Captains Picks Fantasy Football Gameweek 34 – Fantasy Premier League 2014/15
Midnight, Monday April 20th. That was the deadline to register to vote for this year’s UK general election. May 7th will afford the disenchanted millions the glorious choice of choosing which corporation-funded puppet will drag a great nation further into the ecological, economic abyss; screaming promises of change from the rooftops while scheming furtively to maintain the wealthy elite’s capitalist status quo. People need a vote that counts… right? (“Right!”) A vote that affects them personally… right? (“RIGHT!”) Well, tear up that ballot paper; kick over that polling booth and cast your eyes over this week’s list of captain candidates. Your team needs YOU. *Drops mic*
DGW34 Fixures
Saturday 25th April
Southampton v Spurs 12:45pm
Burnley v Leicester 3pm
Crystal Palace v Hull 3pm
Newcastle v Swansea 3pm
QPR v West Ham 3pm
Stoke v Sunderland 3pm
West Brom v Liverpool 3pm
Man City v Aston Villa 5:30pm
Sunday 26th April
Everton v Man Utd. 1:30pm
Arsenal v Chelsea 4pm
Tuesday 28th April
Hull v Liverpool 7:45pm
Wednesday 29th April
Leicester v Chelsea 7:45pm
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[/three_fourth]5. Jamie Vardy – BUR (a), CHE (h)
Surprisingly this is the only bona fide striker in this top 5 and, even more surprisingly, from Leicester City. Don’t be too shocked. The Foxes have gone from being the hunted to the hunters in recent weeks, and their attacking stats show them to be quite the ravenous pack. Over the past 4 games Leicester lead the scoring charts with 10 goals, and are second only to Man City in goal attempts (64) and shots on target (22). So where does our boy Jamie fit in to all of this? 2 goals, 2 assists and 4 BPS, that’s where. An average of 6.5 FPL points per game over the past month even includes his dip against Swansea last week. It may feel strange to captain a bargain basement forward valued under 5m, but if his team continue in their current vein then the points will be vindication aplenty.
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[/three_fourth]4. Branislav Ivanovic – ARS (a), LEI (a)
It’s odd to see a defender grace these articles, even in a DGW. Attacking full-backs are only ever on the precipice of being fully-fledged captaincy material, due to the risky ‘boom or bust’ nature of their points scoring outweighing their tempting one-off potential. Over two games, however, the odds tilt further towards them bagging that cherished clean sheet/assist/goal combo. On only 3 occasions in the past 12 gameweeks has Ivanovic registered a sub 5 score thanks to his 6 clean sheets, 3 assists and 2 goals during that period. Yes, it’s still a risk when stacked up against more familiar candidates, but if there was ever a time to give the surly Serb the armband, it’s now.
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[/three_fourth]3. Philipe Coutinho – WBA (a), HUL (a)
A player whose stock continues to rise with the Kop faithful is the PFA Player of the Year nominee from Rio De Janeiro. He’s been keeping much of his effervescent best for the FA Cup so far, but that won’t be a problem anymore. On top of his 2 recent FA Cup goals, it should be noted that he’s been Man of the Match more times this season than any of his teammates. He’s been player of the month three times, and he hasn’t missed a single minute of the Premier League since coming off for Sturridge in February 7th’s Merseyside derby. His exploits haven’t quite translated to stellar FPL returns thus far, but he’s clocked double figures 4 times and anyone who’s seen him play recently will appreciate that this DGW could be a bumper one for the Brazilian.
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[/three_fourth]2. Raheem Sterling – WBA (a), HUL (a)
A fit and firing Daniel Sturridge would have comfortably led the Liverpool polls this week, but his persistent absence has at least added a certain ‘OOP’ value to the team’s midfielders, who’ve been given greater attacking license to compensate. Sterling didn’t look at his smoking best at Wembley last Sunday, but at least he was high up the pitch. A lean March tested the resolve of those who still had him, but April has proved more fruitful with games against Arsenal and Newcastle bearing 13 points. And don’t be discouraged by Liverpool’s two upcoming games being on the road. Sterling has scored more goals (4) and accrued more BPS (9) away from Anfield despite playing fewer away games! He’s also the highest ranked English player in this list so UKIP voters might want to stop reading at this point.
