Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 19

Welcome to Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 19

It’s now the final countdown to Christmas and then, once all the presents have been opened, all the presents have been unwrapped, all the food has been eaten, those chairs have been returned to the shed and Uncle Knobhead has finally got out the house, we have the Boxing Day fixtures!

I’ve dashed into FF247 towers to put together this article, a quiet place right now. Cookie is still making sure to avoid the in-laws over this time of year, whilst Rosco was last spotted in the wine shop, also buying shares in Veuve Clicquot. Matt, meanwhile, is still on the phone to Eircom to get his internet connection back online and take advantage of Amazon Prime’s next day delivery for belated Christmas shopping, as AT is contemplating which dire Huddersfield away game he should go to whilst it’s cold and rainy and Inittowinit is busy researching which of his beloved Everton players could now actually become FPL prospects for the first time this season. Happy birthday for Christmas Eve, by the way, big man! He may not be in the office, but it looks like Smash is actually in the UK for a change, after some incredible travels around the world, whilst Kop continues to look at the Premier League table in disbelief as he tries to forget the bad old days for Liverpool.

As for Mito and Guy, all has been quiet from that side of the Atlantic due, no doubt, to a Thanksgiving full of celebration and well-deserved rest. Celebrating is also what Elleffcee will be doing once all the Christmas presents have been safely ‘acquired’ and I’m sure DMC will find some time to do similar, celebrate that is, once he gets to finish all of the sums required for managing Harry and Lloyd. Same for Rich, as he deals with the coding for this website, something no doubt enough to make a grown man cry. Jamesimmo, meanwhile, is still biding his time on replying to the group chat as he continues to live the student life and undertake questionable model shoots for his Facebook profile picture, while GP is back at home, still brimming with pride after his daughter collected 23 shoes boxes for a local charity appeal in time for Christmas.

And why have I taken time to mention each person? Well, as I’m sure you gather through talking to them on the boards or reading their articles, this is a great bunch of people and I’m very fortunate to call them both colleagues and friends, as I raise my glass.

So, let’s enjoy another Christmas special from me on a set of fixtures that are the reverse of Gameweek 8, before I leave this very empty-looking office.

5. Kevin De Bruyne (Wolves away)

To the tune of Dean Martin – Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!:

Oh, the Belgian knows how to play football
And ain’t afraid of scoring
Since he’s in a fair few teams,
KDB, KDB, KDB

The last time Man City faced Wolves, it ended in a 2-0 defeat – a result that put a big dent into their league winning chances and also killed off a number of accumulators at the same time. Interestingly, my captain pick in the shape of Kevin De Bruyne didn’t play in that game, just as he didn’t start in the 3-2 loss against Norwich either. Considering the lads in sky blue have lost two other games, you can’t attribute their zero-pointers to not having the Belgian in their team, however he has certainly helped out this season.

To date, the star of Rosco’s Home Alone poster has six goals and 12 assists, more at this time of the year than any of the last five he has been a Man City player, so it’s fair to say he’s enjoying himself at the moment. Only two more goals and nine more set ups between now and the end of Gameweek 38 are needed to surpass his record in a single season for the club.

4. Jamie Vardy (Liverpool at home)

To the tune of Shakin’ Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone:

We’re gonna have a Vardy tonight,
I’m gonna find that goal
Underneath those bright floodlights
And get those needed points.

Jamie Vardy’s party may have had Tim Krul at the decks as the Gameweek 17 goal came off the Norwich goalkeeper, but, had that actually been the party man’s score, it would have become his ninth in a row. Memories of that Premier League-winning season could have been coming back again, where he found the back of the net 11 consecutive times. Alas, it wasn’t to be, however there are still 20 games left this season and the match against Man City also found him on the scoresheet once again, picking up three bonus points whilst he was at it – something very welcome to those who had either purposefully or accidentally kept him as their captain. Vardy’s opposition this gameweek, Liverpool, won’t be a walkover – especially as the Foxes go into it having not managed to beat them in the Premier League in five successive meetings.

But, before you start wondering why I am therefore recommending him, we are talking about a different Leicester side since Brendan Rodgers came to the helm, as the manager’s relationship with the striker has shown itself to produce many rewards for the fans. Indeed, the husband to the Wagatha Christie villain has scored seven in 10 against the Reds, as only Arsenal have conceded more from him. Liverpool, themselves, have a more porous defence than this time last year, too.

3. Marcus Rashford (Newcastle at home)

To the tune of Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody:

Will you score any goals against Newcastle?
It’s the time that every forward has a ball
Does he leave a red-faced ‘keeper?
Will he find the back of the net?
Will Dubravka wish they’d never even met?

