Josh (@whatthebiggsee) takes us through five captaincy choices for game week 12, hopefully, these may benefit you.
The Obvious One
Salah vs Fulham (H)
For many people, Salah has been a bit of a bother this season. Many players have either owned him from the start and didn’t want to get rid for fear of exploding or didn’t own him and desperately hoped he didn’t explode. Both sides have had success in my opinion. The Egyptian hasn’t quite hit the highs of last year and has only managed one double-digit haul (vs Cardiff); not exactly what owners of Salah would have been hoping for from a £13m man.
The game against Fulham though is probably the game that owners would have been desperate to keep him for. A team that looks dire at both ends of the pitch are prone to conceding and owners will be hoping for a second double-digit score of the season. That hope will most likely result in mass captaincy and for the purpose of this article, makes Salah the obvious choice.
The Fun One
Marko Arnautovic vs Huddersfield (A)
Arnautovic is a great player to own in fantasy football. He isn’t hugely expensive because he’s not consistent yet he scores just enough to feel good about owning him. Taking this into consideration, his upcoming fixtures also give reason to include him in your side. This weeks game vs Huddersfield captures that perfectly. Having bagged 12 points last week against Burnley many will be hoping he can repeat that this week with many transferring him in for the upcoming game week – in fact, he is the second highest for transferred in this week.
It stands to reason if you’re buying him the fun thing to do would be to captain him. Most likely not selected highly for captaincy but it’d be great if it worked. Yes, he’s perhaps a touch unreliable but when he has that potential for a haul why not captain him and what’s more fun than that?
The Decent One
Eden Hazard vs Everton (H)
To be clear I expect Chelsea to do well this week vs Everton and it is expected that Hazard will most likely have a part in that. The only reason he falls under the decent category this week is that pesky back injury however after returning against Crystal Palace last week and picking up an immediate assist, surely problem is solved? The trouble is you never know with injuries; if it tickles him just the wrong way it can mean coming off or a poor performance.
Hazard has had a brilliant season so far being top of the points table and the fact that the Belgian has not started four games (coming on three times as a sub) is simply sublime. It stands to reason that as a captaincy option he’s a great pick but in my eyes this week might not be his best. Still, a good enough choice though if you’re struggling.
The Unlikely One
Matthew Ryan vs Cardiff (A)
The unlikely option this week has potential to be great option. Matt Ryan is a save machine. 43 so far this season, putting him 3rdoverall with clean sheets to go with it, not bad numbers at all. A fantasy favourite due to a low price and due to Brighton’s defensive stability and effort, a captaincy choice this week may be a good call. The game against Cardiff also offers a great chance for a clean sheet with both teams trying their best to defend and not slip up. Having said this, as always with keepers they’re not the best options but that’s why he falls into the unlikely category.
The Differential One
Isaac Success vs Southampton (A)
Isaac Success is by no means a great fantasy option and mostly a bench player who occasionally will start in the absence of others. He has started the last three and averaged 3.33 points. Not ideal. Watford, however, play a struggling Southampton side who look to be trying to shoot teams to death rather than score with 160 shots and only 7 goals. Unfortunately for them, they have also conceded 20 goals this season so no luck at either end of the pitch.
For Watford, they will be hoping that Southampton keep missing and keep conceding goals. As for Success, if he starts against the Saints there is no reason he can’t be a successful captain choice. With 3.5% ownership, if he does do well you will be able to look very smug indeed.
Thank you for reading, hopefully, one of these options stands out for you and you bag a bunch of points. Until next week, goodbye!
