Captains Picks Game-week 38

WoW!! This is the end, hard to believe we have gone through the whole season already. Whether you feel your ranking is worthy of celebration or you plan to hide for the summer in shame, I thank you for spending your time with us. It has been a pleasure writing for this site and a bigger one interacting with this ever growing community. FPL can be fun, but can also be a grind, particularly in those bad game-weeks when we feel like flushing our teams down the toilet. It certainly helps to have a whole host of members we can consider friends to help laugh off the frustration of another genius decision gone wrong. I hope that we have helped you along the way and we have made you laugh a little. So Raise your Glass! We have made it to the finish line and now it is time to sit back and relax for the summer after this last game-week….errrr, I have just been notified that there is no rest for the weary. Fantasy World Cup is almost ready to go, so don’t chillax too long and make sure you keep your eyes peeled for our announcement so you can join in on the fun. Anyways onto the Captain picks for this the swan song of our FPL season.

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Luis Suarez/Daniel Sturridge
Tag team back again, S&S one last time to close the curtain together on what has been a fantastic fantasy season for both. They get a visit from the defense-less Toon for this last game. Newcastle had previously lost 7 in a row giving up 17 goals before they beat Cardiff in GW37. In the 4 away games versus top 5 teams they have allowed 13 goals. If that wasn’t enough, we also have to take into account that Liverpool have five wins by a margin of 4 or more goals, which leads EPL. On an individual basis let us start with the one and only Luis Suarez. Please don’t cry me a river, how about just scoring some goals?! It seems the outrageous abundance of points have dried up a little. But this is still the Mad Uruguayan, so he can still go crazy on any given week and I don’t just mean FPL wise. Luis has only missed out on notching an assist or goal in 5 games this season. He has also made the dream team an astonishing 12 times out of the 32 game-weeks that he was eligible. I am sure he will come out all guns blazing in this last game. Because no matter what Rodgers says and many believe, Suarez has been in seemingly more dire situations and not given up hope. (see world cup 2010 Uruguay vs Ghana)

His strike partner Daniel Sturridge has made his way back into the starting line-up and once again he delivered a goal. That makes it 19 goals in 25 starts on top of the 2 goals he has in appearances where he has come off the bench. If Sturridge was healthy all season we could have seen two 30 goal strikers on one team. He looked fresh vs Palace and was probably the one that should have stayed on the pitch when Rodgers decided to sub one of his strikers out. Despite his high ownership (probably a lot of ghost ships) one can presume that many will go for Suarez if they decide to go with a Liverpool player. So he might prove to be a nice differential in a game-week where many will be looking in other directions for their captains.

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Christian Eriksen
The Viking reappears in the Captaincy article. Many dropped him for the likes of Mata or some other DGW mistake in the last week or so. Perhaps that now could prove to be a big error if Eriksen maintains his home form. I know he has struggled to produce in the last couple of games, but a quick glance at the venue could be a clue as to why. In the last 3 home games he has attained 44 points compared to an ok-ish 14 in the last 3 away. You also have to account for Tottenham’s capacity to beat up on teams below them in the table. They have only lost 4 games in 27 fixtures vs said teams, earning 61 out of a possible 81 points. Then there is their opponent this weekend, Aston Villa. In 3 of their last 4 away games the villains have given up 4 goals. They have lost five in a row when leaving their grounds and frankly they have been absolute shit since December. Based on his opponent and his personal home form this daring pick could prove to be one of the safer options in this most unpredictable game-week.

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Yaya Toure/Edin Dzeko
If you owned this duo in this past game-week, Congratulations! These two combined to make a poor week for many into a pleasantly surprising score by the end of the last game. Knocking out 42 points combined, if you were lucky enough to captain one of them than you are looking at either 67 or 59 just from the two alone. The Hammers come in for a visit to the Etihad in what could be a nervy situation for the home side. West Ham are not in the greatest of form, but they can be dangerous on a good day. Their clean sheet vs Spurs this past game broke a string of 10 straight games without one. They have lost 7 of their last 10 and they have nothing left to play for, this last part might be the biggest reason to look at a City player for captain. In 9 games vs top 5 teams they have lost 8 and tied 1 with a goal differential of -15. So it seems this Allardyce led side could be the perfect meal for the goal hungry attack of the Citizens. The “Never embarrassed to take credit for the work of others” poacher Edin Dzeko slotted 4 in this last game-week. He is finally showing the capacity to finish from 2-5 yards out into a virtually open net. Why it may sound like I am being a bit of a jerk with Dzeko, in particular considering his current scoring form, I might note that all he ever needed to be a permanent starter and top scorer in EPL was to learn to push a ball in from 2 yards out. City create the opportunities, all Dzeko has to do is make the correct run and punch it in. One should expect the Bosnian to get his fair amount of chances in front of goal as this game should see City dominate possession. So if you think he can keep it on frame then he might be the man for you.
Yaya Toure had the look of a player who was about to let many managers down by only getting an assist this past double, than he appeared towards the end in all his glory. He notched a second assist for the game-week and a goal in equally spectacular fashion, basically making fools of the whole Villa back line. If we eliminate the Liverpool game where he started, but was removed after 18 minutes, Yaya has 8 goals and 4 assists in his last 9 starts. City as a team have scored 2 or more goals in their last 6 in a row and in 9 of their last 10. A good mate of mine said several months ago that if City were to win the title it would be on the back of Toure. Judging by his recent form and the great chance City have for another title, I would say that my pal is one traditional Yaya master class display from being absolutely right.

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Other Notables:
Robin Van Persie: In 8 of his last 12 starts he has been able to score. Southampton is a team that presses high and just because they have a recent run of clean sheets does not mean they have changed their stripes. The Saints defence is still very capable of putting on a clown show at any moment in any game. Unlikely to be owned by many mangers that are still competing on a weekly basis RVP could be a good bet to score a goal or two if he STARTS.

Harry Kane: He has scored in 3 of 4 starts when we discount his last appearance. Harry was subbed out early for tactical reasons after Spurs were left with 10. Although I could point out that he still scored in that 27 minute stint, even if it was on Lloris. So that’s 4 in 5 then if we want to be technical about it. Kane is a pick for a desperate manager who needs a major punt. Not only is he unlikely to be captained by many…or any, he is unlikely to even be owned by many…or any. So if you want to end your season off in style with the punt of all punts, this could be your choice.

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T.J. I want to give you a special shout out for everything you do for the site. You don’t have to do what you do, but I know we are all thankful you take the time to post line-ups for the community.
Thank You!!!

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What Could Have Been!

I have compiled all the top scorers and the 2nd best score for every game-week on this chart below. In some cases you will see more than two people if there was a tie for one of the top 2 spots. As you glance through it you will have a chance to go down memory lane and remember all your highs and lows. Ohhhh, some of those last second captaincy changes will have left you in ecstasy or with a deep sense of bitterness. So I leave you with the numbers for what could have been the best choices for all the game-weeks and let you reminisce a little. If by looking at it you start to become angry at all the possibilities you missed out on, you are welcome to print it out and wipe your ass with it. 😉

Thanks for reading Captains Picks Game-week 38, this article was written by Mito21

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