Captain Picks Game-week 27 – FPL Fantasy Football Premier League

After Liverpool’s demolition of Arsenal in GW25 we were all expecting them to rip Fulham a new one in GW26. Whilst the floodgates did not quite open to the extent that we all thought they would, Daniel Sturridge still managed to grab himself a goal, two assists and the full three bonus points for a total captaincy haul of 30 points to reward those who were brave enough to pick him over team-mate Luis Suarez. That little contest may well be the key to a satisfactory GW27 for many a manger again this week as Liverpool host Swansea. Elsewhere, Emmanuel Adebayor travels to a very much under pressure Norwich team, Man City are at home which is usually enough said while RvP gets a go at an increasingly frugal Palace rearguard. Let’s take a look at the main Captains options this week.

Daniel Sturridge
Let us start with last week’s Premier League hero turned FA Cup villain. As we said Sturridge was very much the man of GW26 but he then went to the Emirates and had a bit of a stinker by his own very high standards. He missed a few chances and was left sat on the turf with his head in hands at the end having been dumped out of the cup. How this will affect him we may well find out this weekend. He has not really had any such set-backs at all in his Liverpool career to date and so it will be interesting to see if his confidence has taken a knock.
Liverpool host a fellow FA Cup exitee in Swansea this week. The way the Reds have recently swept aside much tougher opposition in the form of Everton and Arsenal at Anfield we would expect that Swansea might not know what has hit them this weekend if they go at them with the same ferocity as they have done in recent weeks. Liverpool are left with only one aim this season now which is the league so expect them to be at it from the start and assuming Sturridge is not affected then we think he could be in for another monster haul this week.

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Luis Suarez
We pondered last week just where Suarez’s goals and subsequent fantasy points had disappeared to and concluded that fellow striker Sturridge was swallowing them up with relish. GW26 appeared to be no different with the fantasy captain score showing 30 vs 4 points in favour of the dancer. Anyone who saw the game however would tell you this was not really a true reflection of how things went on the night. Suarez was his ever industrious self and but for the woodwork and a magnificent save from Stekelenburg he could have easily matched Sturridge’s haul.
The main concern with Suarez at the moment seems to be a slight shift in his position to wider out on the right but at home to Swansea we don’t expect this will be as rigid a Liverpool formation as it perhaps is away from home and we expect Suarez will have plenty of chances to get himself back on the score sheet this weekend. He is not the overall leading fantasy points scorer for nothing you know!

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Emmanuel Adebayor
Five goals in his last five PL matches has seen Adebayor rediscover the form that prompted Monaco, then Arsenal, then City, then Madrid and finally (for now) Tottenham to pay up for his services. In a team that has been transformed from boring and dull with over-expectant fans under AvB, to free-flowing, attacking with errrr over-expectant fans under Tim Sherwood, Adebayor has become the side’s main striker, shrugging off the competition of Roberto Soldado and Jermain Defoe. The visit to Norwich may not be as straightforward as it looks on paper, for despite the Canaries facing a relegation battle, they have kept clean sheets in each of their last three home matches. But with more pressure being thrown upon Chris Hughton this week and the return to full match fitness of Andros Townsend, we would expect Adebayor to receive and create a few chances – and he has shown in the last few weeks that he is back to his best form.

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Robin van Persie
RvP away to Palace – guaranteed Capo choice surely? Well, yes in days gone by, without doubt. But United’s era of dominance is over for now and they are not in any way the force they were. The team isn’t firing, the arrival of Juan Mata has lost some of its spark as he is being played out wide, but RvP is RvP and three goals in four games since his comeback speaks for itself – in fact it should have been four or five goals except for an inspired performance from Wojciech Szcesny at the Emirates last week. Expect the Dutchman to score at Selhurst Park, despite Palace’s decent record at home since Tony Pulis arrived.

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City Strikers
If you hold one, whether it is Edin Dzeko, Alvaro Negredo or Stevan Jovetic, they may just turn out to be an inspired choice. City at home in the league have been imperious, but the last fortnight has shown they are at least human. Losses at home to Chelsea and Barcelona are hardly shameful, though the scoreless draw at Norwich was a match they could have lost – they did at least show fine form in the Cup win at home to Chelsea and expect the Sky Blues to get their title bid back on track this weekend. Stoke haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last ten matches and the continued absence of Robert Huth will hardly help their cause. Admittedly, the fitness of the strikers has been questionable of late, with both Dzeko & Negredo playing when they perhaps needed a rest, while Jovetic is still finding his feet in the Premier League. The return of Samir Nasri should add some creativity to the City midfield – expect a reaction, expect chances, expect goals – fingers crossed it’s your City striker that benefits!

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Other notable mentions:

Eden Hazard
Chelsea’s player of the season so far has recently said he wishes to become as good as Messi & Ronaldo. Well, if he can produce the form of his last match at Stamford Bridge, the plaudits will be all over him – a hat-trick vs Newcastle was as imperious as it gets and despite a disappointing draw at WBA last time out, Hazard was still their main threat. Five of Hazard’s double-digit returns this season have come at home and with Everton keeping just one clean sheet in eleven matches, we would expect the Belgian to be the big danger again.

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Olivier Giroud
With Arsenal’s fixtures as tricky as they get right now, Wenger will be desperate for three points at home to Sunderland. But to do so, they will be looking for their French striker Olivier Giroud to regain his top form – well, any form really. He hasn’t scored at the Emirates since mid- November and if recent press reports are true, he clearly finds it easier playing away from home. Though this could be a tight affair, especially bearing in mind Arsenal played Liverpool last weekend and Bayern Munich on Wednesday, there are likely to be goals and Wenger will hope Giroud can replicate his scoring form off the pitch to on it.

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Thank you for reading Captain’s Picks, this article was written by Inittowinit & Cookie

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