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[/three_fourth]1. Eden Hazard – ARS (a), LEI (a)
Oh come on. Did you really think it was going to be Andrew Robertson? Alas, a full house of DGW players this week and not one Tiger to be seen. Sorry, Hull fans. With Costa and Remy locked in a perpetual ‘will they/won’t they be fit’ tango, and Drogba serving his team best when he gets out of their way; the Chelsea go-to player becomes, yet again, Hazard. While it wasn’t quite the shoe-in for no.1 pick that most might be thinking (Liverpool’s favourable fixtures pushed Raheem and Philipe close) the Belgian is indisputably the most reliable choice, irrespective of opposition. For those perturbed by the Blues’ first fixture, be reminded of his 11 points in their reverse encounter with the Gunners. With an average of nearly 10 PPG over 4 games, it’s fair to say that most will be opting for Eden, so languishing FPL managers wishing to go double or quits should gamble elsewhere.
Chelsea, Leicester, Liverpool or Hull. Blue, red, or amber. Be conservative or be liberal, just labour the point no more*. Vote now.
*Other parties are available.
Thanks for reading Captain’s Picks Fantasy Football Gameweek 34. This article was written by Bryan Munich
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WooFBet
We would like to remind you that our official partners, WooFBet, are again running a whole host of prize competitions for DGW34, which will please many of you who are slowly building a lovely retirement nest egg, while others continue to persevere in the hope that this week will be their week! If you haven’t done so yet we recommend you get yourselves over to WooFBet.com as this week they have over €300 in free entry prizes and a whopping €1,850 in guaranteed pots. You also have the option to create your own tournaments and head-to-head challenges. Choose your rules and buy-in fee, and invite friends or leave it open for the public to challenge you.
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Don’t forget to vote in this week’s Captain Poll
[polldaddy poll=8519167]
Need a recommendation. Between the following 4, which 2 would you choose – Silva, Fabregas, Murray and Vardy. Has to be one mid and one forward.
Already have Mata, Hazard, Sterling in mid and Aguero, Kane up front.
one week punt: Fab & Murray
on longer term: Silva & Vardy
Hey MayAr I would do Fab & Vardy
Should have mentioned, also thinking about Krul to Mignolet but if I do 3 transfers it’s a -4 hit.
MayAr don’t worry about taking 4 point hit most will this GW can you not fit Srktel in
Not with all the other transfers I’m thinking I can’t.
Does anyone know if Lovren is likely to be a regular starter for Liverpool till the end of the season? Looking to replace Alderweireld, but can’t afford Skrtel. Cheers
actually, i’ve put him in yesterday.. now it seems he is replacing the injured Sakho, so for a couple of GWs he will be starter
oK, opinions please;
1. Cazola and Eriksen to Henderson and Sterling
2. Silva and Ward Prowse to Henderson and Sterling
Captain D
I’d keep Silva where he is mate. I like the sound of the first option better.
Yeh Silva stays for me
U think -12 in transfers this week worth it or bit of a risk?
shanec
I think it is a bit of a risk yeah. I’m planning on going -8 I think and even at that I’m a bit wary.
Hey gallant just got defensive issues.
shanec
Sanchez to Fabregas and Naughton to Lovren/Moreno?
Double Liverpool could pay off even with just one clean sheet!
Is Sanchez worth keeping?
Nothing wrong with hits in a double week as a -4 works out as a -2.
Even better if you are replacing an injured player as the -4 pays for itself if your new player plays twice.
@shane: you could keep Sanchez. But solving your defensive error and managing a -4 hit can be accomplished with Fab and Lovren/Moreno… You get 2 DGW who will make you the extra 4 points.
Is double Liverpool a good idea tho? Already have skrtel.
Hi shane, if I had to double on any this week it’d be them. West Brom and Hull aren’t great at scoring in the main! I’m actually envisaging something similar to the recent Swansea game away from Liverpool.
U think -12 worth it ?
As for the -12 I agree totally with Hans here. I’d view that as a -6 in effect. Feels big but it’s not really.
To prove the point I’ve decided on this also for a -12! Allows funds for Giroud, Sanchez and maybe Ramsey ahead of 37. Also means ditching Kane but it’s been carefully considered. My previous attempts meant just 6 x DGW’ers and no prospect of Sanchez without hits. Figure I may as well take them now for players who play twice and allow the flexibility later on.
Cheers for another great article Bry! No bravery here… Haz for Prez!! … I mean Cap’n.
same here Coriles, no bravery from me :]