Fantasy Premier League Captain Picks Gameweek 13
Welcome to Fantasy Premier League Captain Picks Gameweek 13. Thirteen… #shivers Is twelve the new thirteen? Last weeks abysmal mess from the majority of the top picks would perhaps suggest so. Lukaku (4 pts as captain), Kun (4), Coutinho (4) and Sanchez (2) all disappointed. If you lumped on Hazard then you’d be somewhat delighted, but still subdued, with a massive 8 from him. As it transpired the correct answer was either Costa or Defoe who brought home 18 and 22 respectively. All in all it was a disappointingly low scoring week with just 20 goals in total and nearly a quarter of those were in just one game. It almost felt like the fun had been sucked out of our game as one player after another simply failed to produce. The International Break probably has a lot to answer for in this respect. But let’s try and inject a bit of fun back into it all and have a Captaincy Face Off! Having successfully guided our MLS site team to 2nd and then 13th in consecutive seasons this pair clearly know how to run a successful fantasy team together but we’ve split them up this week and have asked them to pick their FPL captains. It’s US (sort of) vs UK. Based on a snake draft pick format Mito went first and grabbed Sanchez, Init took Kun and Coutinho, Mito then picked Ibra and KDB leaving Init with Firmino. Let’s see how they justify their picks and how it pans out afterwards as well. Expect much campaigning prior to the games and probably even more banter after…
Inittowint GW13 Captain Picks
Sergio Aguero (Burnley, away)
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Perma Captain they said. City will be an unstoppable force with Pep, they said. In truth Kun is making it difficult to justify that £13.2m price tag right now as he’s sat in 11th place for overall points scored. Defoe is in 5th and costs almost £6m less. Capoue is 9th and costs less than £5m… Only 2 people in the top 10 overall rankings own him, which probably says it all really. That said he’s still a top captaincy contender most weeks and tops the captaincy poll almost every time. But why? Probably because we know he can explode at any given point and we are all fearful of not owning / captaining him when it happens. If / when, whatever. This week it is Burnley away. So why pick him? Well, having just witnessed the pasting they got from that great attacking force that is West Brom then it’s difficult to see Burnley keeping a genuinely great attacking force at bay. Sure enough that was away from home and they are notoriously bad the second they leave Lancashire but you still have to fear for them from a confidence point of view if nothing else. Games such as ‘vs Burnley’ used to be a no brainer when it came to picking Kun as your captain but with blanks in four of his last six games then we can understand the hesitation. He did also notch a 13 just prior to those and a 16 within them to remind us of his potential. Mito will tell you that he’s likely to be rested / he’s burnt out / he’s not Columbian, but listen to him at your peril.
Philippe Coutinho (Sunderland, home)
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Having previously swept (nearly) all-comers aside, Liverpool found the Saints at their stubborn best at the weekend, and were finally thwarted having scored twelve in their previous three games. We’d be inclined to put that one down as a blip though and we back the league’s top scorers to get straight back on the bandwagon this weekend against Sunderland. Yes the Moyes effect is finally starting to take hold at the ‘Stadium of Perpetual Relegation Scraps Narrowly Avoided By Switching Managers Twice Every Season’. Big Sam will be back to see them safe once Moyes reverts to type in a few weeks and his grand plan of resurrecting the corpse of Anichebe fails when the big softie suffers yet another life threatening injury at the hands of someone half his size. I digress, back to why Coutinho should be your captain this week. As well as Kun. Does saying ‘home to Sunderland’ suffice? It probably should when he plays for the swashbuckling Liverpool. He’s also the 3rd top points scorer overall and quite frankly is looking like an early leading contender for player of the season.
Roberto Firmino (Sunderland, home)
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Having previously swept (nearly) all-comers aside, Liverpool found the Saints at their stubborn best at the weekend, and were finally thwarted having scored twelve…. Ah ok, sorry we already did that. So why Roberto and not Philippe? Probably just because you may own him and not him, in all honesty. You could probably throw Mane into the ‘Liverpool Midfield Lottery’ as well, such as it is. We all know the conundrum here – they have about five midfielders all capable of scoring well in any game, and one of them doesn’t even play in midfield, he’s playing left back and happens to be the one on pens. Just imagine how many points he’d have had if he’d been around in the days of Suarez and Gerrard diving all over the shop… Back to Roberto, he’s essentially being tasked as being the focal point of the forward-less attack, the false 9 if you will. It’s served him well as he’s the games 7th top scorer with five goals and five assists in the eleven games in which he has featured. Better teams than Sunderland have arrived at Anfield this season with ‘a plan’ only to be royally Klopped. You absolutely should captain one of the pair this week, as well as Kun.
Mito GW13 Captain Picks
Well hello there, Mito here to make a case for three top, top selections. Unlike Init I won’t be using my picks to settle old scores with Moyes, Suarez and Gerrard. I will be presenting a well informed, ahhh…who we kidding? I might throw a person or two under the bus. Let us know in the comments who you are with! Are you #TeamRooster or are you #TeamBear, think there is only one choice really. One wakes you up at 5am for no apparent reason and one parties with you to 5am for no apparent reason. Well onto my reasoning-ish for my captain picks.
