Captain Picks Fantasy Football Game-week 26 – Fantasy Premier League 2015/16

The last time yours truly constructed a Captains article was back in Game-week 12. So back by popular demand then I can only imagine. On that occasion I selected five players. Well six really, but I wasn’t going for the ten which I have in the past which was pioneering in my book but posterior-covering to my bosses at FF247. The five players performed like this:

Kevin De Bruyne – blanked, showed poor subsequent form and is now out for the foreseeable future.

Philippe Coutinho – scored 10 points and is also currently injured.

Dmitri Payet – blanked and then got injured and although now back, is not producing the big numbers.

Graziano Pelle – blanked unsurprisingly and has now only just begun his first match this year.

Riyad Mahrez & Jamie Vardy – a sneaky double pick and Mahrez blanked (for once) but Vardy posted 9 points.

Hardly nailing them that week was I? However I’m prepared this time. I have all the names in front of me, a large blank wall and five darts. Let’s go.

Diego Costa (home vs Newcastle)
[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]An injury-time point equaliser against Manchester United last time out made it six goals and two assists since Boxing Day and 7 bonus points in to the bargain. With the normally travel-sick Newcastle this weekend, then Costa must be at the forefront of captaincy consideration.

These six goals in his last eight games more than hint to a return to the beastly striker we all know and despise. Like Hiddink, his teammates and the Chelsea supporters you only really like the man if he is in your fantasy team. If he isn’t in there you prepare yourself to laugh, swear and fist-clench all the while outwardly hoping he is sent off.

With a supporting cast of his grandson Oscar, Eden Hazard, Willian, Pedro and now Pato, investment in this Chelsea pensioner may be a very wise move indeed especially given that only 6.5% of managers own him. If you have him, you could throw your full support behind him with this week’s armband. Be prepared though for him to fall to the ground and then get up and try to fight you.

[divider_1px]

Roberto Firmino (away vs Aston Villa)
[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]After a very impressive display against Sunderland in which he took his recent tally to 5 goals and 2 assists in his last seven matches, the Brazilian finally looks like a definite worthwhile fantasy investment. With a shot conversion rate of a third, and with bottom of the league Villa next, you can only see the ex-Hoffenheim man getting more shots away in that one and therefore I would bet he’ll be a huge captain choice this weekend. His touch and skill was shown in evidence in the Sunderland match and with him listed as a midfielder in FPL but in effect being the focal point of the Reds’ attack, this only makes him even more appealing.
Villa managed a win last weekend, but they were only playing Norwich and having won at the Etihad and Stamford Bridge already this season a trip to Villa Park shouldn’t hold too many fears for Firmino and co. With some players also expected back from injury and available for selection a tricky afternoon is expected for the relegation candidates and the Brazilian may just turn out to be the perfect Sunday skipper for those that like their captain playing on the final day of the geamweek.

[divider_1px]

Romelu Lukaku (home vs WBA)
[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]The burly Belgian was ditched in his thousands by us fantasy owners after the last game-week. Now a week on, we find he scored against Stoke after being a slight doubt, was denied a hat-trick by a couple of Jack Butland saves and of course he will be on penalties against WBA this week. What a difference just three days can make!

He is easily going to become Everton’s best ever individual season scorer this season and I’m wagering he breaks Tony Cottee’s 16 goals this weekend.

Lukaku does what Lukaku does – he’ll frustrate you as an owner by missing chance after chance but also remains in the form of his life and is central to a team that attacks and creates chances aplenty for him. Despite the fact he’ll likely miss four or five golden chances a game, he’ll also likely score one or two and he of course he scored two and created another in Everton’s 3-2 win over West Brom at the Hawthorns in GW7.

[divider_1px]

Riyad Mahrez (away vs Arsenal)
[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]For those of us who know a good thing when we see it, we have Riyad Mahrez ladies and gentlemen. Why go anywhere else? If he can do it against City away then he personally is going to have no fear spearheading a raid on all three points at the Library on Sunday.

Fourteen goals, ten assists and 32 bonus points and he is still the leading scorer in the game unsurprisingly. If you don’t fancy him at Arsenal then fair enough, but don’t say you weren’t warned when he again drives Leicester on to their title (Please let it happen).

Many FPL managers were scared off the Algerian when he was relieved of penalty duty after his miss vs Villa in GW22, yet he responded immediately and has assisted in each of his last three gameweeks including the masterclass at the Etihad last weekend.

[divider_1px]

Dmitri Payet (away vs Norwich)
[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]The man I proudly previewed in pre-season tore the league up before his injury we would all agree. (I’m not saying I’m all-knowing, indeed far from it, I rounded up pre-season and still didn’t start with Ighalo or Mahrez despite the hours I spent analysing the results!). Anyway, back to Payet. Since his return and some of us bought him straight away, he only has posted scores of 1, 2, 3, 2 and 2 if you exclude the eleven-pointer at Bournemouth, which many will when considering him for captain material. I am however surprised with the talk in some quarters of selling him. He plays Norwich this weekend and Sunderland next game-week. Surely that’s a ‘hold’?

I would consider him for captain if you need a differential or like me, if you are fed-up of calling your captain wrong and you have nothing to lose. The corner and free-kick taker, most of West Ham’s play runs through him and although the points haven’t added up well recently, he still can nab double digits on any given day. The fact he plays a Norwich team who even Villa now can dismiss with ease, lends itself to a second look at the Gallic.

[divider_1px]

With the exception of the out of this stratosphere Mahrez, I’ve avoided players from the top of the table clashes this week as third place host first place and fourth place host second place or rather Arsenal v Leicester and Manchester City v Tottenham for those without a photographic memory of the top of the league. This is no reflection on a number of players, such as Ozil, Vardy, Aguero or Kane, who can easily rack-up a double digit score on their day but with the chance of these games being very tight it is usually the fantasy manager’s general feeling to look for alternatives with easier games. And this is not me squeezing another four players in to my article. Honest Guv!

Enjoy your fantasy football and don’t lose faith in what you are trying to do. Trust me, when the summer comes and there is no FPL, you’ll be desperate for it to come back.

Best of luck, friends.

GP

[divider_1px]

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 in a few week’s time.

[divider_1px]

Thanks for reading Captain Picks Fantasy Football Game-week 26. This article was written by The Gallant Pioneer

Follow @mitchellcraig81

[divider_1px_dashed]

Draft Kings

[divider_1px_dashed]

[row][span6]

Vote on our Captain Poll Now

[/span6][span6]

Fixture Tracker

[/span6][/row]