Captain Picks Fantasy Football Game-week 13 – Fantasy Premier League 2015/16
Wake up! It’s already mid-week and there are FPL points to be had this weekend.
I remember that we were also coming out of an international break the last time FF247 handed me the reins on this article – however, that was during the first one, back when we were all still feeling relatively fresh and optimistic – now I suspect that many of us feel about as fresh as Alexis and that much of our optimism has disappeared like Hazard at home to Liverpool. We have to re-motivate ourselves and believe that, over the coming weeks, we can strive up the leaderboards to rankings that many of us probably took for granted last season…
To help with that, here are 5 of my captaincy recommendations for this weekend, or indeed for Saturday as it happens. They are all (in my opinion) both selected by a decent amount of ‘serious’ managers at present and, of course, in with a shout of bagging a few of goals or assists. I’d best stop waffling now.
As before, even though it didn’t catch on *sniffs* with the others, after each description I’ve rated the player on 3 factors: form, fixture and explosiveness. Hopefully it’ll help you to quickly weigh-up this tough decision if you’re in a rush… or just lazy like me.
Graziano Pelle – home vs Stoke
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[/three_fourth]This guys does tend to find his way into a lot of Captain Picks articles. Why is that? He’s a budget-friendly and nailed-on forward who plays for a quality Premier League team. He’s always a good bet in home matches: 15 out of 18 goals in the League have come at home and “17 outta 20” come Saturday evening has a good ring to it doesn’t it?
That said, lately Stoke have been quite a force, keeping 4 clean sheets in their last 5 matches: including against Chelsea and Villa – oh wait, hang on, sorry – they’re the sh*te teams. While we’re here, now that 12 matches have been played, the Form Guide (available on the Premier League website) is in full-flow and it’s very worthwhile keeping an eye on: for example, you can see Bournemouth’s woes clearly in the brutal light of red and grey, whilst Arsenal currently sit smugly on top. Useful stuff.
Pelle has been going through a bit of a slump lately so I’d say he’s is a bit of a risky pick right now. Who knows though: maybe this is the match to Stoke the fire and get his season back on track. I’ll see myself out.
Form: 4
Fixture: 8
Explosiveness: 7
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Jamie Vardy – away vs Newcastle
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[/three_fourth]Of course he’s on the list. No, not that list, but a Captain Picks one! Vardy has become commonplace in FPL over the past couple of months and is now a regular contender for the armband. So long as Leicester keep playing like beasts, that is.
I don’t need to tell you about Jamie’s current scoring streak. It would’ve been Ruud not to have at least mentioned it here though. Newcastle have conceded 22 goals to date and are, quite frankly, sh*t. Once again, mind you, in the last 2 games Newcastle have kept clean sheets. Vardy is in such amazing form, though, that I wouldn’t let any such stats put you off. Leicester are undefeated away from home and it’s hard to picture this one being a stalemate really.
Mahrez is a very worthy option should Vardy’s yellow flag / restraining order still be lingering around come Saturday morning. He’s a worthy option regardless actually!
Form: 8
Fixture: 7
Explosiveness: 6
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Mesut Ozil – away vs West Brom
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[/three_fourth]Here’s a name slightly less familiar with the intense spotlight of this list! Mesut Ozil has finally rediscovered his confidence and is now playing what is arguably the most technically-supreme football in the League.
West Brom either keep a clean sheet in a cagey encounter or concede 3 when playing at home. Arsenal have hit a slight rough patch lately, with Bayern and Spurs knocking their streak somewhat, but it’s a touch too early for them to be having a mid-season melt down. I expect a bounce-back game and, if so, Ozil should once again be a key figure in that. If he picks up another assist it would the 7th game on the bounce that he has done so. The question is… why do so few of us own him?
You can’t expect a hat-trick from him but Mesut is a consistent producer and he’s a solid bet for the armband in my (bulbous) eyes.
Form: 9
Fixture: 6
Explosiveness: 5
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Romelu Lukaku – home vs Aston Villa
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[/three_fourth]…from Mr. Consistent to Romelu! Polar opposites. Usually, anyway, but as of late Lukaku has been performing well: 2 goals and 2 assists in as many games. This week? He plays at home against the worst team of all. What could go wrong?
