Captain Picks Fantasy Football Gameweek 3
GW2 was a great reminder how important your Captain selection is. Those who went with Costa, Hazard or Ramsey were well rewarded, whilst those who went with Rooney or the returning RvP were let down by a lacklustre performance and their gameweek suffered as a result. This week presents us with some tough decisions – with Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and United all playing away and with Everton and Spurs hosting two of the aforementioned, we are left with Manchester City who appear to have the standout fixture as they host Stoke at The Etihad. The problem lies with the fact that many teams do not own any City players, at the time of writing, due to their opening tough looking fixtures. So will you be bringing in a City player for this week? Maybe it’s not the worst decision. Let’s have a look at who the best choices for the armband are this weekend.
Captain Choices
Sergio Aguero (home vs Stoke)
“But he may not start”, I hear some say. “They’re easing him back into the season”, I hear the nervous suggest. “His legs are made of glass”, I hear the desperate claim. Well, I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with any of the above statements, but c’mon, we all know how clinical Aguero can be. Pellegrini brought him on at Newcastle in the 83rd minute and it took him just seven minutes to score. Against Liverpool, it took him just 23 seconds to find the net!! The manager clearly is easing him back, he got 23 minutes on Monday night, so one can only assume that he will play more minutes vs Stoke. Whether he starts or not doesn’t really matter does it? He will feature, he will get chances, not many of us are that impressed by Stoke on their travels and City are kicking into gear. What more do you want? Well, maybe a small loan from your FPL bank manager as he ain’t cheap at 12mln – but come May we may well be reminded that you get what you pay for in FPL.
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Stevan Jovetic (home vs Stoke)
For those that cannot afford Aguero, Jovetic is hardly the worst alternative this week. Full of confidence after his brace against Liverpool, finally injury free and continually talked up by his manager, the Montenegrin will be hopeful of carrying on his good form at home to the Potters at the weekend. With Nasri, Navas, Silva and Yaya pulling the strings behind him, he is almost assured of goalscoring chances and his two finishes on Monday showed he can be as clinical as Aguero given the opportunities. Described by some as the poor man’s Aguero, sometimes a decision dictated by budget and an unwillingness to take a hit proves to be the smart and shrewd move and the striker is almost certain of a starting the game due to the injury to Dzeko and the building up of fitness of Aguero.
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Diego Costa (away vs Everton)
Two goals in his first two Premier League games prove Jose’s assertion that Chelsea have finally got their replacement for Didier Drogba, which is a tad bizarre seeing as that they have recently re-acquired the original. Anyhow, with their new Beast onboard and with the supply line of Hazard, Fabregas, Oscar and Schurrle creating chances aplenty, it’s a brave man who would bet against Costa adding to his tally. Everton, of course, are traditionally pretty tight at home, but consecutive 2-2 draws including letting slip a two goal lead vs Arsenal last week suggests it is a defence which can be breached. While many feared (incorrectly) that Drogba may have started vs Leicester, there can be no doubt that Costa will start at Goodison as Jose attempts to preserve Chelsea’s 100% record and win one of their tougher matches on the road.
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Aaron Ramsey (away vs Leicester)
Two goals in the opening two matches this season has seen the Welshman become the most popular midfielder and as last season proved, he loves to get on a run of scoring. Woe betide those who have the view of “surely he can’t score again”! Away to a Leicester side which has conceded two goals in both matches so far, Ramsey will be raring to go, having missed the Champions League 2nd leg match vs Besiktas. With Sanchez taking his time to settle, Ozil still building up fitness and form and Giroud injured, the one constant is Ramsey and while he continues to enjoy this rich vein of scoring, he is hard to ignore. Another plus point for the midfielder is that with Wilshire and Arteta sidelined, Ramsey is likely to retain his midfield place and not be played too far up the park, which as most Gooners will tell you, sees Ramsey in his best and most effective position.
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Best of the Rest
Eden Hazard / Cesc Fabregas (away vs Everton)
While everyone was raving about Cesc’s debut masterclass, Hazard owners were looking at themselves wondering why they went for Hazard instead. The Belgian repaid the faith by notching his first of the season in the home win over Leicester, although you can’t keep Fabregas down, as he got credit with the assist! So whichever one you have, don’t bet against them putting on another show.
