Captains Picks Fantasy Football Gameweek 11

Captains Picks Fantasy Football Gameweek 11 – Fantasy Premier League 2014/15

Greetings travellers, today we take another step into the world of captain possibilities. We will search the four corners of FPL captaincy – form, fixtures, risk, and luck – in order to bring you the best options out there, so come explore with us. But what type of explorer are you? Magellan – professional and thorough; Columbus – gets completely lost; Marco Polo – it’s all just a big game; or Internet Explorer – boring but gets the job done. Regardless of your style, we have the captain choice for you, and are here to guide you through the tough terrain of being an FPL manager and hopefully see you end up with a mighty score this gameweek, which all starts with selecting the best possible captain to double his points for you. This search can be a treacherous journey, littered with gambles, false hope and the wreckages of vessels of previous GW captains that failed miserably, but we’ll see you safely out the other side. All aboard!

Alexis Sanchez – Swansea Away
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Until recently, Alexis had offered a meagre points return on an expensive investment, but now a fourth double-figure haul this season and third in as many weeks would result in him silencing his critics and truly having the last laugh. You could say he hit the ground walking but has suddenly started sprinting, and he doesn’t look like letting up any time soon. Many dismissed Sanchez’s returns against Sunderland as he was effectively gifted the two goals (although he still had a fair bit to do for the first one), but in a game where Arsenal could have scored six or seven against Burnley it was again the in-form man who put away two of their three goals, including out-muscling two defenders that both have half a foot on him for a header! When he isn’t turning his shorts into hot pants (doesn’t that make him a little Chile?), he is getting into all of the best positions which is why he is able to grab these apparently easy goals. I certainly wouldn’t bet against him continuing to do so away at Swansea, whose three clean sheets at home have all come against easier opposition.

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Sergio Aguero – QPR Away
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[/three_fourth]We couldn’t not recommend the first man to get his goal count into double figures could we? Like Sanchez, the Argie (a middle finger to those in the know!) uses his low centre of gravity well, twisting and turning his way past opponents with ease and often getting a shot off where he had no business doing so. Other than his four goal wonder-haul though, he hasn’t done anything more in a game than offer solitary goals, which explains why that was his only foray into the realm of double digits in terms of FPL points. However, Mr Consistency could easily have had a couple of penalties against United (not including Rojo’s superb clearance from Toure!), and he is expected to deliver against QPR (Quality Players Relegated) where Costa failed last GW. Kun’s apparently a big Lord of the Rings fan, sporting a tattoo in Tolkein elvish on his forearm; owners will be pleased to note that he has also apparently taken Gandalf’s ‘YOU SHALL NOT PASS!’ saying to heart, as the selfish forward has not even a single assist so far in 10 appearances, instead wanting to plunder all of the points for himself.

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Graziano Pelle – Leicester at Home
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Pelle has been imperious since arriving at St Mary’s, and while suffering a slight dip in form points-wise over the past couple of games, his playing form is not to blame as he was unlucky not to score significantly more in both games, and also had a couple of very well taken goals in the recent cup game against Stoke. The oxymoronically lofty Italian also demonstrates just how handy the oft underrated assists can be for the FPL striker, having scored four less league goals than Aguero but sitting just five points behind him in total due to the three assists he’s accrued to Sergio’s none. With two more favourable fixtures before things take a turn for the worse for the Saints, they will certainly be looking to bag six points from them to tide them over until they emerge from the other side of their tough run ahead. If Sunderland was anything to go by, the Foxes could be in for a rough ride, and we could well end up seeing the biggest Leicester burial since Richard III turned up underneath a car park. If so, you can expect Pelle to be at the head of proceedings.

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Wayne Rooney – Crystal Palace at Home
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[/three_fourth]After the red and blue halves of Manchester collided last GW, Rooney was left marooned (applause) as one of United’s few positives from the match. With a tireless work-rate that lifted those around him and prevented what could have been a mauling, he also appeared to play more maturely, suggesting he has been given a word following his sending off and could finally start to emerge as the captain his side needs so badly. In a team that played much better in the second half with a man down, he orchestrated probably their best chance of the game. Looking forward to this GW, the Red Devils entertain Crystal Palace at home in a match where they’ll be looking to bounce straight back. LVG has often alluded to the fact that Rooney is afforded a special privilege as captain, and, besides Di Maria, is the only attacking player that is 100% nailed on. This is in his favour when it comes to considering your captain, as a significant chunk of you were burned with Falcao’s recent 19 minute outing against West Brom. Oh yes, for anyone that expected Shrek jokes in this section, afraid you will be disappointed. Personally don’t get the resemblance anyway; for one thing Shrek never cheated… in order to win a penalty.

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Diafra Sakho – Aston Villa at Home
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This one comes with a warning! Missing the last game with a shoulder injury, it is still unclear as to when Sakho will return (though Big Sam expects him to be back for the weekend), but given his scintillating run of five goals and an assist in the six games prior to that combined with a home fixture against six-losses-in-a-row Aston Villa, we felt that he was worth the risk and gets our final main spot. Now there were some very tough fixtures in there for Villa, but the aggregate of those losses was a resounding 15-1 defeat, and if QPR could take advantage of their low morale and form then West Ham certainly can, and, if declared fit again, you can bet your bottom unit of currency that the man from Senegal will be involved. You can be forgiven for not being aware of him before his arrival, as even Mark Noble had to Google him when he heard he was incoming, but he has seemingly settled in very well and with 21st-century football finally making its way to Upton Park, this Hammer could just nail it.

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Best of the Rest:

Berahino – Another cheap forward in great form. At home to a recently improved Newcastle side that have conceded just once in their last three, Berahino owners should console themselves with the fact that said conceded goal was in the only away game of these three. Players on penalties are always going to be capable of grabbing a big score too.

Costa/Hazard – It would be remiss of us not to feature Costa in this article at all. After being ditched by the hundreds of thousands, he already rose in price again last GW and is still owned by more than half of all players. A little sluggish against QPR, it would have been a big disappointment for those that took the captaincy plunge on him, but a week is a great healer and, provided he doesn’t get injured in the Champions League, he should be back in business against Liverpool. If he’s still too risky for you then consider Hazard, who is already making it clear that he’ll get a good batch of points from penalties alone.

Di Maria – Not featuring higher on this list due to some other fantastic options and also diminished returns in the last few games, he is still a constant nuisance to opposition, and it should be remembered that two of those games were against Chelsea and City, with the majority of the latter played with 10 men. Chances are you don’t have Rooney any more with all of the other great options up front, so if that’s the case but you still fancy a rout of Palace then Di Maria is your man. United fans will just be hoping he doesn’t take any more corners…

Tadic/Mane – Much like Pelle above, the lesser recent returns for Tadic have not been for a lack of trying, and Mane squandered an absolute sitter from him in the last game that would have given both players some points. Not as highly recommended as others on this list, but if you either have none of the above or you fancy stealing a quiet march on your rivals then these are the kind of players you want the armband on.

Downing – The man seems to be reinvigorated in his new role in the hole, helping to pull the attacking strings in a team that is playing some snazzy stuff. Rolling back the years with a couple of goals and four assists in the league alone so far, Downing has exceeded the expectations of many. Much in the same vein as Tadic/Mane, this captain option is not for the faint of heart, but for those of you out there that like a flutter then he fits the bill perfectly. Players often turn up against old clubs too.

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Thanks for reading Captain’s Picks Fantasy Football Gameweek 11. This article was written by Calvin Clyne

Follow @SharpyBoy86

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