Captain Picks Fantasy Football Game-week 27 – Fantasy Premier League 2015/16
Has it really been four months since last I graced these hallowed halls? Four months since last I spoke to my football-loving friends? Four months since last I frantically searched my address book to issue a frantic plea to Cookie and Init for a last-minute extension? Four months since I last cobbled to together a waffled intro? Yes, yes, maybe, depends on what you think of this intro.
So many things have happened since we last spoke! I found professional happiness for the first time in my career and, having done so, wish the same fate for each and every one of you. Mourinho did not find the same happiness and has now gone to wherever he and Stoke fans spend their time during the week. Rumours have him going to Manchester United, and I have to ask my United friends: do you really want Chelsea’s sloppy seconds? That’s just going to make it odd when you run into each other at a party you didn’t know the other team was going to attend. Sure, you’ll make small talk and pretend everything is okay, but you know deep down that Chelsea are thinking, “we had him first” and, when you see that corner of their mouth uptick into what you perceive as a smirk, you’ll know it’s true and you’ll have to start planning how you can sneak out the front door when no one is looking.
A friend I turned on to this sweet sport committed the vilest bit of treachery by declaring himself a Spurs fan and, while I have agreed to keep his identity secret (Josh!), St. Totteringham’s Day this years will be all the bit sweeter. I have enlisted his better half to place speakers on his nightstand to play Arsenal chants while he sleeps and have beseeched the aid of the Centres of Disease Control in hopes they develop an antidote before this fandom takes root.
Finally, it appears a Black Cat got caught playing with the wrong kitty and might spend some time in a cage as a result. And with that, let’s take a look at the fixtures we have to work with this week…
Sat 27 Feb 12.45
West Ham vs Sunderland
Sat 27 Feb 15.00
Leicester vs Norwich
Southampton vs Chelsea
Stoke vs Aston Villa
Watford vs Bournemouth
Sat 27 Feb 17.30
West Brom vs Crystal Palace
Sun 28 Feb 14.05
Manchester United vs Arsenal
Spurs vs Swansea
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5. Diego Costa, Chelsea (at Southampton)
Some of the faithful will still have them in their side, hoping he can rediscover last season’s form and start scoring at will. Many will have used their transfer this week to swap him in for Kun Aguero who is not playing this week. If so, why not double-down and slap the captain’s armband on him? He’s tallied four goals and two assists in his last five league matches and opened the scoring against Manchester City’s “who the $@%! is that team” last weekend in the FA Cup. Southampton’s defensive form speaks for itself but we think the Rocky Balboa of the Premier League will find a way to get one past Soton’s defense. Play him this week then dump him before they release another bad sequel. Yo Adrian!
Price: £10.7
Form: 6.3
One more reason to pick him – he’s not in my team this week, which all but assures him of at least a brace.
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4. Mesut Ozil, Arsenal (at Manchester United)
Some will finger this pick as me playing favourites, and perhaps so, but please keep your fingers to yourself. With Alexis Sanchez on vacation this season, and the usual rash of injuries to Arsenal’s midfield, the offensive impetus has rested squarely on the shoulders of the talented German. All he’s done is respond with four goals, a league-best 17 assists, and an amazing 28 bonus points. While he enters on a shaky bit of form, the last time these two played it was Ozil that proved the difference netting a goal and assisting on another. If Arsenal are going to contend for the title this season they have to win this game, and that will begin and end with Ozil’s ability to contribute in the final third. As goes Ozil, so goes Arsenal.
Price: £9.9
Form: 5.8
One more reason to pick him – do you want those eyes haunting your dreams if he turns in another 13-point effort against United?
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3. Dimitri Payet, West Ham (v. Sunderland)
After a massive effort against Norwich last week it’s hard to ignore the Frenchman this week against a Sunderland team that is just awful. The Black Cats have surrendered at least two goals in half the games they’ve played this year and at least three an amazing seven times. They are tied with Norwich for the league’s leakiest defense having given up 50 goals. West Ham have scored 40 league goals this season and Payet has been involved in more than a quarter of them. See where this is going? We like the maths as much as we like the match. To sweeten the pot, he had an assist and 8-point outing when these two played to a 2-2 draw earlier this season.
Price: £8.3
Form: 6.0
One more reason to pick him – it’s an opportunity to pay-et forward…
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2. Harry Kane, Spurs (v. Swansea)
There’s no questioning the form of the North London Nose. What concerns us is his inability to pick up bonus points. He’s scored five goals across his last five matches but has managed a paltry 4 bonus points for his goal-scoring exploits. Similarly, he boasts 16 goals on the season (tied for second best) but has collected just 21 bonus points as a result. Maybe it’s his limited involvement in other areas of the pitch or maybe the people that run the game think they can’t award bonus points to a Toucan. Swansea have managed just one clean sheet in their last seven, and we think that makes Gonzo an easy (and smart) choice for captain this week. Start him, captain him and put your feet up on the desk. You’ve made a smart and safe choice.
Price: £10.1
Form: 7.0
One more reason to pick him – I get to keep pointing out the bulkiness of that beak.
