Fantasy Premier League Transfers 2013: Players to Drop Before Week 5

There's no time for sentimentality when picking your fantasy team for Week 5. Players should be dropped and picked up without mercy, with any change in their situation instantly causing you to reassess how useful they really are.

The nature of the fixtures this week means that players who could usually serve you well would be better left out altogether, while others are failing to live up to expectations and should be jettisoned immediately.

Pablo Zabaleta, Manchester City

Zabaleta has had a great start to the season, but the Manchester derby cares not for your fantasy team. It's not going to be an easy task to contain Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney, with both scoring in the recent defeat of Crystal Palace.

The Argentinian and his Manchester City teammates underwhelmed at Stoke City last week, no doubt ruining accumulator bets across the globe in the process. 

Laurie Whitwell of The Daily Mail recently reported that the Citizens' defence has struggled to adjust to new manager Manuel Pellegrini's marking expectations, so an early-season encounter with United is not the time to start Zabaleta.

Patrice Evra, Manchester United

Far from being another casualty of the Manchester derby, Patrice Evra should be left out solely on the basis of the way he started the season.

Following an offseason upset by continued rumours regarding United's pursuit of Everton's Leighton Baines, Evra looked just as unsettled on the pitch. He showed flashes of his ability against Crystal Palace, but it's unlikely he'll have the same freedom against United's local rivals.

City were the victims of their own poor tactics last week, but their players seemed unwilling to commit themselves to the game.

They were lucky to escape the Britannia with a point, so both Pellegrini and the City fans will expect a better performance this week. Evra is likely to be trapped in his own half, and Moyes will be unwilling to risk him on the overlap.

It looks like another difficult day for the Frenchman.

Victor Moses, Liverpool

Now that he's at Liverpool, Victor Moses will get you points. However, there's no need to be hasty with him. He'll need a few games to get himself match-fit. Keep an eye on him at Swansea, just to make sure, but it's more likely that Week 6 is the earliest time to start getting him into your lineup.

If you brought him in as soon as he signed for Liverpool, take him off the team and be patient.

Moses will look to the resurgence of his former Chelsea teammate Daniel Sturridge and be inspired by his success on Merseyside. The Nigerian is full of creative flair, but he's still only 22 and is yet to be given a real chance in this league.

He's versatile—a quality which no doubt attracted Brendan Rodgers as he looked to upgrade Liverpool's attacking options. Rodgers will ease Moses into the side and see what he can do in a Reds shirt, but it's not yet the time to bring him into your fantasy team.