Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 3

Welcome to Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 3
After GW1’s flurry of 20 odd fairly obvious Capo points to the fairly obvioys candidates it was a bit more down to earth in GW2 for our writers. With no mention of Jesus (just the 38 Capo points) we were left with a defender (Cancelo) top of our pile (22), Haaland (10) and Salah (4) lagging and our differential pick of Bowen flatlining again (4).

But as ever hope springs eternal so let’s go see what they all reckon for GW3…

Haaland v Newcastle (A) by Init

Ah sh!t, City got 4 and Haaland came away with 1 solitary assist? What a load of old boll*cks! Oh sh!t, sorry for swearing, I didn’t know I was live! And so yes this may be a bit of a sweary piece, but forgive us, it’s only what Erling would want from us.

Ok, so last week’s return was a bit of a comedown from what we thought may follow after his destruction of all things West Ham the week before. I did see one reason mooted for not going all perma-Captain on him prior to the game though and that was that he’s all goals and doesn’t do assists. Well, if nothing else, he put paid to that myth, albeit at the expense of his real commodity. And it was a hell of an assist too. None of this ‘Jesus’ nonsense that I’m sure you’ll hear about shortly, with an oppportunistic nudge and a 2 yard sideways pass, this was an assist for the ages.

So let’s address the no goals issue too. He could and really should have had some. And that’s really the main point here, he should have, and subsequently will. Had Foden squared the most obvious of balls then that’s a tap in right there. I heard it said that the City players need to learn that Haaland is always there (in the middle), as they are just not used to that element yet. They soon will be and he’ll get a ton of tap-ins this season. Ironically he almost had a tap in from Foden’s actual goal before it eventually sneaked in of its own accord. He also had other chances later on which he will feel he should have done better with but it does just feel a little like he is sharpening up, on the job.

As for the oppo themselves, Newcastle away is undoubtedly more difficult than it would have sounded in season’s past but then West Ham away felt similar and he made a mockery of that notion. City often start season’s slowly but this one feels different and they look ‘at it’ already and will probably take apart most teams in this league at will.

Which leads me on to Salah and Liverpool, who again you will no doubt hear all about below. Ignore the hype about to be thrust upon you and use yours eyes here; Liverpool look like a team still adapting. Still adapting to no Mane, still adapting to Nunez, now adapting to life without Nunez, and as for Salah himself he just hasn’t looked himself yet.

Haaland and City do, and yes Phil he’s always there, just remember that and we can all stop writing Captain articles as it will become a reduntant question soon enough. Starting with Newcastle. 4-0 to City again anyone? I wouldn’t bet against it.

Maddison v Southampton (H) by Swirly

Whilst Leicester have been tipped to struggle this season, James Maddison may not be such a bad shout for the captain pick this gameweek, on the back of great form and, of course, the fact the Foxes absolutely love to play against Southampton.

Of course there was that 9-0 result back in 2019 which, let’s face it, is pretty unlikely to happen this time round, however the past five Premier League meetings since that fateful October night have seen 10 goals scored by the East Midlanders. Of those, four alone were in the last fixture between the two sides – a game where our main man Madders just happened to find the back of the net and set another up. There were three goals from the attacking midfielder in the seven other times he had faced the side too.

This record against the Saints, coupled with the fact the £8m player has picked up a goal and an assist in the two game-weeks we’ve already had this season, puts him in good stead to rack up the points in GW3.

Jesus v Bournemouth (A) by Gear

Following my failed recommendation last week, you would be completely forgiven for ignoring the fact based, guaranteed number one choice, for who you should entrust your armband to this week. Luckily for all of us, we are a forgiving community and will therefore reap the rewards in the form of trusting in Jesus. That’s right, I am of course referring to Gabriel Fernando de Jesus, the diminutive Brazilian who will be racking up the points this weekend. He will of course be up against a Bournemouth team that got spanked 4-0 by Man City last week, easy pickings there then. In the Premier League, Jesus has averaged a goal every 158 minutes, placing him just ahead of Olivier Giroud, thus making him by default possibly the greatest forward the league has ever seen. That’s good enough for me, and it should be for you as well.

Salah v Manchester United (A) by Stone Frog

A great player, with a great fixture against the team bottom of the league! What’s more, Salah has an extraordinary recent record in the North West Derby. In the corresponding fixture last October, he netted a hattrick and an assist in a 5-0 win, bringing home a massive 24pts. When they met at Anfield in April, the Egyptian bagged a brace and an assist with a 19pt haul in a 4-0 win. He has 8 goals in the last 4 league and cup meetings between the clubs!

Moving to this season, Liverpool have not made an ideal start with two draws and a number of injuries perhaps denting their form. Nonetheless Salah did grab a goal and an assist in the opener against Fulham. Their opponents this week have made a downright awful start though, losing to Brighton and then 4-0 to Brentford. All credit to Brighton and Brentford who both performed well, but Manchester United are now rock bottom of the table and look in trouble. There are rumours of potential fan protests for the match against Liverpool, which brings back memories of this fixture being postponed in May 2021; but there’s no reason not to captain Salah, just make sure to vice-captain someone playing in a different fixture.

The confessional…
This is where we ask our entire writing team to tell us who they think they will pick this week…. There are more caveats and get out clauses than a Lionel Messi contract but this is their initial gut feeling based upon who they actually own.

DMC — Son

Follow @DCoelho

Jamesimmo — Salah

Follow @James777Simpson

Ivan — Haaland

Follow @IvanGB111

Swirly — Jesus

Follow @theswirly

Horse — Jesus

Follow @harryhorse2

Matt — Jesus

Follow @MattyMcveigh

Loud Atlas — Jesus

Follow @FantasyFooty247

Smash — Salah

Follow @Chrismartin1984

Kop — Jesus

Follow @KenLyons79

The Gallant Pioneer — Jesus

Follow @MitchellC_FF247

Rosco — Jesus

Follow @eugoogooly

Ellefcee — Salah

Floydeth — Salah

Follow @TinkerManFPL

Init — Haaland

Follow @AdamalcockFF247

Carolyn — TAA

Follow @Carolynl1972

Gear — Jesus

Follow @Lukerouthorn

Stone Frog — Salah

Follow @StoneFrog638

OddDane — KdB, but I don’t have him! So Haaland. Or Salah. Ok, Jesus it is! Maybe…

VOTE ON THIS WEEK’S CAPTAIN POLL

Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 3. This week’s article was written by Init, Swirly, Stone Frog and Gear

Follow @FantasyFooty247

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