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.
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REPLYING TO COMMENT#5:
Little Red Lacazette, Colonial, Bry, Swirls, GentleBenKA, Ivan, AJW..
Cheers guys. I’m OK now. Got a bit carried away. Every word you said was well noted. It’s just that many rookies in my ML are like 100 points ahead of me and I can’t help but sulk in my despair. ANYWAYS, got the point. Thanks guys
Patience is a virtue in FPL! The worst thing to do when you have a few bad GWs is start taking too many hits and make too many changes only to see the new players blanking and the players you sold scoring well… That’s a horrendous downward spiral! Just be patient and you’ll be fine, good times will come soon mate!
It could always get worse as well
:whatever:
10people spent hrs to make him feel better and then came Init :hippo:
We don’t wan’t another “Nin”
Just being realistic
Don’t worry mate I was in the same place as you last night! Hence Init .. ahem I mean Matt’s comments in his intro … im fine too! Onwards and upwards mate!!
You got 12 more points than me and I ain’t sulking! I’d be happy with 54pts!! It’s all so relative! :woot:
Yeah I’m not sulking mate! Was in a foul mood yesterday already ( bad day at work) but it’s all good, got a few days off and enjoying a much needed break!
Nice, enjoy the break mate! I have Thursday/Friday off work now too, drinking mulled wine (it’s a thing in Finland), good times!
Love mulled wine! Got my work Xmas bash tomorrow too so that will be messy and then off to see Madness Saturday so that will be a laugh!
Monday and Tuesday off for me too!
The intro survived… 😉
Can’t believe Hernandez is going up tonight. Might have to do my move tonight
Evening everyone,
Following on from last gameweek, I’ve put the stats table together below for a load of mids and forwards this gameweek, which details their record against the same opposition in the past (in the Premier League only). Players who haven’t played that certain team before (eg. Richarlison v Watford) have been ommitted.
Kane, once again, goes into this with a ridiculous record!
swirly.. thanks a million for this stats table. on the above basis, should i stick the captaincy on kane this week instead of aubameyang?
Difficult to judge because the Auba sample is from one game.
+1
I’d follow your gut on that one (I have no idea myself!)
true that. will decide until the last minute on that 1.
hope things are going well for you swirly.
hows it going innit? did you decide to bring in auba this week?
Plus Auba is at home whereas Kane is away…
Cheers Swirly, really helpful these. What’d be a good addition is what AT also puts on his which is goals for and goals against for both the player’s team and the opposition relative to whether they are home or away that week. So basically an almagimation of both tables.
Yeah, no worries. Have done those tables just to show individual attacking records but can add which goals are home and which are away, as that does have a bearing.
Didn’t quite mean that but it’s also a good point! I meant say this, for example –
Arsenal home goals: 16
Huddersfield conceded away : 16
Very nice table. Making me think twice about sterling vs Kane C
Are you able to mention how many of Kane’s goals were away Vs home?
Historical data doesn’t always mean much but sometimes it can hold a candle as last season I put the C on Aguero and got a nice 50 point boost when he played Newcastle
Cheers for this Swirly. So this table tells me a -8 for Kane isn’t such a bad idea?! 😉
Cheers for this, Swirly. Making me think twice about Sane and Sterling. Only twice though 😉
Sane and Sterling are about the only certainties on my WC #itswreckingmyhead
Just posted my first stab at it below. Dunno if I like it or not 😆
I think they’re both essential, especially while mendy is out.
Haha, I certainly wouldn’t miss out on those two. Even if they don’t do much against Chelsea, they certainly will in games to come!
Your table made me Captain Kane wildcarding in the process. Thank you for that.
Thanks again Swirly for this week’s tip, Captain Kane it is.
AubaWho? was my earlier Captain.
We should have a Swirly’s picks, as a regular article in FF247.
Evening all
Can’t believe I ended up a with a green arrow! How did everyone else get on?
This is currently my team for GW16, I have 1FT & 0.7 ITB, what should I be doing? Initial thoughts was to get rid of Barkley to Fraser but I think I need to plan for the Xmas break and maybe start to free up some more cash.
Evening Mitro. Mixed week, greens in the OR and a red in my ML!
Barkley to someone for sure. Not sure on Fraser though as a double up on them may be overkill bearing in mind their fixtures ahead.
You are still flying mate and are in a very good position for the remainder of the season to have the usual high finish!
Removing Barkley leaves me 6.4 for someone else, I’m happy to take a hit if you can come up with an inspirational move 😉
Snoddy?
Would prefer Anderson but that ain’t a bad shout tbf!
I’d prefer Sane to Anderson too, but the budget has to be stuck too 😉
Hi all. First wildcard side I feel reasonably happy with. I’m concerned about losing Salah, of course, but their fixtures aren’t great. I think Fraser stays at least for the next three matches. The defence rotates nicely, I think! I’ve tried to pick players that are ‘nailed’.
Perez is one I’m not sure on. Do I just go ‘safe’ and use my money in the bank to switch to 3-5-2 and get Felipe Anderson in? If not, how would you spend the remaining £1.1m? Given Martial’s ‘pre-injury’, I’m considering upgrading Lerma to, say, Armstrong just to cover Martial (and probably Perez in the future when he doesn’t play! :D)
I have been pondering Son, although over this busy schedule I think Kane is probably the sensible move.
TIA
I’d take Anderson instead of Lucas, it’s not that hard to make the formation change later on back to 3-4-3 with 2FTs to be frank! Also don’t know about Bellerin but he’s cheap, could be a shrewd pick that one! Otherwise looks very solid indeed!
+1, that 3-5-2 option with Anderson sounds better to me. I also like the Bellerin option, it’s something I’m considering myself as well
The thing with 3-5-2 is the lack of strikers that are cheap but play. Whom can you take at £5m or below? Andone might be worth a punt I suppose.
I just think there are more high scoring mids across a range of prices in midfield compared to striker. Andone could be a good shout, though you’ll have two other subs there as well anyway.
You’ve made me consider him as well, I didn’t actually realize he’s 5.4m until I saw this post, thought he was closer to 6m… 😀
😆 oh, Zed!
Cheers, Zed. No, I wasn’t sure on Bellerin either, but their fixtures are as good as any to get some clean sheets. If not, he can become someone else sharpish!
Yep, Anderson makes sense, I’m just a sucker for trying to be clever 😆
I’m torn between Auba and Lacazette myself.
Bellerin is an interesting one. Their fixtures are great but I’m just not sure I trust their defence.
I’ve had a look at Armstrong myself. I expect Southampton to improve under their new gaffer.
I’ve got Deulofeu to Armstrong written down, but our fixtures are a bit of a mixed bag, 3 top-6 in next 6 (the next 4 are rather good)…
I agree on Bellerin, I just think their fixtures are so good that it’s either now or never with their defence. I’m on Lacazette for funds really. Don’t think much splits them.
Took the -8 on the chin last night, had to move early as I’d have been 0.3 short today. Pretty happy with it and feel the moves will pay me back in a few weeks! On to the next GW!
great squad rosco mate. wish i can afford that but unfortunately cant. ur TV is amazing!
That’s a class looking team, mate!
Looking great!
Thanks guys, Im hoping that TV will give me an advantage in my ML, it gauled me making a -8 but knew if I waited I’d miss out! Next week I’ll address my defence and hopefully start getting some decent scores over Xmas!
That’s a nice team mate!!
I wouldn’t take a -8 on that mate, maybe a -4 and you’ll be reet.
😉
Looking great!!
Wonderful looking team there Rosco – go for it mate – as you indicated ‘reel ’em in’!!!
Good luck to you this (and every other) GW!