Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 21
Welcome to Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 21
Oh dear. Salah and Son have gone on their jollies. Haaland is MIA. Even Bowen limped off at the end of his game on Sunday. Add in that this weird GW ahead is split into two, with 7 prem teams having FA Cup replays in the middle of it, and 5 of those being prior to their actual GW21 fixture and it’s all a bit of a mess! We may actually have to put some actual thought into this one. Thankfully Rosco and Swirly are on hand with some suggestions for you. And then there’s the ‘confessional’ at the end, just to confuse matters even further…
In light of these changes, many fantasy football enthusiasts are turning to platforms like Mostbet to engage in some friendly betting on the outcomes of these matches. Mostbet’s user-friendly interface and competitive odds make it an appealing choice for those looking to add an extra layer of excitement to the game weeks.
Cole Palmer vs Fulham (H) – Rosco
Beginning my captain piece on Cole Palmer, let’s address the scepticism that surrounds captaining in the early kick-off. While the curse might not be real, many FPL managers, mildly superstitious, tend to avoid this play. I’ve experienced both sides; an early captain blank leading to a seemingly never-ending misery-induced game week and those early game week captain hauls that put you one step ahead of the crowd. Superstitions aside, captaining Cole Palmer in this extended 10-day game week could be wise, especially when considering potential pitfalls such as training ground injuries and manager press conferences long past the FPL deadline.
Another deterrent for many is Palmer’s price. We’ve seen similar hesitation in seasons past, with sub-£6m players like Vardy, Mahrez, and Gundogan scoring for fun but managers are still reluctant to entrust them with the armband. If Palmer were priced higher, would we hesitate less? With his penalty-taking role, consistent double-digit performances, and impressive points-per-minute ratio, he deserves consideration as a viable captaincy option.
Delving into Palmer’s stats, he has accumulated 92 points in 1150 minutes, translating to 7.2 points per 90. For context, Salah has 156 points over 1740 minutes, if Palmer maintained a similar points average with similar minutes, he’d be on 139 points, second only to Salah in FPL total points.
Dismissing Palmer as a penalty merchant overlooks the fact half of his 8 goals came from open play, throw in his 6 assists and it’s hard to dismiss his GW20 18-point haul (sans penalty) as a one-off. Furthermore, since Palmer has been a regular in the Chelsea 11 (onwards) his non-penalty involvement of 6.87 is only bettered by Salah, Saka and Son amongst midfielders.
Palmer comes up against a Fulham team who have conceded 23 times on their travels, only Sheffield United (25) have fared worse, indeed, in their last 4 away from Craven Cottage, they have conceded at least 3 goals (they let in 4 in the other one). Ouch.
In a game week where captaincy choices will likely be more divided, Palmer emerges as a potentially safer pick than inconsistent performers like Saka or Bowen, especially IF Haaland is unavailable.
Jarrod Bowen vs Sheffield United (A) – Swirly
Last time I suggested the guy from Leominster, it was on the proviso he wasn’t injured as he had a 75% flag. He then did turn out to be just that and so, in the hope there isn’t history repeating, let’s press ahead in the hope that the knock against Bristol City isn’t as bad as feared. Still, he scored in that tie, which was good to see!
So far, the best part of three-quarters of a million managers have brought in the Hammers midfielder – and you can see why for many reasons. Firstly, of course, we’re all finding ourselves rather flush at the moment, with Haaland still out of a good few sides and Salah and Son also heading off on international duty. The £8.1m player is a worthy investment, with nine goals and an assist to his name already this season, as the blank against Brighton last gameweek was the first blank after three consecutive bountiful fixtures. Indeed, the reverse fixture back in Gameweek 7 saw him gain nine points, as he scored his first goal in the seven times he has faced that team.
As West Ham look up the table and start to put pressure on the other contenders for a European place, this game against the Blades – coupled with a visit from Bournemouth on Thursday night – will be just the opportunity to pick up those much-needed points before trickier ties versus Man United and Arsenal. While Sheffield United are a more competitive side since the return of their Messiah Chris Wilder, the South Yorkshire side have still conceded in each and every game so far this campaign, bar their 1-0 victory over Brentford in Gameweek 16. Bowen is sure to add to that less than desirable record at Bramall Lane come Sunday, as his side has the excellent statistic of only failing to find the back of the net in three of their 20 Premier League fixtures this season.