Quite a lot. If there’s ever a week to captain The Beast then I think this is it though. I only rated him a ‘7’ for explosiveness but a hat-trick is very much a possibility here.
Deulofeu ain’t a bad shout either by the way! He bagged a hat-trick for Spain Under-21s recently to continue his fine form for Everton and has made my selection of Barkley look plain-stupid in recent weeks.
Form: 7
Fixture: 9
Explosiveness: 7
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Juan Mata – away vs Watford
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[/three_fourth]My final candidate is a slightly more outside punt but a worthy one nonetheless. United might play in a style about as exciting as listening to James Milner consoling Brendan over the phone, but still, they currently sit comfortably in 4th place and the goals have to come from somewhere: quite often Juan is the man.
It’s funny how such a talented player, like with Ozil, can accumulate 60+ in 12 weeks and get ignored by so many. I’m guilty! If you’ve got a Payet-shaped hole (just like Arsenal and Man City do in delicate areas) then here’s a very promising filler.
Watford are no pushovers, especially at home, but I have a gut feeling about this one; look no further for a differential cappo.
Form: 6
Fixture: 7
Explosiveness: 5
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Gamble
Bolasie vs Sunderand at home. MNF magic. It may well carnage! He scored an 11-minute hat-trick in the reverse fixture last season back in April. Sunderland have taken just 1 point on the road so far too. You heard it here first (and probably last) folks…
Thanks for taking the time to read this. All the best for the coming weeks.
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Triple Captain Chip
Just a quick word on the new feature this season. It pretty much does what it says on the tin and trebles your points for your captain on whichever game-week you choose to deploy it. We shall touch on this as and when we feel the opportunity presents itself to use it effectively but this in all likelihood is one to save for when we encounter double game-weeks later on in the season.
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Thanks for reading Captain Picks Fantasy Football Game-week 13. This article was written by jamesimmo
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Anyone going for the Bolasie punt? I already have Lukaku for Everton cover, so might delay Deulofeu for one more week (drop Ayew for him after the BOU game) and meanwhile do Payet > Bolasie. I’d take Cabaye but want a Palace player who’ll definitely get both games.
I’m very tempted Pippin, I must admit.
Pippin- Transferred him, Kane and Lukaku for a 4pnt hit this week. and he will be my captain if that helps. Season has been unpredictable so far so might as well
Crystal Palace have one of the best set of fixtures through the busy holiday period as well, so if you’re grabbing a Palace player now I would keep them in your plans through that period.
If you can fit it in, Bolasie and Willian would rotate wonderfully well! I know that’s a decent amount sitting on the bench every week, but you’d have a really strong sub through the holiday period when anyone could be benched any week.
Hi Pancho, back to that ‘you need a grav’ chat we haven’t had yet I’m beginning to think Father Christmas would be appropriate
Anyone would think you’d jumped the gun and submitted a Christmas article to us in October :hippo:
At least you’ll be prepared I guess!
hahah How about I just use a picture of my beard and call it a day!
Testing… #GIngerBeard
Another test…
not going well this is it?
hahah Cookie, nope. Never had a Gravatar before so I’m not sure what’s going wrong. I went through all of the steps and when I log back into their site it shows up. I logged out of here, closed my browser, reopened and logged back in but it’s still not showing up. SMH
I’m too young to be tech stupid … or so I thought …
clearly not hahahaha
All beards are welcome!!
Grav Test #2000… #Newbie
Tadaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Welcome to 2015 …
….my life is complete
Welcome, beard!
Ahhhhh …………………..THAT Pancho. recognise you now 😉
Hello everyone btw.
It’s a miracle! Now all we need to do is send Silvers on a crash course for logging-in / remembering log-in detail, and we’re flying :hippo:
The beard’s a little creepy. I may swap it out for something else soon. Stay tuned! #YouveCreatedAMonster
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I thought your grav as an upside down sloth at first and only saw the beard after the comments hahahahahahahahahah
Please rate my team below after wildcard ??
