This article is part of our FPL Best XI series.
Week 5 of the Premiership brought more savory drama to mix up the standings.
In Saturday's opening match, QPR scored on a stellar 88th-minute free kick to split points with Stoke City.
Then, Ronald Koeman's Southampton continued their defiant start to the season by heading into then third-place Swansea City and prevailing with a clean sheet victory. Despite an outcry over their summer activity, the current Saints' setup is having the last laugh, as Southampton presently sits second on the table with 10 points through four matches.
Elsewhere, Newcastle came back from two down in the second half to snatch a much needed point against Hull City. Another draw came at Turf Moor, where the goalkeepers stole the show, with both Burnley's Tom Heaton and Sunderland's Vito Mannone registering six saves in a scoreless result.
Arsenal brought Aston Villa back to earth with a four minute flurry of three goals to remain unbeaten and hand the Villains their first loss of the campaign.
To finish the day, Liverpool was handed their second straight loss, as West Ham scored twice inside the first seven minutes in a 3-1 romp at Upton Park.
That element of surprise carried over to Sunday's action, when contenders were caught off guard in spectacular fashion.
Most notably, Manchester United's turbulent transition under Louis van Gaal added another chapter, as the Red Devils blew a 3-1 lead at the 60-minute mark against Leicester City to remarkably lose 5-3 amid clumsy, careless, and confused defending.
Back in the capital, Tottenham proved toothless versus West Brom, managing just one shot on goal in a 1-0 loss at White Hart Lane.
Later in the day, the unexpected ultimately decided the top-heavy tussle between Manchester City and Chelsea, as a 10-man City squad hilariously equalized through on-loan Chelsea legend Frank Lampard scoring an 85th-minute goal against his former club to finish 1-1.
To cap it all off, Everton's swiss cheese defense was eaten up once again, as Crystal Palace put three past the Toffees to win 3-2 at Goodison Park.
On the whole, it was an especially wacky week in the Premier League, which did no favors for the Best XI.
At goalkeeper, Tottenham's Hugo Lloris recorded three saves during Spurs' home loss to West Brom.
Elsewhere, a minor head injury prevented Seamus Coleman from playing against Crystal Palace, while Ryan Shawcross also disappointed with a yellow card and two goals allowed versus Queens Park Rangers.
Nonetheless, Manchester United's Marcos Rojo proved to be most guilty culprit, as he not only lost possession on 20 occasions, but also helped open the floodgates on Leicester's five-goal onslaught through poor positioning throughout the match.
The headaches carried over the midfield as well, since Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez was rested for the Gunners' 3-0 win at Villa Park and both Tottenham's Christian Eriksen and Manchester City's Yaya Toure were kept from scoring, with the latter picking up a yellow card as well.
Thankfully, Angel di Maria continued his sparkling start in the Premier League, notching a goal and an assist for the second straight match for Manchester United.
Di Maria's new teammate, Wayne Rooney, supplied an assist Sunday, but was also shown a yellow card late in the proceedings. Similarly, Chelsea's Diego Costa received a yellow card, and despite striking the woodwork against Manchester City, the Spaniard was held scoreless for the first time this season.
Fortunately, Romelu Lukaku was very active for Everton, attempting six shots in total and finding the back of the net once.
Overall, it was a week to forget for the Best XI, but many lessons were learned along the way, such as 1) Do not trust Manchester United defenders 2) Players being rested is inevitable 3) Diego Costa is human.
With that house of horrors out of the way, and the latest round of the Capital One Cup complete, let's turn to preview the upcoming slate of fixtures, which features a pair of prestigious early-season derbies.
Saturday is kicked off by the Merseyside derby at Anfield, where two teams in trouble take aim on an uplifting result. In fact, Liverpool and Everton - two top-five sides from a season ago - have mustered a combined three wins from their first 10 matches, perhaps evidencing a toll from both sides being involved in European competition once again.