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Wayne Rooney (away to Burnley)
In years gone by, you would have given the United striker the armband with a fixture such as this without a moment’s thought. However, United and Rooney have started the LVG era slowly, as the manager himself predicted they would. Surely it is only a matter of time before they give their new manager something to cheer and it may well be this weekend in this derby fixture. The arrival of Angel di Maria should lift the Reds and if the Argentian makes his debut vs Burnley expect an increased attacking threat from United and Rooney. His Premier League record speaks for itself and he is never far away from the action – it may well be this weekend that United turn the corner and as we are all aware, once they get on a roll, they can be pretty tough to stop.
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Daniel Sturridge (away to Spurs)
The England striker suffered a disappointing night at the Etihad but will be keen to bounce back vs Spurs on Sunday. He did show glimpses of his skill though and was always looking to take on the defenders and shoot on sight and did, of course, provide the cross for Liverpool’s consolation. Despite two clean sheets, the likes of Eric Dier and Danny Rose will learn at the weekend that Premier League football is more than playing QPR and West Ham every week. Liverpool will be looking for an immediate response and with the possibility of Mad Mario up alongside him, those with Sturridge may well be well rewarded this week.
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Gylfi Sigurdsson (home to West Brom)
Siggy has certainly hit the ground running since his return to the Swans and a home fixture vs West Brom should present a great opportunity to continue to please his happy owners. One goal, two assists and three bonus points have seen managers desperately buy him, showing him to be exceptional value even at these levels. Those who have him will be tempted to skipper him, those who don’t will face a nervous 90mins on Saturday afternoon.
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Punt of the Week
Daryl Janmaat (home to Crystal Palace)
While captaining a defender is a risk, a gamble, maybe even a crazy decision, what else do you expect from a “punt”? Janmaat was Newcastle’s most effective attacker in their goal-less draw at Villa last week and facing a Palace side who were humbled at home by West Ham, suggests confidence is low and the inner troubles within the club are starting to affect the players. Given licence to roam down the right flank and not afraid shoot, there is every chance Janmaat can repay a gambler’s faith.
Thanks for reading Captain Picks Fantasy Football Gameweek 3. This article was written by Cookie
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Great article Cookie, thank you!! Lots of great captain choices there. I think I’d go with Ramsey if I were to keep my squad as it is currently. But I’ve got 2 FT and I need to use one of them this week. No major injury concerns for me, although Dzeko didn’t look very good in the last match and has a knock.
So I’m thinking that moving Dzeko on is probably the most sensible move. Could it be as easy as getting rid of him for Jovetic and pocketing the .6 difference? Are there any other strikers for 8.5 or less you guys would consider? Adebayor maybe? Any other ideas on what to do with my transfer(s) this week?
Krull Foster
Terry Pieters Hutton Debuchy Taylor
Siggy Eriksen Ramsey Sterling David Jones
Costa Rooney Dzeko
Who’s David Jones RedVT ?
Yeah, Jovetic would seem a sound move in my opinion. I think he’s about as nailed as a city striker can get at the mo and he took his goals well last night. Could only get 65 mins but I thnk that could be enough.
Ade is another you are right. Not sure about Spurs’ fixture this week although Poteccino seems to have them playing some good stuff, could pay off.
I will throw Bony in for consideration too. Decent fix this week, then Chelsea then a run of 5 very kind fix. We know how dangerous he can be anyway , and he has pens. I think he’s worthy of consideration.
Thanks for the feedback Demise. David Jones is a 4.5 Burnley midfielder who gets forward a lot and takes some corners as well. He doesn’t come off my bench unless there’s an injury, but he almost scored a goal last weekend and has looked decent in the first 2 matches.
Cookie.. Another super effort young man. A few good ideas to be getting in there. thank you for taking the time mate
Lads, need some quick advice on this. I have an ideal WC team in mind, but price rises this GW can make it so that I won’t be able to get this team.
Players I want that could rise:
Lloris
(Naismith)
Dummett
Aguero
Sterling
Ivanovic
Players I have that could drop:
Eriksen
De Gea
Pieters
Cahill
Sturridge
Chambers
Rooney
My question is then: should I WC now? I could take Naismith over Jelavic, but I am skeptical towards his gametime with Eto’o. Ivan is certain in my team. some with Aguero. Also want Fabregas and Sterling.
I want to wait another week before I WC, but is my hand being forced?
That’s a really nice wild card team Tekno.
Just my opinion but personally I wouldn’t wild card yet.
Firstly I think the price rises are slower this season so you don’t need to rush as much to get players in.
Secondly, I would wait until the transfer window is closed.
I would like to see, for example, what is happening up front for Arsenal.
Say Giroud is out for a few months and they buy Remy to replace him, I would like some of that action.