Note that Wildcard is active
Personally i would have Deulofeu> Mata as i still don’t expect Man u to score and Mahrez> Willian until chelsea change there fortune, rest seem good but maybe Bertrand> Fonte or Cedric just my personal choices though.
Thanks man for the advice please tell me whom to captain ??
I`m torn between Lukaku and Vardy leaning more towards Lukaku though
khaled, pretty good looking squad. Makes me wish I had my WC still… but this isn’t about me
Coming up to the busy holiday period you might want to invest in central defenders as I think that they are less likely to be rotated. van Dijk instead of Bertrand is a good option. Also, City have a really tough run through the next 8ish GWs. You could get Scott Dann instead and invest the savings elsewhere. I don’t love the Willian pick, but he could be a great pick over the next few weeks. Ayew -> Deulofeu for me though. Saves cash too, which will help if you’ll be trying to get Kun into the squad in a few weeks.
Good afternoon all good captain article.
Going to go with big lukaku.
My team struggling tho. Got 1ft 2.4 in the bank.
Need to get rid of payet either for delafeou or Ozil.
Or possibly some 1 else. Need to fit kun in maybe next week.
Any advice ?
Hi Shane, getting Ozil will only put you further away from Kun, funds wise. Deulofeu gets you closer and he’s hardly a bad pick right now. You may still need extra for Kun though depending on your Payet sell price?
Hey innit. Was thinking possibly Ozil to replace Sanchez then pelle to kun only idea when kun fit and ready. Will get 8.1 for payet.
Payet -> Deulofeu and bank the extra 1.9 as Kun cash. That gives you a solid front 7 and you have 4 solid defenders with good fixtures at the back in case Vardy doesn’t play, so no need for a hit.
Why is everyone so obsessed with Kun? He’s had one fantastic week, the rest very average. Still getting back from injury, he’ll get injured again in the cold weather and fixtures are ok, not wow. The more I think about it, the more I feel less inclined to bring him in. Kane or Lukaku will likely outscore him over the next 10 or so gameweeks….or at least have a great chance of doing so.
Kunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn are you going without Kun Cookie I dare you 😉
Yeah probably unless he proves me wrong, in which case I’ll hold my hand up.
People get caught up with the obsession with him. He’s not a must have for me. Everything thinks Mahrez has been a must have but GP has done pretty well without him. Form, fixtures, injury probability doesn’t suggest he is someone I need to pay 13mln for at this stage.
Cookie, i’ve been feeling the same way but keeping my head down about it. If MP brings him back a little early and he isn’t 100% then he will definitely have to be rested through the busy holiday period a bit, which means 13m on the bench. I’m thinking that I will just bite the bullet from now until the new year and if he is destroying teams then I will use my second WC early and build my team around him. I like a front 3 of Kane-Lukaku-Vardy for the foreseeable future, which will allow me to have Sanchez-KDB-Mahrez-Mata in midfield and 4 solid 5+ defenders to work with. #SolidarityMyFriend
Cookie! I couldn’t agree with you more mate hence why I am not looking to bring him in until he is back up to speed anyway. I have De Bruyne for city cover which I am comfortable with and Kane and Lukaku upfront should hopefully do the business with their form and fixtures.
I think when people see Kun they see the potential for explosiveness and are sacred of that if they don’t have him as much as hoping for it when they do. He’s had 8 games this season and scored 2 or less in 5 of those. Aside from the Newcastle game even the other 2 games were only a 5 and a 6.
I’m planning for him but not until GW16. He’ll likely come off the bench this week as he’s only actually begun training this week. Then it’s Southampton at home and then Stoke away. Are they likely to hammer either of those? Probably not. 16 and 18 are Swansea and Sunderland at home. Are they likely to hammer those? Yeah, probably. Silva will be back up and running properly by then as will Kun himself if he makes it that far. Gives me 3 weeks to both assess him and make the necessary adjustments to accommodate him without taking a hit to do so.
Now that makes more sense Init and well planned rather than the “ffffccccckkkkk Kun is back, I need him in” attitude.
