Captain Picks Fantasy Football Game-week 38

Captain Picks Fantasy Football Game-week 38 – Fantasy Premier League 2015/16

After 38 rounds of Premier League football, this season has finally come to an end, and what a season it has been! Leicester City, a team that barely escaped relegation last season, have proven to all of us that hard work and passion can beat money, Tottenham have stepped out of the shadows of 5th place to the shadows of 2nd place instead; Arsenal will actually manage to avoid finishing 4th (unless they lose to Aston Villa – about as likely as Leicester winning the league!), Rafa Benitez made the impressive leap (fall) from Santiago Bernabéu to Tyneside; and Jurgen Klopp brought his enigmatic personality – and perhaps even a Europa League trophy – to the Kopites. Perhaps most importantly though – next season we might see Pep and Mourinho go head to head with each other again, as managers of the respective Manchester clubs this time. I am sure plenty of you have seen your FPL experience boost you up the rankings in recent weeks given the recent DGWs and the planning necessary to fully exploit these, but if not – congratulations, we are at the season’s end, so your misery will soon be over. Without further ado, let us look at the best captain choices for this week and hope to finish this season with a blast!

Alexis Sanchez (home vs Aston Villa)
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[/three_fourth]If you have ventured on the forum the last few weeks, then surely you have seen people suggesting that Alexis Sanchez should be considered for the triple captain chip when he faces Aston Villa at home in the last round of the season. Since these suggestions initially came to light, Arsenal’s form has dipped somewhat, as they were not able to beat considerably lesser opposition in Crystal Palace and Sunderland and barely beat Norwich, which I am sure has made many second guess their plan to triple captain Sanchez. Perhaps his goal against City lessened some of that doubt; nevertheless, let us look at the opposition’s defensive stats to see what he is up against. Aston Villa have lost all their last 6 away matches – in fact, before their draw against Newcastle last weekend, you would have to go back to GW 25 to find another match they did not lose, when they beat Norwich 2-0 at home. Aston Villa have conceded 72 goals throughout the season, which is the highest in the league, and 24 of those were conceded in the last 10 matches, averaging 2.4 goals conceded per match. Here is what I am getting at – despite Arsenal dipping in form, they are facing a team that they still should beat without breaking a sweat. Arsenal also have another motivation – they have not finished below Tottenham in the Premier League before, and need to win to have any hope to preserve this tradition. Taking all this into consideration, Sanchez should be considered a safe captain choice this week.

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Sergio Aguero (away vs Swansea)
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[/three_fourth]Who would have thought, after their dominant start to the season, that City would be at risk for not qualifying for the Champions League next season? They are 2 points ahead of United heading into the final round, meaning that they need to take this match seriously to ensure Champions League football next season. With his goal against Arsenal, Sergio Aguero has scored in 6 matches in a row for the first time in his career, netting 8 goals in those. He is only 1 goal behind Harry Kane in the top scorers chart, which will certainly serve as a motivation heading into the match. While it may seem like City’s form has been dubious lately, they still sit 5th in the form table, with 3 wins in last 6 matches. That being said, only 1 of those wins have come in the last 4. Swansea are 6th in the form table, but it is their home form that is the most impressive, having won the last 4 matches. In those 4 matches, they have scored 6 goals and conceded only 1. In other words, City will have to put in a stellar performance against an in-form Swansea team to avoid getting caught by United. Expect them to play to win the match, meaning that goals can be scored both ways, increasing the odds that Aguero will get something in this match.

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Jamie Vardy (away vs Chelsea)
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[/three_fourth]In 2007, this lad was playing for the Stocksbridge Park Steels with a tag around his ankle for six months, not even being able to finish matches as he had to hurry back home in time for his curfew. Five seasons ago, this lad was knocking in goals for non-league side Fleetwood Town. 7th May 2016, this lad got to lift the Premier League trophy as top scorer for a Leicester team that will go down in footballing history. If you have Jamie Vardy in your team, you might as well give him the armband just for the sentimentality. With 24 goals this season, he is fighting for the top scorer title alongside Aguero and Kane, and will certainly be motivated to finish this season with another honor to his name. Despite being suspended for 2 games, he did not let that get to him as he netted 2 goals against Everton last round, bringing his goal tally to 5 games in his last 3 matches. Leicester travel to Stamford Bridge with great away form, winning 3 of their last 4 away matches, while Chelsea seem to have taken an early vacation, only winning 1 of their last 6 home matches. Leicester should definitely be seen as favorites for this match; in fact, Chelsea have conceded 10 goals in their last 5 matches, proving their defensive instability. Forget sentimental value – Vardy can be given the armband with confident expectations that he will perform.

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Harry Kane (away vs Newcastle)
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[/three_fourth]Tottenham may have fallen short of winning the title for the first time since 1961, but at least they have managed to qualify for the Champions League and finally, for the first time since 1995, finish above Arsenal in the Premier League. Or that is at least what it seemed like, before they decided to take a break and not win any of their last 3 matches, allowing Arsenal to sneak up to 2 points behind them. Do not assume that Tottenham are in vacation mode just yet though – Harry Kane has said to the media that the Spurs players are determined to give the fans bragging rights over their rivals. A bigger motivation for Kane to perform is that he is leading the top scorers chart by merely 1 goal, meaning that he will need to perform to ensure that he will finish top scorer. As Spurs’ form has declined Kane’s returns have declined as well, seeing him blank in 3 of his last 5 matches, but still scoring 3 goals in the process. Tottenham go up against a Newcastle team that will have to win to have any hope of staying in the Premier League, meaning that they should expect to be pressured, but also be given room when Newcastle push forward. Newcastle have actually found decent home form under Benitez, winning 3 and only losing 1 of their last 6 home matches, while Spurs are in good away form as well with 3 wins in their last 6 away matches. While Kane is chasing the top scorer title, Newcastle’s home form and need to win mean that Kane might not be some peoples first choice on this list.

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Andy Carroll and Dimitri Payet (away vs Stoke)
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[/three_fourth]Andy Carroll, they said. Haha, we said. Then he came back from injury, scored a hat-trick against Arsenal, 2 more goals in the 2 subsequent matches, and suddenly were we not only silenced, but considering him for the triple captain chip. Then West Ham were decimated by Swansea, and he blanked against United, much to the dismay of any who triple captained him. In other words, some of us might not be sure what to think of Carroll and West Ham at the moment. Still, he has registered 5 goals and 1 assist in his last 6 matches, which shows that the man is on form. He did not get anything from Tuesday’s match against United, but he had several chances and could have scored. Remember that 2 of West Ham’s goals against United were headers from set pieces, and Carroll will more often than not be at the end of those set pieces, highlighting his potential. Dimitri Payet, West Ham’s standout player of the year, picked up 2 assists against United, tallying 4 assists in 4 matches. He always has the chance to perform fantasy-wise as West Ham’s attacking play goes through him and he is on set pieces, which is how he got his 2 assists against United. Despite the surprise loss to Swansea, West Ham are still in decent form – they have 3 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss in their last 6 matches, and 2 of those draws came against Arsenal and Leicester. West Ham’s opponent Stoke sit second last in the form table, only better than Aston Villa, and they have lost 4 of their last 6 matches, conceding 17 goals in the process. West Ham have little left to play for, except a Europa League spot (which they may or may not want), meaning that their motivation is questionable heading into this match. As with Kane, Carroll & Payet have the potential to perform, but there are probably better options on this list. In theory. But since when has theory panned out this season!

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Thanks for reading Captain Picks Fantasy Football Game-week 38. This article was written by Tekno-kun

Follow @Tekno_kun

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