Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 16
Welcome to Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 16. Much like the other day with AT, you only have me in this shortened gameweek (other than the Site Team) and again like the other day I’ll only be looking at who we should give the armband to. That may not be what you readers necessarily want but it is the most important question at this, or indeed any time of the season.
We are rounding the corner into silly season and that means rotation, rotation, rotation and the biggest worry we all have is that our ‘primary’ captain is suddenly rested. And in some extreme cases, as evidenced in this past midweek, the back-up one is too! You can either man (or indeed woman) up or cry off home with your ball like Rosco. Every line-up matters now but I am sure we will all get stung at some point. The midweek games will hopefully be a sort of guideline as to who will play this weekend, but they are only that, a guideline. I will give you my main options for the armband but just because I’m nice I’ll stick in another back-up choice or two just in case the main options are given a break.
Salah vs Bournemouth (A)
BURNLEY, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 05: Mohamed Salah of Liverpool and Roberto Firmino of Liverpool looks on from the bench during the Premier League match between Burnley FC and Liverpool FC at Turf Moor on December 5, 2018 in Burnley, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Now if you don’t fancy Salah for the armband then my back-up option would be the oddly shaped, Xherdan Shaqiri. The little Swiss did start against Burnley and got yet another goal so I’d expect him to continue to start at the weekend and if he does I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the scoresheet again. He has been great for Liverpool this season; he has got 3 goals and 2 assists in 11 games, but it is also all the other work he does that you only realise when watching him. If he was playing with the Bobby, Salah and Mane from last season his tally would be even higher right now. Well, ok, you probably won’t captain him but the worst you could do would be to pick him up as a punt this week, that’d by my ‘Tip’. Listen… I’m trying to cover for 3 articles here, so lay off ok!
Aubameyang vs Huddersfield (H)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 05: Shkodran Mustafi of Arsenal celebrates with team mates after scoring their team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Arsenal FC at Old Trafford on December 5, 2018 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Now I think PEA is relatively safe in the line-up but if you feel otherwise the next best option for points who has an attacking threat is Lacazette. Which may be an odd one given that he hasn’t actually started the last two games but he has come on as a sub in both, and got points in both. Much as Auba was doing himself before he suddenly started a few and suddenly became flavour of the month. I’d fully expect Laca to be restored to the starting line-up for this one and as per Auba… it’s Huddersfield… at home.
Kane vs Leicester (A)
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 05: Harry Kane scores his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton FC at Wembley Stadium on December 5, 2018 . (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
If you are really stubborn, or just adamant that you do not want to bring in the Spurs striker, or simply cash strapped, than I would recommend Eriksen just for guaranteed minutes. He does not seem to be on every set piece anymore, but the great Dane is one of the best midfielders in the league and like Kane he will only profit from the upturn in fixtures.
Matt’s 3 Punts…
Richarlison v Watford (H)
Talking of flavour of the month players it wasn’t so long ago that Richarlison was a must have, much like Auba, albeit for a week also! Funny what a brace does to FPL manager’s sensibilities. He is however proving somewhat durable after another goal in midweek put him on 7 for the season and this week sees another home game, this time against Watford, which looks favourable for yet more returns. And don’t be put off by his return to the wing position in midweek, this may actually be beneficial as this is where he has scored the majority of his PL goals from after all. Sometimes it’s better not to be the actual centre of attention in order to actually become so.
Paterson vs Southampton (H)
The reason I’ve gone with Paterson here is twofold. And no, one is not insanity… One, Cardiff are on a bit of a run right now and are winning a few games at home. Two, they are playing SOUTHAMPTON! That should be reason enough to get Paterson in and stick the armband on him, but I suppose I should try and entice you a little more. Paterson has gone 3 games without scoring but in the four games before that he 3 scored goals and an assist so coming up against a struggling side that couldn’t even beat United ( 😉 ) Paterson should have no trouble. Cardiff have been keeping things tight in the last few weeks ignoring their most recent game against West Ham so Paterson and co. shouldn’t have to defend too much and it will give the midfielder / come OOP striker more chances to produce.
Raheem Sterling vs Chelsea (A)
Had this been at home young Raheem would probably be front and centre in the main section but City do tend to be a tad more conservative in their away games. It is all relative though and by conservative we mean only being the 3rd highest scorers away from home as opposed to being the highest at it, by some distance. Chelsea are looking like they have hit a sticky patch which is not the thing you want to be doing just as City are rolling up. In theory this should be a tight game, in reality it may be another cakewalk for Pep’s men.
Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 16. This article was written by MattX.
FPL FIXTURE TRACKER
FIXTURE TRACKER LINK
Vote on our Captain Poll Now
Welcome to our Fantasy Football leagues section.
The League Codes for FF247 for the 2018/19 season are as follows –
The main public FF247 League is sponsored by Starting 11, which anyone is welcome to join, can be accessed using the following code 1581-751 (auto-link below).
The prize pool for this is £250.