In the regular time slotting, eighth-place West Ham visits twelfth Manchester United in a match where probably anything could happen, or a scoreless draw will leave everyone scratching their heads.
More predictably, Southampton should ride their wave of splashy results in putting Queens Park Rangers under at home.
In a sort of strange shape up, Swansea sets sail for Sunderland with both sides sporting 48.2 percent possession on the season.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa's valiant early season standing will be under siege again, as the Premiership's third-place holders head to league-leaders Chelsea.
The sneaky Foxes of Leicester City will also be in London, as they'll face a Crystal Palace team coming off their best result of the season last week.
Additionally, Hull City will host Manchester City with both squads settled after draws in Gameweek 5.
Saturday then closes with the North London derby at Arsenal, who topped Tottenham 1-0 in both league meetings between the fierce foes last term.
Sunday's lone fixture sees a West Brom outfit fresh off their first win of the season welcome a Burnley team still in search of theirs.
And the Week 6 finale pairs Stoke City and Newcastle in a match at the Britannia Stadium that features a combined one win between both sides.
Without further ado, it's time to unveil the Best XI for Gameweek 6 of the Premier League.
Formation: 3-4-3
Goalkeeper:
Fraser Forster (Southampton)
Signed from Celtic (Scotland) just before this season, Forster has quickly made Southampton's No. 1 position him own, displacing veteran Artur Boruc, who was a trendy fantasy Premier League goalkeeper last term. In fact, through five matches, the 26-year-old Forster has allowed a league-fewest three goals, while also claiming three clean sheets. Two of those clean sheets came at St. Mary's Stadium, where Southampton are yet to concede, while their opponents this weekend, Queens Park Rangers, are still in search of their first away goal.
Defenders:
Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea)
Through five games, Chelsea's league-best defense from a season ago has managed just one clean sheet. However, over that span, Ivanovic has scored twice, only ranking behind goal-magnet Diego Costa on the Blues' league-leading offense. The Serbian also scored the past two times Aston Villa has visited Stamford Bridge. Nonetheless, Ivanovic's selection this week is rooted in an outstanding defensive matchup, as Aston Villa ranks dead-last in shot attempts per game and second-last in possession.
Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)
With Kompany partnering new signing Eliaquim Mangala in central defense last week, Manchester City was sound at the back against high-scoring Chelsea, who only managed two shots on target. While Blues' manager Jose Mourinho's was gripping the hand brake all match, City's newly-formed defensive pairing still looked to be a solid foundation for this season. Kompany leads the Citizens to Hull City this weekend having kept a clean sheet against Steve Bruce's side both times last season.
Gary Cahill (Chelsea)
A mainstay in Chelsea's central defense, Cahill leads the Blues in both clearances (6.8) and blocked shot attempts (1.4) per game this season. As mentioned with Cahill's teammate, Ivanovic, Chelsea's matchup versus Aston Villa should feature minimal threats on goal due to the Villains' lack of both possession and shot attempts thus far. Also, Aston Villa is averaging less than one goal per game and was held scoreless last weekend at home. So with a home game on deck for Cahill, his chances of a clean sheet appear bright.
Midfielders:
Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)
One of the Premier League's most gifted playmakers, Ozil's match-winning talents were on display last week, as he scored Arsenal's opening goal and set up their subsequent score moments later. The World Cup winner was invisible the first few weeks of this season, but as Arsenal supporters will be quick to tell you, that's because he wasn't being used properly. The Gunners began the campaign experimenting with a 4-1-4-1 formation, where Ozil was deployed on the left flank. However, after initially mixed results were compounded by a Champions League thumping, for Arsenal's match at Aston Villa last Saturday, manager Arsene Wenger resorted to a formation similar to the 4-2-3-1 he used so successfully last season. That change brought Ozil back into his preferred No. 10 position, where he's the fulcrum of Arsenal's attack. With a potential statement derby match against Tottenham on the horizon, expect Ozil to be pulling the strings once again.
Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)
In Sterling's breakout season last term, the 19-year-old was rather subdued in both editions of the Merseyside derby; however, through five matches, Sterling has been Liverpool's best player, as he's strived in the Reds' No. 10 role. The Englishman's goal last weekend brought his season tally to three, which goes with an assist to boot. While recent form and historic patterns usually go out the window for derby matches, Liverpool ran ragged against Everton last season offensively, scoring seven goals in two matches. This time around, Everton enter Saturday's match with the league's worst defense. Playing at Anfield, and possibly still without talisman Daniel Sturridge (thigh), Sterling earns another Best XI selection this week.
Dusan Tadic (Southampton)
An under-the-radar part of Southampton's transfer business this summer, the Saints of course sold Adam Lallana to Liverpool for £25 million, but replaced him with Tadic for just £11 million. After notching 16 goals and 14 assists for FC Twente of the Eredivisie last season, Tadic has settled well under new Southampton manager Ronald Koeman, who coached fellow Dutch side Feyenoord last year. Through five Premiership matches, Tadic has dished out two assists and averaged two shot attempts. Furthermore, he scored a penalty in Southampton's midweek Cup win and leads the Saints with 11 chances created in the Premiership. No team has allowed more away goals than Tadic's opponent this week, Queens Park Rangers, so the Serbian could open his Premier League account at home Saturday.
David Silva (Manchester City)
While Manchester City has gone winless for three matches, Saturday's prospects against Hull City seem encouraging, since Steve Bruce's side has failed to win nine of their past 10 league games dating back to last season. Poor defending has played a prominent role during that unwanted stretch, as Hull has allowed at least two goals eight times over that same span. Conversely, Silva's Man City has bagged at least two goals in five straight Premiership road trips. Manuel Pellegrini's side scored seven in their midweek Cup outing, so they'll head to the KC Stadium full of confidence in the final third, and Silva will carry an added boost knowing he scored during his last visit to Hull.
Forwards:
Diego Costa (C) (Chelsea)
Following a seven-goal splurge to begin his career in England's top-flight, Costa was denied a goal in five straight games by a post-shot last Sunday against mighty Manchester City. While he surely can't be counted to score every week, Costa's matchup this week is fairly favorable. The Chelsea hitman returns to Stamford Bridge, where he was the hat-trick hero in his last home league game, and faces an Aston Villa team seemingly on the descent. Since the Villains only command 32 percent of possession away from home, Chelsea's stable of stylists should have more than enough opportunities to feed Costa in front of goal. Furthermore, since Chelsea has banged-in 27 goals over their past seven home Premiership matches against Aston Villa, Costa earns the Best XI captain's armband in a redemption effort this week.
Robin van Persie (Manchester United)
While Manchester United's patchwork defense certainly isn't something to write home about, the Red Devils' attack seems capable of exploding on a weekly basis, now that all signings are on board. With seven goals in their past two games, Louis van Gaal's side is hardly starving for goals and his countryman van Persie finally got off the mark last weekend. Starting with Wayne Rooney and Radamel Falcao, van Persie's additional presence leaves opposing defenses with their hands full. The Dutchman tends to score in bunches and since United has scored at least twice in their past three league games versus West Ham, here's to seeing if van Persie can find the scoresheet again this weekend.
Graziano Pelle (Southampton)
Tasked with replacing club legend Rickie Lambert upon arriving at Southampton this summer, Pelle has looked the part and then some. In seven total appearances for the Saints, Pelle totes four goals and one assist, while averaging over four shot attempts per game. Although they've only played twice on the road this season, Queens Park Rangers has allowed eight total goals and no team has won fewer aerial duels on the road. That's where the Italian factors in, as Pelle leads Premiership players who've played in all five games this season with an average of 3.8 aerial duels won per game. In short, Pelle has been an awesome addition to the Premiership and should give the R's problems come Saturday.
Forster
Ivanovic - Kompany - Cahill
Ozil - Sterling - Tadic - Silva
Costa (C) - van Persie - Pelle
