It was not a great week for Irish fans as their dreams of participating at next year's European Championships ended in penalty shootout heartache in Bratislava against Slovakia. And the results did not improve with a drab 0-0 draw coming against Wales in Dublin on Sunday and another 1-0 defeat to Finland in Helsinki on Wednesday afternoon.
However, international matches are over until November so let's console ourselves with the return of the Premier League and more importantly, get selecting those players who will have us moving up the Advertiser Tribal League.
Top picks
Callum Wilson (Newcastle - £6.5 million ) v Man United
He may have suffered the disappointment of relegation last season with former club Bournemouth, but striker Callum Wilson is loving life in the north-east of England, scoring four goals in his first four appearances for the Magpies. On Saturday evening, Newcastle welcome struggling Man United to St James' Park. Ole Gunnar Solksjær's men have had a dreadful start to the new league campaign including a humiliating 6-1 home defeat to Spurs last time out. Wilson is scoring goals for fun and Man United have conceded 11 goals in three games and I expect the same trend to continue. Get him in your team.
James Rodriguez (Everton - £7.8 million ) v Liverpool
The Colombian international has had a new burst of life since moving to Merseyside. Three goals and two assists in his first four games for The Toffees sees Rodriguez looking like one of the signings of the campaign. On Saturday lunchtime, Everton invite their city rivals to Goodison Park and Jürgen Klopp's men will be looking for redemption after their 7-2 humbling at the hands to Aston Villa a fortnight ago. This match will have goals and I believe Everton will come out on top with Rodriguez being the main man.
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham - £6.3 million ) v Spurs
Jarrod Bowen's first two outings in the league were rather uneventful but his next two appearances were anything but. The West Ham midfielder scored three goals as The Hammers recorded 4-0 and 3-0 successes against Wolves and Leicester respectively. On Sunday afternoon, David Moyes' men travel across London to take on Spurs. The north Londoners form has been either brilliant or very ordinary. Their home form has yielded only one point to date so I think this clash will be a lot closer than many would have thought it would have been at the start of the season. I'm going for a 1-1 draw with Bowen scoring for The Hammers.
Gameweek five fixtures
Saturday:
Everton v Liverpool (12.30pm ) BT Sport.
Chelsea v Southampton (3pm ) Premier Sports / BT Sport Box Office.
Man City v Arsenal (5.30pm ) SKY Sports.
Newcastle v Man United (8pm ) Premier Sports / SKY Sports Box Office.
Sunday:
Sheffield United v Fulham (12 noon ) BT Sport Box Office.
Crystal Palace v Brighton (2pm ) SKY Sports.
Spurs v West Ham (4.30pm ) SKY Sports.
Leicester v Aston Villa (7pm ) SKY Sports Box Office.
Monday:
West Brom v Burnley (5.30pm ) SKY Sports Box Office.
Leeds v Wolves (8pm ) SKY Sports.
