FPL tips and team of the week: Erling Haaland not essential this week

Emi Martinez, Aston Villa, keeper, £5m – home to Wolves

Clean sheets have been so hard to predict this season.

Gameweek four saw six of them from the 10 games, which means we’ve had 18 in 40 games – or clean sheets for 18 teams from a potential 80!

There’s no standout keeper this week but Martinez has been a big-game performer in the past and derby games can be tight affairs.

Yukinari Sugawara, Southampton, defender, £4.5m – home to Ipswich

The Japanese full-back has been flying down the right flank in manager Russell Martin’s progressive style of play where he likes to overload areas of the pitch.

Sugawara has put in 16 crosses, double any of his defensive team-mates and second on the team to Will Smallbone.

He’s created three of Southampton’s five big chances and also scored at Brentford.

Ipswich have been goal shy so far, with just two in their four games and, should Saints turn some impressive periods of play into a 90-minute performance, Sugawara has chances of a return at both ends of the pitch.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool, defender, £7m – home to Bournemouth

I may sound like a broken record by now but the attacking returns are on the horizon for the most expensive defender in the game.

Alexander-Arnold was close to another clean sheet last week before Nottingham Forest’s smash-and-grab success at Anfield and it’s amazing he has not got an assist yet.

The right-back’s expected assists (xA) stat is an incredible 1.87 from four games. For context, that is an assist higher than any other defender in the game except Villa left-back Digne (0.94). Tottenham’s Pedro Porro and Sugawara are next with just 0.67.

Josko Gvardiol, Manchester City, defender, £6m – home to Arsenal

Defences are likely to be on top when City host Arsenal on Sunday and you’d expect the Gunners to set up like they did last season, to absorb City pressure and hit on the break.

Rodri should return to City’s line-up which should mean Gvardiol playing a more progressive position down the left like he did at the back-end of last season.

He’ll see plenty of the ball, we know he has a goal or assist in him and, if City do keep a clean sheet, the Croatian will be a strong contender for bonus points.