 to 10 run before you set it for 22 days.
What this data does not cover
FDR is FPL’s own difficulty rating, set before the season and not updated for form, so it reads Coventry’s run as easier than a form model would. Availability flags and chances of playing move daily, and the ones quoted here were read on 17 September. Projections are per-fixture expected points for Gameweek 5 only, so they are not comparable to a multi-gameweek total. Fixture dates can shift for television selection, and Gameweek 6 to 10 kickoff times are not all confirmed yet.