So here it is, Marcus Rashford
He’s just getting all the points
Could be a captain choice
You definitely could rejoi-oo-oice!

Similar to Leicester, Man United came out of the reverse tie in Gameweek 8 with a defeat, as they went down to a single Matty Longstaff goal in what ended up as a run of four games without a win. Fast forward to now and we’re looking at a Magpies side who defeated Crystal Palace at home, having lost against Burnley, beaten Southampton and Sheffield United and drawn 2-2 versus Man City. Oh and that followed a loss against Aston Villa.

So, goodness knows what kind of performance the team will put in but, when you factor in the fact they’re playing against a Red Devils side that went a run of being unbeaten in six before the 2-0 loss against Watford, you could still fancy the home side. Marcus Rashford is more “behind the wheel” on that front, as he has amassed 105 points, the third highest total of any forward, since August. That’s thanks to 10 goals and five assists – only two set ups away from his best season tally – and there’s plenty of time to beat that. Indeed, it could be as soon as this week that he does that, having already found the back of the net once and provided for two others in four previous meetings against them. Whilst he may have done nothing in the 2-0 loss away at Watford, one final fact to back up Rashford as a pick is that Man United have scored 20 in the last nine, across all competitions, against Newcastle.

2. Tammy Abraham (Southampton at home)

To the tune of Wham – Last Christmas:

Last Christmas, he was a Villain,
And the goals he scored got us up here,
This year, to save me from tears,
I’ll captain him against that Saints team.

Fresh back from that time out created by injury – which actually ended up being just the one match, much to the horror of those who sold him – Tammy picked up where he left off with a 12-point haul against the club he was on loan at last season. Since then, he has been a bit more subdued, having blanked in the 3-1 and 1-0 defeats to Everton and Bournemouth respectively, as well as the win at Spurs. The previous match against Saints finished 4-1 in Frank Lampard’s favour back in Gameweek 8 as Abraham found the back of the net, adding to a run of nine meetings since the south coast side were victorious, as the West Londoners have put 21 past them in that time.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad are, admittedly, now showing themselves as a different force to the one that received that more recent defeat against Chelsea – which just happened to precede the 9-0 loss against Leicester only two weeks later – as they put three past a hapless Villa side. That said, they haven’t kept a clean sheet since Gameweek 5 and so you would have to fancy Chelsea to put at least one past them. I imagine that would probably be Tammy’s return to the scoresheet.

1. Hurrikane Alli (Brighton at home)

To the tune of Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You:

Ohhh, I would have them in my team
There is just one thing I want,
I only care about those points
To now come from my cappo
I want those two in my team
More than other Spurs players
Mourinho pleeeeease,
All I want for Christmas isssss…
Points!

Indeed, points that Son has just cost those who have him in their team – especially those who, like me, had captained him. I had a whole section dedicated to three players in preparation, too.

Anyway, now it’s two and it may not be hurricane season, but this pair could well cook up a storm against Brighton. The last time Spurs met the Seagulls down at the Amex, it finished in a 3-0 loss for what was Pochettino and co, which very much hastened the manager’s departure six weeks later. Fast forward to now and it’s a slightly different scene for the North London club, as Jose Myrrh-inho – as he is known at this festive time – had, up until the Chelsea match at least, brought out the potential in the likes of Dele Alli, who seemingly wouldn’t for Poch.

Since that fateful day in November, Alli has registered 41 points, whilst Kane has 29 to his name over the same time. That includes each player’s tally in the tie against Chelsea, which does bring the average per game down. This week, the duo is again at home, a place we must remember, was the location of a 5-0 win against Burnley in Gameweek 17. Both of these players did rather well for those managers who had put faith in them ahead of that fixture. Indeed, Spurs haven’t lost against Brighton at home since 1981, having scored 10 in the six London-based meetings since, as Alli has one assist in three and Kane found the back of the net twice in four. Finally, I’ll just add it’s now seven games that Brighton have gone without keeping a clean sheet, having conceded 12 in that time.

As you’ve no doubt heard, as you’ve left the office with a massive smile on your face, knowing you have an extended amount of time before you have to see that trout of a face on Jane in Facilities or be greeted by one of Colin’s crazy ties and inappropriate jokes, I’ll just say “See you next decade!”, as this is my last article for 2019. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and lots of FPL points (certainly more than Gameweek 18, anyway!).

Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 19. This article was written by Swirly.

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