Bukayo Saka v Crystal Palace (H) – Swirly
They say “You can’t have them all” and, when it comes to FPL, that couldn’t be more true. We can be as careful as possible with price rises and falls, but still get to the end of the season just £0.1m off from that perfect squad. The reason I say this is because Saka has been a thorn in my side for most of this Premier League season as his high ownership has killed non-owners like me whenever he has returned. Unfortunately for me, that has happened numerous times so far, with six goals and eight assists mainly sapping away my rank.
But, you know what? This guy is making his way into my team with all the dosh we have flying about and so I can now be one of those 60% managers who are smug enough to own him now. Perhaps smug is a bit strong. You get my drift.
Anyway, it’s Crystal Palace who come to the Emirates this gameweek, on the back of a 2-0 defeat the Gunners endured against a determined Liverpool side who were themselves without the firepower of Salah. While Arteta’s men didn’t find the back of the net, they were unlucky not to and it was Saka who was a large part of their efforts. The Eagles themselves went into the league’s two-week break on a high after their first win since 4 November, having beaten Brentford 3-1 at Selhurst Park. This week, however, the bookies very much see a return of the disappointment the South Londoners had got used to in those eight fixtures without a victory over autumn and winter, something that is backed up by the fact they have won at Arsenal just once in the last 13 attempts – a 3-2 triumph back in 2019.
As for Saka himself, he’s scored two and set up another in the eight times he has faced Crystal Palace and, on the back of three straight defeats across all competitions, the Gunners will be absolutely desperate to return to winning ways in both this game and the following against Nottingham Forest, as Liverpool and then West Ham won’t give them an easy time.
The confessional…
This is where we ask our entire writing team to tell us who they think they will pick this week… There are more caveats and get out clauses than a meeting with Daniel Levy but this is their initial gut feeling based upon who they actually own. And they promise that their picks will be allowed to leave for free if a better offer comes along…
DMC — MIA, like Haaland
The Gallant Pioneer — TAA
Jamesimmo — H&L
Ivan — Alvarez
Swirly — Palmer
Matt — Palmer
Loud Atlas — Palmer
Smash — Palmer / Saka, could be anyone
Kop — Trent
Rosco — I honestly have no idea
Ellefcee — Palmer
Floydeth — Trent atm (most likely bowen though…)
Init — Haaland…
Gear — Either Haaland or Palmer
Stone Frog — Palmer
OddDane — I need a magic 8ball for this one… Palmer if I had him, but not Sterling (Who I do have)
Jamie Mc — Haaland if fit / Palmer
Peter Pan — Palmer / Bowen (injury dependant)
VOTE ON THIS WEEK’S CAPTAIN POLL
Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 21.
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Not quite sure what to do here. Makes it trickier with the news that trent is out for three weeks. Get estu in for trent? Will do salah to bowen if fit and then also need son replacement for -4. Could go jota or gross. If I do that then I’ll have to do either solanke or watkins to get haaland back when fit. Other option is bring in someone like elanga, and then upgrade archer to haaland and elanga/garnacho can stay on the bench. Any thoughts?
I do like Son to Gross and deal with getting Haaland later.
Happy new year guys! Any idea what to do with this lot?
1FT 3.7m itb
6-7 not playing, I think I’d use my WC.
Agreed I think you have to reluctantly WC.
You could try a -8 to get a full team on the field. Might be the week to do it, with probably a lot of hits going on this GW (because of the Cup and Afcon boys + the news about TAA) – it might not affect your rank too much, as the game is aggregate based (like the Tour de France).
-8 would mean I will only play with 10 but good point that many might be in similar situation. Or maybe not. Don’t think I’ve ever hit the 2nd WC this early
Oh – sorry mate – for some reason I thought you had 2FTs.
Hmm – I still dunno if you lose too much points-wise, but now that you say that you’d need a -12 to get 11 players, perhaps start looking at the WC. I don’t want to push you to use one of your cards too early though.