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1. (tie) Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, Leicester (v. Norwich)
This is the easy, safe pick. Top of the table Leicester play relegation fodder Norwich. Leicester have scored a league-best 48 goals; Norwich have allowed a league-worst 50 goals (tied with Sunderland). So the question really becomes, which of these two do you fancy? Vardy seems to have rediscovered his early season form and has four goals across his last four league matches. In the same span, Mahrez has contributed a goal and three assists. The pair are the most-owned players in the game and are the highest scoring players at their respective positions. Making sure you have both of them in your team is priority one this week. You can’t go wrong with captaining either, but Mahrez’s 38 bonus points this season tips the scale slightly in his favor.
Price: £7.5 and £7.2
Form: 7.3 and 7.0
One more reason to pick them – the possibility of paparazzi nicknaming the duo J-Yad.
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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 in a few week’s time.
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Thanks for reading Captain Picks Fantasy Football Game-week 27. This article was written by LawDogg
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Fixture Tracker
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The team this weekend. Seems ok?
10 players for GW 30 at this moment…
I’m quite fond of that team. Seems you’re all sorted for this week.
Perfect for this GW.
Not really checked my team since my last (of many) disappointing weeks.
Here it is, thinking of Firmino & Ighalo out for Mahrez & Vardy
What you reckon?
Do it.
Fantastic moves, especially with their upcoming fixtures. You’re only problem now is deciding which of the two to captain!
Don’t, not even thought of that yet!
Thanks
Hi everyone.
Any thoughts on the below? 2fts. 0 itb.
Keeping Aguero.
What to do ( if anything) with Ddg n Sanchez?
Dreamers
I would hold Sanchez personally and consider DDG to Schmeichel (as you have no playing GK this GW if DDG is out but in any event, Leicester’s fixtures are very appealing) and maybe Jonny Evans to a Stoke defender ahead of a couple of nice matches. I’d bench Rangel in this case.
Cheers Tgp. If they were the players to go, would you prefer those over say Southampton? ( Appreciating they have Chelsea next).
Any reason for Leicester keeper + Stoke defender over Leicester defender n Butland?
No reason and you could go that way. Southampton too if you fancy.
Watch those splinters GP 😉
Call me Woody
Hi Dreamers, if you got Schmeichel how about a cheeky little punt on Fletcher to Imbula also, and bench Rangel?
Interesting Init – he doesn’t have a goal scoring past though does he?
Not exactly no, but then neither does Kolo Toure and we’re talking Villa here
Plus he’s the only one you could afford for said punt. As a cheap 5th going forward I’d fancy him more than Fletcher, he did look classy.
Hokey Koke (c) Don’t forget your CL subs guys. Gimenez isn’t playing.
Hey Init. Yeah, I always fear Gimenez not starting as it’s happened before! Shouldn’t have been a cheapskate and gone for Godin or Juanfran… Haha
I actually pinged him in last night for a 2 pointer as I wasn’t sure if I’d be around for the line-ups. Oh well!
A made a huge mistake by taking out a 2 pointer for Moreno (PSV). I shoudve taken out GImenz witht hat move. HAHAHA! OMG, so bad. This game sucks!
The game didn’t make you do that :p
On a side note my dreams of a Treble AM defence are in tatters. It’s now just double
Cheers Init.
Godin, Juanfran and Griezmann and some Kiev bloke to come.
On captain, I twisted from Ronaldo to Messi. Now, I hold.
Nice, GP! Could work out well for you overall!
Are you still playing the Fantasy iTeam game by the way or did you just forget and give up? I find it much better than the official one. Just popped Griezmann and Juanfran in on that one.
Yep got Oblak and Godin tonight.
It’s decent I agree. But anything is much more preferable to th official on which is dreadful for an official game.
Ah ok cool, at least I know I’ve still got some competitive element to it then as I’ve been sat there doing my transfers wondering if it was just me! I think Ruben may have roped us into that one, on which point where the hell’s Ruben gone!
RUBEN!!!!!
There was some other bloke tweeting me furiously at the start of it because he’d taken an early lead. Not heard so much from him recently, funnily enough
Ruben made two seasons worth of transfers in a month and then legged it
We don’t hear from Ant so much now either do we!
Nope! He went from requesting articles of praise to being a total no-show
Maybe he’s winning someone else’s league now and is just ribbing them constantly now 😉
Everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes. Some just fifteen seconds.
Com[pletely forgot to make changes. Oh well, that’s the end of another season of UCL heartache
I don’t think 1 night at the end of 4 will break your season NIN!
Depends what the damage is really. If it’s really bad then i might just leave it be. There’s all sorts of Gio’s and Kun’s to be dealing with over the next few months anyway 😉
Who to captain between Kane, Aguero, Mahrez and Payet?
Aguero. :big-lol:
Chris, Mahrez or Payet for me mate. Kane is not guaranteed to play with his broken beak and Kun defo doesn’t play! Well not in the league anyway – hopefully he smashes the dippers in the Cup.
No chance Cookster. :p
Of course not Elle! You going?
No mate.
Elle is that because of the car situation? You really ought to be more careful in future
Or are you banned from leaving Liverpool?
BOB. Bog Off Boss. :p
If i ever find the pissed up twat who wrote off my £30,000 car i’m gonna stab him to death.
Think how the real owner of the car feels 😉
:hippo:
What was I thinking lol, forgot Aguero has a blank.
Kun warming up nicely for Sunday.