Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 3

Welcome to Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 3

Last week, we introduced our first in the series ‘Haaland versus . . . ‘ written by OddDane. And Haaland lost!

The Norwegian Donkey (joke – I know it’s obvious but I couldn’t risk anyone thinking I was serious), returned 4 points for everyone his owners whilst his oppostion – Mohamed Salah – returned 10 points so won the duel. Of course he would have won it a lot more handsomely had he scored the penalty the first time but he’s obviously a donkey himself (joke, but less so – as the Ed was a captainer this past week).

So there you go – even when you go against Haaland and he blanks, the might of his awesome power pulls all others – rivals, enemies and mere mortals alike – towards him and under his spell. “YOU WILL SCORE THE POINTS I ALLOW YOU TO ONLY” ….. etc etc.

Gameweek 3 then, let’s see what’s what

Matt – Bukayo Saka (v Fulham (home))

One could argue that the lively young Englishman is one of the main attacking outlets for Arsenal at the minute. He does happen to be better at home than he is away which we could see last season with a 0.67 xG at home but only a 0.21 xG away. This trend does look to have continued so far this season as Saka scored a fantastic goal in Gameweek 1 at home but didn’t get anything in Gameweek 2 away. A London derby at home against Fulham could be a great chance to add to his points tally, especially with Fulham having just let in 3 goals against Brentford. Will Saka and Co. do similar to their city rivals?

One massive hit to Saka’s FPL appeal did appear in the Palace game as Arsenal got a penalty and Saka did not step up to take it. Instead Odegaard took the spot kick and tucked it away. This is not exactly what we want to see as Saka owners but some people on twitter seemed to suggest that Arteta might be trialling out penalties takers. This could mean there isn’t a clear taker just yet. Right now Ode has the responsibility. Saka is still on corners and is extremely involved in all Arsenal attacks so I wouldn’t fear capping him this weekend but I do have some niggling doubts about his long term prospects.

Swirly – Nicolas Jackson (v Luton Town (home))

This may seem like an odd pick, given the stats that include xG of 1.14 over 180 minutes, on the back of six shots – of which all were in the box and just two were on target. That joins just two FPL points from that time, thanks to a penchant for picking up yellow cards.

However, stick with me. We’re looking at a team that has a fresh new band of faces with another manager on the scene. The two games they have just had were, on paper, always going to be tricky. The performance against Liverpool was encouraging, while a lot of the huffing and puffing against the Hammers defence didn’t blow down the house. Step forward Gameweek 3 and we have Luton Town, a side that has played once – and that was a forgettable Premier League debut as they went down 4-1 to rampant Brighton. The Hatters look like a side who are going to be leaking a lot of goals in what may just be a season-long relegation battle.

Having scored 12 in 35 at Villareal before his move to Chelsea, it shows there are goals in the Gambian-born forward and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him redeem himself for the last two gameweeks, opening his account in style in front of the Stamford Bridge faithful. Chelsea then have fixtures against Forest, Bournemouth, Villa, Fulham and Burnley, which present a real opportunity for the Blues to collect the points. Should there also be another signing up front who will help Jackson to find the back of the net, Gameweek 3 could be seen as the time you wished you’d bought the £7m player.

Swirly – Marcus Rashford (v Nottingham Forest (home))

Another team that joins Chelsea in needing to kick start their season is Man United. Sure, they beat Wolves in the opening gameweek, but that was arguably after a dubious decision that saw a penalty not given; one where Onana demonstrated what the English and Welsh rugby teams should be doing more of ahead of the Rugby World Cup. Elsewhere in that game, the performance – particularly in midfield – hardly gave Pep Guardiola any sleepless nights when it came to title contention.

The £9m midfielder managed an xG over 173 minutes of just 0.97, thanks to seven shots with two on target. The Spurs game, however, was the better of the two for the number 10 with an xG of 0.75, three shots and two chances. You also don’t have to think back far to know just what he is capable of either, as the last campaign witnessed 17 goals and seven assists.

Rashford’s opponent this coming weekend is Nottingham Forest, a side who put in a sterling performance at Arsenal in the 2-1 loss – effort that was then rewarded as they were at the right side of the same scoreline in a big match against Sheffield United on Friday night. Crucially, however, the East Midlanders haven’t kept a clean sheet and also look shaky at the back. Rashford – and Bruno, for that matter – will have a golden opportunity to be among the points, as they’re expected to pick up 6.7 and 6.5 respectively according to a well-known FPL resource.

If you are wondering whether you should be one of the many people looking to offload Rashford ahead of this Friday’s deadline, rather than entrust him with the armband, I would say that patience is crucial in FPL. Man United have looked rusty, but they’ll be sure to be back with a vengeance in Gameweek 3.

GP – Erling Braut Haaland (v Sheffield United (away))

Always darkest before the dawn, right?

The Norseman blanked last time out – at home to Newcastle on Saturday evening – but that is only to tell part of the story. Yes, so the record books will show 2 points (4, for those who captained him) and that will show as a failure based on what our perceived captain score should be, far away from what we have enjoyed last season and in Gameweek 1 this, from this superhuman species.

To watch the game you would see that he shaved Newcastle’s post twice, was served serenely by Phil Foden and was admittedly, generally handled very well by Botman and Schar – one of the league’s best defensive partnerships. Nothing to be ashamed about and those arrow like corner finishes are not far away and inronically he’ll be sharpening his steel ready to face the Blades this weekend.

It’s a newly-promoted team (considerably weaker than those faced in Gameweek 1 in this writer’s opinion) and he rarely goes ‘two-in- a-row’. You’ve got to fancy that this will be fish in a barrel stuff for a man who scored two in the first game, then blanked and bounced back with a goal in his third game LAST SEASON – and this season, well, he’s scored two in his first game, then blanked (follow the pattern …).

Finally, it’s on Sunday at 2pm – live on the tv – for those who steer by those particular stars.

All aboard!

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 — Erling Braut Haaland

Follow @DCoelho

The Gallant Pioneer — Erling Braut Haaland

Follow @MitchellC_FF247

Jamesimmo — Erling Braut Haaland

Follow @James777Simpson

Ivan — Erling Braut Haaland

Follow @IvanGB111

Swirly — Erling Braut Haaland

Follow @theswirly

Matt — Erling Braut Haaland

Follow @MattyMcveigh

Loud Atlas — Erling Braut Haaland

Follow @FantasyFooty247

Smash — Erling Braut Haaland

Follow @Chrismartin1984

Kop — Erling Braut Haaland

Follow @KenLyons79

Rosco — Erling Braut Haaland

Follow @eugoogooly

Ellefcee — Erling Braut Haaland

Floydeth — Erling Braut Haaland

Follow @TinkerManFPL

Init — Erling Braut Haaland

Follow @AdamalcockFF247

Gear — Erling Braut Haaland

Follow @Lukerouthorn

Stone Frog — Erling Braut Haaland

Follow @StoneFrog638

OddDane — Erling Braut Haaland

Jamie Mc — Erling Braut Haaland

VOTE ON THIS WEEK’S CAPTAIN POLL

Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 3. This article was written by MattX, Swirly & GP

Follow @FantasyFooty247

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