Join Our League – Quick Link
League Code: 1581-751
View league standings
Our Regulars League* for 2018/19 is now open and has a cash prize pool of £300 paid directly to the winners from the FF247 management team. The first 5 places are paid out in a tiered system.
To enter this one you need to be an active and recognised site member and you need to e-mail us for the league code – elleffcee@gmail.com
*terms and conditions apply and are available upon request. Management reserve the right to review membership of this league on an ongoing basis. If you enter and win a prize you have to have commented on the site at least 5 times for 8 consecutive months between August 2018 and March 2019 or you will not be considered for a prize. That’s basically 1 comment a week all season, we think that’s a reasonable ask to be considered a ‘regular’.
In your e-mail could you please supply:-
Your name.
Your site user name.
Your team name from last season and your new team name if it has changed,
Thanks to our friends Follow @ff_surgery and please give them a follow.
Evening all!
Like many FPL managers my team is full of injury and rotation doubts for this week, which makes settling on this GW’s transfers pretty hard! I’m thinking of swapping Arnie for Wilson, but I already have Bournemouth coverage in the form of Fraser and their fixtures are not that great, so alternately I could take a punt on Chicharito, who should start in Arnie’s absence, has excellent fixtures and very low ownership. What would you advise me to do?
Thanks!
I’m thinking of Chic myself (makes me want to hear Good Times, typing that). The low ownership thing is nice but is not my guiding spirit, here. It’s more is he nailed on to play. It would be awful to see Andy Carroll lumber out, though I suppose he’d be subbed off injured soon enough.
I’ve thought about Wilson. Like you I have Fraser. And probably like you if I had Wilson I wouldn’t drop him, yet buying him in doesn’t seem the wisest of moves. I don’t know.
Anyone considering Perez? Martin Keown seems to rate him.
I am. It’s a punt.
I was, but i don’t know if it’s too risky. None of their strikers has consistent minutes except Arnautovic, so think it’s quite hard to know which one(s) will make the cut
My gut says Chicarito is the most nailed on of the West Ham strikers currently. I’m not sure if anyone can back that up with something more trustworthy than my gut?
Your bowels?
Chic has a lot more minutes played than Lucas. But I think it’s mainly gut. For me, this is Perez’s chance – and I have a feeling he’s going to take it.
Is this worth a -8?
Mane to Felipe Anderson
Arnie to Kane
Alonso to Balbuena
I wouldn’t do it for a -8 personally. I’m quite cautious though.
Evening all
So what to do with these sorry lot? Last week I think I made a mistake, did Roberson – TAA so I could afford Aguero – Kane. It’s now looking like Mane won’t play this weekend, should I be using my FT on replacing him?
I want to hold onto my WC for at least one more GW so I can make a clearer plan.
Cheers,
1 FT £0.1 ITB
If you’re going to wildcard next week then replace Mane with whichever mid you think will yield the most points this. You could take a wild punt on a Man U mid; or play it more coolly with Sane. I’m sure you’ll have better ideas than those, but you get my drift.
I’d tidy up the definite injury first.
Arnautovic to Chicarito, Wilson or Murray (if he’s fine).
Cheers guys, reading a few comments I’m swearing to Chicarito.
*leaning, I would never swear at a professional footballer….honest.
I have done. Plenty of times!
As everybody is showing theirs,i’ll show mine ! Trent,Digne and Doherty will play most weeks.Schindler will cover Dignes dodgy fixtures in a couple of weeks.Messed around with 3rd striker quite a bit,though Wilson seems fixture proof.Could be Jiminez instead though ? Any thoughts ?
Love it. Front three is lit mate.
Cheers Gp.One of my biggest mistakes of the season was choosing Mitro over Wilson many weeks ago.The guy is in the form of his life !
I like it. Jimenez has been burning me since I took him out, so wouldn’t deter you from having him!
It is lightweight at the back, although they do rotate well.
Curious, as you are a town fan, what made you pick Schindler over Zanka? I got the impression both should start and Zanka is a bigger goal threat. Might be wrong though. Schindler is probably ‘more nailed’, if there is such a thing!
Cheers.I think Schindler is a bigger goal threat from set pieces and seems to attract the bp’s.He’s also slightly more nailed in my opinion and just a better defender.
Fair enough. Good to get your insight on it. Cheers!
Evening all! Already used my FT for Arnie to Jimenez. Should I take a -4 and switch Mane out or just ride it out?
Ride it out if I were you.
Anything to worry about for this weekend? Hopefully Robbo plays, but I bet Martial gets a rest?
Transferred in Auba, but maybe so should have done Kane? Gulp.
Plenty of sub cover so looks all set for the weekend. Kane will always be a danger but Auba is outscoring him this season and has great fixtures so I wouldn’t sweat that too much.
There have been some murmurings that Auba may not start, having put in long shifts twice this week. He’s been good off the bench in the past, however. So go for a strong vice-captain. Martial’s a good choice, provided he gets a clean bill of health.