It’s that time of the season again where everyone is busy loading players for the double Gameweeks and planning to jump as high as possible in their overall rankings as well as mini-leagues.
The armband pick is also a very crucial part of this process and hence, in this piece, we discuss the top 5 captaincy picks of the week (in my opinion obviously!).
1. Alexis Sanchez (£11.5m) – West Brom (H), Bournemouth (A).
The Red Devils’ impressive 3-2 comeback victory against rivals Manchester City is certainly fresh in everyone’s minds. In the Manchester Derby, Alexis Sanchez picked up a pair of assists and two bonus points to earn his second double-digit points haul in a row. With Jose Mourinho’s men set for a kind set of fixtures against West Brom and Bournemouth, Sanchez looks to be a ready-made differential in FPL with a mere 3.5% overall ownership. The Chilean is finally finding some form, although his £11.5m price tag means he remains an expensive but potentially explosive differential for Gameweek 34 and the run-in.
2. Romelu Lukaku (£11.6m) – West Brom (H), Bournemouth (A).
Embed from Getty ImagesDespite failing to muster a single shot in the Manchester Derby, Romelu Lukaku’s previous reputation and form for scoring against “lesser sides” has already attracted a considerable amount of Fantasy managers. In the last six matches, the Belgian has accrued an impressive four goals, two assists and seven bonus points. Meanwhile, Lukaku has produced attacking returns in his last five home league encounters and scored against West Brom in the reverse fixture. The Bournemouth fixture also looks profitable, with the Cherries surrendering 28 goals at the Vitality Stadium; only Watford have allowed more in front of their fans (30).
3. Harry Kane (£12.9m) – Man City (H), Brighton (A).
Embed from Getty ImagesGolden boot candidate Harry Kane is this week’s most bought player and is also garnering considerable ahead of his two encounters against Man City and Brighton. The England international is still four strikes behind Mohamed Salah (25 to 29) after his recent claim to Christian Eriksen’s second goal last weekend was approved. Kane hosts Man City, who have Fernandinho ruled out for this game, boosting his prospects. He then travels to take on a Brighton side that are yet to keep a clean sheet in the league in 2018. The striker chases his third ‘Golden Boot’ in a row and hence, is a very strong captaincy option for all of the upcoming Gameweeks.
4. Jamie Vardy (£8.9m) – Burnley (A), Southampton (H).
Embed from Getty ImagesLeicester City lost against visitors Newcastle last weekend, however, fantasy interest was rather more firmly with the hosts. Jamie Vardy rewarded his 23.8% ownership with his third goal in as many Gameweeks and his seventh in nine starts along with bonus points on three occasions. Southampton have conceded three times in each of their two league matches under Mark Hughes, while Burnley boast just one shut-out since Gameweek 21. As a result of Southampton and Burnley’s problems at the back, managers should certainly look at this Leicester asset for the armband this week.
5. Riyad Mahrez (£9.0m) – Burnley (A), Southampton (H).
Embed from Getty ImagesPlaymaker Mahrez has failed to deliver returns in his last two Gameweeks, but in his previous eight matches, he was impressive with five goals and three assists. The Algerian is the top FPL points scorer from the Foxes with 166 points this season and has been one of the most consistent midfielders in terms of Fantasy points this season. With a little more than half of Jamie Vardy’s FPL ownership, Mahrez could be one of those differential captains who could help you jump higher in the rankings.
That is all I have got for you managers this week. As I have always said, captaincy remains to be one of the most important aspects in order to achieve big in Fantasy and I hope this piece helped you somehow to decide on your captain for this week. I wish you all the very best for the first double Gameweek of the season!
Written by Nekzad Bajan.