+1
Yep WC team looks good, and its tempting, but it’s wise to wait like horse says.
You never know though… It may be wise to play it now ? No-one really knows when the best time to play it is. I’ve heard many say that they WC’d early and it paid dividends and the same can be said of holding it…
You just have to go with your gut.
Yeah, the price rises are slower, but it seems like many are wildcarding this week, so there’s many transfers going on.
Sturridge, De Gea, and Eriksen have been sold by 20k, Rooney by 37k, Cahill by 13k today.
Naismith has been bought by 140k, Ivan and Fab by 60k, Dummett by 30k, Lloris, Clyne, Aguero, and Sterling by 20k today.
I really want to wait til next week as well, but I will most likely not be able to afford the team I want, so I’ll have to make some downgrades somewhere. Any suggestions as to who that would be?
Worst case scenario my players drop 0.7, best case scenario 0.3-0.5.
Worst case scenario the players rise 0.5 this week, best case scenario 0.2 (don’t count Aguero as I’ll get him anyways).
This means I’ll lose out on 1.2-0.5. Could maybe go with Forster instead of Lloris and Taylor instead of Taylor instead of Clyne? Reckon that would cost me several points in the long run though…
@Tekno.
It is hard to say how the land will lie at the end of the window.
Things will look different and there will be other opportunities.
Personally I save my WC for the end of the season but that did not work out well last season.
If you want to play an early WC GW4 could be a good time as it is the international break and the window is closed. But at the end of the day it is up to you.
The only downgrade I could see is Bertrand in for Clyne saving you the princely sum of 0,1m
Also Tekno.. I’ve heard of and understand, somewhat, price rises forcing an early transfer… But I’ve never come across price rises forcing an wildcard earlier than the player intended.
If you feel it’s the right time to do it, then do it. But if it’s price that you’re worried about and missing out on certain players then I’d maybe take a deep breath and try to sit on my hands. Let’s be honest, we’ve only seen 2 games from each team and I don’t personally think that’s enough to judge properly… None of the top teams, with the exception of City have looked great yet so that will take time to click, and the must haves are likely to come from these teams.
Like you say many have WC’d this week so it may be the best thing to do.. I don’t know.. But don’t do it for the possibility of price changes that may or may not happen.
Tekno,
I’m unsure on specifics but a lot of those transfer stats are wrong. Dier + Naismith are 2 I know for certain where the NTI has been carried over since Saturday.
Albeit, there are a lot of transfers being made, they are not dropping or rising as quickly as you may think.
Good to know Mr Bean. Naismith being bought by 140k today was a little weird. Rooney has been sold by 38k today according to totalfpl, but is only on -11%. That seems strange as well. Only proves that I shouldn’t WC when there’s so much uncertainty involved.
Tekno,
My comment is not intended to give an opinion on the WC situation…I now believe it is impossible to advise somebody on the ‘right time’ to do it.
Was just making sure the ‘stats’ didn’t scare you too much. Much like you, I will be very glad when TFPL sorts itself out…removed Bojan for Vaz Te at 2am to avoid a -120% price drop which didn’t happen.
Just an educated guess:
Lloris and Naismith will rise, Eriksen (and Dea Gea probably) will drop
Dummet is touch and go
The rest are safe for another week, but don’t hold me to it.
I know what you should do
Like I care what a monkey would say :finger:
Tekno – If you’d prefer to wait a week then do so. If push comes to shove and you’re short on funds then Lloris >> 4.5m/5m GK is a handy way to raise money.
Thanks guys. I really dislike making rash decisions, so I’ll stick to the plan and WC next week. I reckon it would be rather noobish of me to “panic” and WC just because of price rises. I could quickly end up wanting new players come next GW, so the best option is to wait til next week.
cheers cookie :beer:
already used my transfer for the week: rooney out for aguero without a hit! (had the money in the bank)
mata and de gea still in the team for united cover, and i didn’t have any from city… so thought this move makes the most sense.
CAPTAIN SERGIO!!!
If you don’t cap him at home to Stoke then you never will !
Good move there Jasprit
Yup. I’ve you’ve got him, (c) him.
*If
Just hope and pray he doesn’t come off per brancard.
thanks demsie!
hopefully this pays off.
because if rooney goes off to hit a goal or two this gw while aguero breaks himself again, i am going to be mighty pissed. 😛
Thanks Cookie! Ramsey for me this week. If only I had Agüero…
Cheers Cookie, I’ve had a plan from the start of the season to get RVP in for this week and I hope it pays off, (c) to RVP.