Premier League Fantasy Football 2013-14: Top Player Picks for Game Week 5

Premier League Fantasy Football has been a struggle for many players.

Phillipe Coutinho hasn't scored more than three points a game. Eden Hazard hasn't fallen over in the penalty box for an assist once. And Julian Speroni hasn't kept a clean sheet yet.

Although the latter was probably to be expected.

So this week our top tips for who to pick and who to drop is all about the strikers.

The players that usually finish high up in the overall points table. The players that can both score and assist. And the players that don't matter when it comes to their team conceding a stupid goal.

So which strikers should you transfer in to your team for Game Week 5, and which should you transfer out?

Read on to find out.

Football stats from www.squawka.com

Fantasy football stats from www.fantasy.premierleague.com

In: Daniel Sturridge

Position: Forward

Club: Liverpool

Opponent: Southampton

Fantasy Price: £9.2m

Daniel Sturridge has been a goal-a-game wonder so far this season. And if anybody removed him from their fantasy team from last week because he was possibly going to miss the game thanks to an injury, you should add him back in.

Now.

Liverpool are playing a Southampton team who haven't had the same impact as they did last season.

They've only won one game, against Liverpool's three. It would be a good assumption that the Reds will get something out of this game.

And if Liverpool win, it stands to reason, Sturridge will score.

In: Olivier Giroud

Position: Forward

Club: Arsenal

Opponent: Stoke City

Fantasy Price: £8.9m

Another goal-a-game striker, Olivier Giroud has to bypass Stoke City this weekend in order to keep his 100 percent record going.

Stoke have done pretty well this season, even with Mark Hughes as manager, and have only conceded two in their last four games.

However Arsenal have scored eight, the joint highest in the league—and with Theo Walcott fit and Mesut Ozil, well, the chances of goals are incredibly high.

Giroud's scored four goals in four games; if you haven't got him in your team already, he has a great chance of making it five in five.

In: Loic Remy

Position: Forward

Club: Newcastle

Opponent: Hull City

Fantasy Price: £7.4m

Loic Remy set the Premier League on metaphorical fire last season. Playing in a Queens Park Rangers team who nearly rivaled Derby for the worst performance in an EPL season ever, he scored six in 14 games.

With Newcastle seemingly inconsistent this year, it would perhaps be foolish to back one of their players as a top tip. But with the team playing Hull City at home, it would also be foolish not to back Remy to recapture that form he showed last year.

Having started his first game for his new club last week, Remy looks like he is now at match fitness and could be a fairly cheap option for a goal or two come Saturday.

Out: Nikica Jelavic

Position: Forward

Club: Everton

Opponent: West Ham

Fantasy Price: £7.4m

Jussi Jaaskelainen has kept three clean sheets so far this season and made it into B/R's Sam Tighe's team of the week last weekend for his incredible performance.

Judging by Jaaskelainen's form, the fact that Everton are playing at Upton Park, and the fact that Jelavic hasn't scored so far this season, it would be wise to drop him.

A favorite last season, he has dropped down the rankings recently, only being picked by 1.9 percent of managers.

And if you are in that 1.9 percent, I'd take him out of your team this week.

Or at least leave him on your bench.

Out: Danny Welbeck

Position: Forward

Club: Manchester United

Opponent: Manchester City

Fantasy Price: £7.8m

With the prodigal son Wayne Rooney returning to the form that Manchester United fans remember and proving that even if he is in a strop and would prefer to not be playing for the English Premier League champions (why, only he knows), Danny Welbeck has been shunted.

He did not start the last Premier League game, and with the Manchester derby this weekend, Rooney, Robin van Persie and Antonio Valencia will be the preferred attacking trio thanks to their performances in the Champions League in midweek.

Granted, the whole "resting players" issue may come in to play, but with the aforementioned three players seemingly preferred, and in form, Welbeck may not get a look in.

He may make the bench for David Moyes this weekend, though.

Just make sure he makes yours.

Out: Dimitar Berbatov

Position: Forward

Club: Fulham

Opponent: Chelsea

Fantasy Price: £7.3m

Firstly, Fulham are playing Chelsea at home.

Which, if you speak to FC Basel, isn't that tough a task these days.

But secondly, Fulham have both Darren Bent and Bryan Ruiz out injured.

And thirdly, that means Dimitar Berbatov will have to make his own chances.

Since Berbatov is one of the laziest players in the Premier League (although the Bulgarian will always choose to avoid that specific phrase), that does not bode well for him.

Taking into account that he may also not be 100 percent fit if the EPL fantasy football website is to be believed, your choice for a lower-priced striker who can nick a goal or two may have to be found elsewhere this week.