In those weeks that City/Kun play Swansea and Sunderland, Spurs play Newastle and Norwich and Everton play Norwich and Newcastle.
Silva’s return will of course help things and of course makes Kun more appealing, yet i still believe there is an argument in not splashing 13mln on him. I guess time will tell.
If everything goes according to the plan, I won’t bring him in before gw16 or even later as gw17 City will play away to Arsenal.
Also agree with Cookie, both Lukaku, Kane and Alexis are good options regarding captaincy for the next four and you can’t have a 13M player if you’re not going to make him captain almost every week.
My main concern is his price should rise as soon as he starts some game or play some minutes from the bench, even worse if he manages to score and I already have a low TV.
Also to consider, City play away from home 3 out of 4 during the busy holiday period. Having almost no rest and having to travel makes him even less appealing through that period for me. Throw into the mix that he might be rushed a little into game time with Bony out and that’s enough for me to steer clear through that period. So you should get him because he’ll probably score 10 goals between now and GW 20
Awesome discussion. It makes this site worth its weight in gold. Keep it coming…
A few days late to the Augero discussion but here is my thoughts. I actually have him already with the plan is to have a front 8 of the following over the next week or 2/3:
Courtinho Mahrez Sanchez Ozil Lingard
Kane Augero Lukaku
Its a big risk going without Vardy but feels like an interesting move in a difficult season. I still have Mahrez and if there ever was a time its with the upcoming fixtures. Hope this gets more conversation going.
Hi guys, need help with this lot.Who would you replace payet with??And with leicester’s fixtures turning for the worse thinking of getting rid of one of the lei duo.
Have 2ft and 3.7m itb
Ezekial, you have a really good team there well done mate. And with that amount in the bank then your possibilities are endless. All depends on whether you are looking to work in Aguero tho? If not then the likes of Ozil would be decent with Arsenals fixtures. Otherwise Coutinho or mata are options with Bolasie a possibility. I would hold onto the Leicester duo for now tho and also look to get rid of Richards asap
Would you double up on the gunners mid though.Would like to get aguero in as well.Richards has been generally a bench fodder and will get rid of him and naughton as soon as i can spare a ft on them.
Are Leicester fixtures really that bad Ezekial? Sure the odd tricky week, but they’re hardly a shocker.
As for Payet, the best options I would suggest are Deulofeo, Bolasie, Hazard, Ozil – not necessarily in that order.
Think they have tough run of fixtures after the newcastle game.And surely they can’t keep turning up every GW with their current level of attacking performances.Can they ???
I’d still back Leicester to score in the majority of those matches. Whether they win them or not, who cares?
The law of averages suggests Vardy’s run must end soon – but then we would probably have said the same 5/6 game-weeks ago. It’s dangerous to sell players who are performing with such big ownership. It would be brave.
Ezekiel, good looking squad from top to bottom!
I’d add Mata to Cookie’s list. ManU have a good run of fixtures and I think that they are the only top team with 4 favorable fixtures over the busy holiday period and 3 of them are at home!
I’d also consider adding Spurs attack, with Eriksen & Dembele as the prime options. They have begun scoring goals and don’t look ready to stop either.
Mata & Dembele in for Payet & Westwood? Would definitely be a couple of differentials in an otherwise fairly template team.
What are people’s thoughts on Zaha as a cheap 5th mid punt? Played 90 mins in last two and bagged a goal and 2 assists so far.
He’s been their best player over the last few games, apparently Colriles. However, I think I’d want to see more end product before being tempted.
If you’re playing 4-3-3 then he’s also too expensive a 5th midfielder for my liking.
sorry, meant 3-4-3
Cheers Cookie. Yeah my thought too. Leaning towards someone in that 4.4 – 4.9 range but other question marks make me think an upgrade like Delefou/Bolasie might be a better shout.
I would certainly take Deulofeu or Bolaise over Zaha.
Alli scored for England. He is turning into a real player and is only 4.9. If he’s mostly bench fodder then it shouldn’t be an issue to absorb the one week holiday he’ll get after his next yellow