Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 18

Welcome to Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 18. Soooooo… how did our esteemed panel fare last week then? Did they smash it out of the park and help everybody massively jump up the ranks? Erm, no, in a word. Let’s just say that between all 5 of them they managed to bring home 34 Captain points. KDB got 38 on his own! But we shall forgive them somewhat as one glance at last week’s Dream Team shows names like Fleck, Traore, Vertonghen and Balbuena.

Let’s move on swiftly then and this week we have Matt, The Gallant Pioneer, Smash and Kop all stepping up to the chopping board.

Matt – Marcus Rashford

Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone!

This is my first time writing on the new format for Captain Picks and what do I do… choose a Man United player! Why did I do that I hear you ask? Well mainly because Liverpool are off in Dubai and not playing West Ham this weekend.

In all seriousness though, once I saw the fixtures, Rashford was the first player that jumped out at me, coming up against Watford. The game may be an away fixture and United have been terrible at these as of late but when I chose Rashers, United had just beaten City away from home after beating Spurs a few days previous. This made me feel a little more comfortable picking a United player. Although, Rashford has just blanked at the weekend against a rejuvenated Everton (seriously why are all Liverpool’s rivals starting to improve?!). Before GW17 though, the 9.0 mil forward had notched up five goals and two assists in the previous five games. That run plus bonus points saw him grab 43 points over that time span. It is making me want to actually sign a United player for the first time this season!

Rashford’s form coming up against Watford’s form is a stark contrast as the Hornets have not won a match since GW12. Since GW12, they have lost four games and drawn once which I don’t see improving against United… maybe a draw but hopefully a high scoring draw! Watford do have a new manager but only an interim one (aren’t all of Watford’s!) and they rarely work out…. right Freddie?

Well, I am off to possibly force myself into buying a United player and then drown myself in beer!

The Gallant Pioneer – Raul Jimenez

In his last ten FPL outings, Raul Jimenez has scores of 10,7,2,9,9,7,5,2,5,5 which equates to an average of 6.1 points per match. If you look up “consistency” in the dictionary, there will be a picture of this guy.

Wolves this week play Norwich away which is the most legitimate excuse they have to wear their All Black away strip. On current form, I expect the Jonah Lumu-like Adama Traore to continue to bulldoze down the right wing just like the late great winger did in his day and feed Jimenez to the tune of a goal or two. No need to panic however if the Number 9 doesn’t find the net as he is equally adept at helping others – he already has 5 assists in the league AND two in the Europa League – including setting up the aforementioned Traore for two goals in the 2-0 victory at the Etihad in October. For the season overall the ex-Benfica striker has 6 goals, five assists and fourteen bonus points so far. Add to this his five goal involvements in the Europa League then it is clear how pivotal he is to how Wolves do. The striker should be keen given the fixture, to fire Wolves to the three points as they look to keep in touch with the Europa League place qualifying position, which they sit just two points away from after 17 games. With a Round of 32 tie with Espanyol to come which doesn’t take place until February and elimination already from the League Cup, the Molineux men can turn 100% attention to league matters for the next half dozen gameweeks.

Opponents Norwich have won only two home games this season and have conceded 20 goals at home – the worst after Southampton which comes with the caveat that the Saints lost 9 of those in one match which kind of skews the stats. Ultimately, Norwich are (at best) the second worst team at home so far this season. Wolves are stodgy on the road and only Sheffield United and leaders Liverpool have a better loss record away from home.

Get on both the Christmas Sherry and the Mexican!

Smash – Raheem Sterling

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

They have allowed me to write this probably to tell you all who not to pick as captain. Well yes I usually pick a great VC which is not exactly what it’s all about but here goes. No pressure right… I hear you want to climb the ranks, you might be bored of Jamie Vardy and yes you can’t captain Salah or Mane because they are not even playing this week. I present Raheem Sterling who may even be a bit of a differential this GW. Well, 24% owned which is his lowest ownership all season. What better way to climb your mini leagues than backing a premium player with pedigree who won’t be highly captained!

Sterling is the main man for the highest scoring team in the league. Manchester City have scored 47 goals in just 17 matches this season. Yeah he’s been sold in his droves for Spurs assets but he still has more points than the likes of Alli and Son. Sterling has 9 premier league goals this season which is as many as Mane and Salah. Yes he’s had his goal drought recently but after scoring at Arsenal last time he will be full of confidence and could it now be his time for big points.

I hear you shouting Sterling? He’s playing Leicester they are in form and have the most clean sheets in the league. 22 goals in 8 home games suggests Leicester will be unlikely to keep City out. Leicester also tend to attack teams, which may make it an open game full of goals (cue a 0-0 draw). With 5 penalty box touches against Arsenal Sterling is in the right place to score those goals. That’s more than any other City player. For anyone that likes the expected goal stat, Sterling for the season has the highest with 13.7 which suggests he’s been underperforming! If that’s still not enough Mo Salah is the only midfielder to have had more shots than him this season.

Kop – Jamie Vardy

At the start of the season if I’d suggested captaining a Leicester player against Manchester City you’d have laughed at me. Some of you may still think it’s somewhat risky but before we look at Vardy’s merits let’s take a quick look at the options as espoused by my learned colleagues…

Marcus Rashford – I don’t necessarily have an issue with Rashford, it’s really United I have the issue with. They’ve morphed into a team who seem to only play well against the better teams. They were excellent against Spurs and City but those games were sandwiched between games against Villa & Everton, games in which United struggled. Watford performed better than expected at Anfield on Saturday and I expect them to make it difficult for United & Rashford this weekend.

Raul Jimenez – Hmmm…granted, his returns are consistent but they’re nothing to get excited by. Only once has he hit double figures this season and that was back in GW10.

Raheem Sterling – Just two goals in his last seven games is hardly capo material! City won’t have it easy against a Leicester team who have only conceded six goals in eight away games this season.

Now onto the party starter. With 16 goals to date, he leads the race for the golden boot by five goals. 11 of these goals have come in his last nine games. He has hit double figures on six occasions. Over his last 10 games he is averaging 8.9pts, which is significantly better than 6.1pts. Playing away from home isn’t an issue for Vardy as his 16 goals are split equally home & away. Need I go on? Ok so. City are not the defensive unit they were last season, keeping just three clean sheets from eight games at the Emptyhad. With Liverpool away on their jollies Leicester will be eager to cut the gap at the top. I could go on further but I’ll finish up and leave the final word to ‘Pink’…

Get this party started on a Saturday night
Everybody’s waitin’ for me to arrive
Sendin’ out the message to all of my friends
We’ll be lookin’ flashy in my Mercedes Benz
I got lotsa style, got my gold diamond rings
I can go for miles if you know what I mean
I’m comin’ up so you better you better get this party started
I’m comin’ up so you better you better get this party started

Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 18. This article was written by Matt, GP, Smash and Kop.

Follow @MattyMcVeigh
Follow @MitchellC_FF247
Follow @Chrismartin1984
Follow @KenLyons79

FPL FIXTURE TRACKER

FIXTURE TRACKER LINK

FIXTURE TRACKER 2019/20