Alexis Sanchez (Bournemouth, home)
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Go big or go home! Well in terms of points, not his actual size. When this hot Chilean gets it going, he really knows how to drive up the score. If you believe he is going to grab a goal, then simply go with him. Why? Well, when he has scored a goal in games this season he has went on to post double figure scores in said games. He averaged over 13 points in those contests. Plus he plays Bournemouth who can be wishy-washy on defence. They allowed 3 and 4 goals to the Manchester sides and gave up 2 in losses to Sunderland and Boro who until facing The Cherries were on prolonged winless streaks. So if any team has proven that they can breathe life into someone or just bend over for them, it is certainly Bournemouth. So I would ask you to strongly consider Alexis because of his opposition for one, but also if you like your captain choices with huge upside. A captain with a side of danger? Perhaps, but that’s how we roll on #TeamBear
Zlatan (West Ham, home)
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For those wondering why I used that picture for Zlatan, simple, I got that from Init’s Facebook page. As you all know he is an Everton fan, so he simply refuses to wear red, but he still got his way when purchasing his Ibra apparel, Everton blue on his favourite player ever, lucky Init. However, if Init’s fandom isn’t enough to convince you that Ibra is more than just his man, but also a worthy captain choice, let me hit you with some facts, a couple of made up ones and round it off with a completely bias opinion. The Swedish lord of goal as he is known on this site for now on, that by the way was a decree ordered, not sure I have the authority, but I am going with it. In his last game Ibra popped up with a brace, so perhaps that is some evidence that he might start putting away more of his chances. And does he ever get chances!! Which some might see as a negative (not Init, he loves him) considering how many clear ones he has missed, but I see it as a positive. Because at the very least he is getting the opportunities, which is all you can really ask for. Fact is, if you knew he would have 3-4 clear chances at the weekend, well you probably be inclined to just go with him. He is currently averaging the most shots per game in the league and more than in any of his time at Barca, Milan or PSG. We all know of his goal scoring record in those places, so one would think that it is only a matter of time before he starts putting even more away at United. If none of that is enough to convince you, then let me remind you that he plays the second worse defence in the league. So let the Swedish lord of goal lead your squad to a massive haul, just like Init’s team.
Kevin De Bruyne (Burnley, away)
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“Who you captain?” Asks a friend of yours, you respond “KDB” and you stare right through them, that’s right, nothing else really needs to be said. They know what you mean, they know why you did it…because it just sounds cool, no other reasons matter. But just in case ‘you are that guy’ I guess I will list a couple. Maybe, you simply don’t like to risk the biscuit with Alexis or are not infatuated with Zlatan like Init, in that case let me introduce you to my KDB agent. This Guy is more dependable than Guy Sanchez (By the way, big thanks to Guy for a great Fixtures article) and since we are on the subject, is Guy really his first name? Well…who cares, moving along to why the Lord of the assist (not a decree) should come under consideration. Unlike his #TeamBear mates, he is consistent. In 8 of his 11 games this season he has either scored or assisted (not necessarily Kun) and he has an assist in three straight games now. He is only second in the league to Payet in creating shots for others and is currently leading the league with 9 FPL assists. Those 9 are 3 more than any Coutinho or any of his ilk. His away form is something to write home about, 1 goal and 6 assists in 5 away games is certainly another point in his favour on top of his paltry 7.3 points per 90. What is there not to love about KDB? In particular now that we seen West Brom destroy their next opponent. If The Baggies can tear you to shreds, imagine what this Belgian and his mates (except Kun, he’s burnt out, likely to be rested and frankly not even Colombian/Belgian) are going to do to them?
Haha this article is tops. Made me chuckle at least, we’ll done lads. Quite the headache this week though and you didn’t make it any easier. I’ll worry about my transfers first though.
2FT here what you guys reckon? I was considering downgrade lukaku in order to upgrade Gundogen to Hazard. Seems I need to go cheap, as cheap as Anichebe without taking hits
McButcher
I’m not sure a knee-jerk on Gundogan is exactly needed just now. You could monitor the next couple then make a decision. There are plenty around his price anyway you can switch to easily enough.
How about Walker to McAuley and Lukaku to Kane? If I have my maths correct I think that works.
Seems like an OK move I’m just concerned about having two cheapies in midfield, if Gundogan works out of course that will be awesome. I guess if not I could switch him.
I was kinda aiming towards a 3-5-2 making transfers over the next few weeks.
Cheers guys,Mitro you lost me as soon as you mentioned Zlatan…….plus i dont own him or Sanchez so its #Team Rooster !! Think Dyche will have really got into his players after that thrahing the other night and will park the bus so like many just have to decide between Coutinho or Firminho !!!
* Oops Mito not Mitro !!
What a Joker you are
After dropping to nearly 600K overall and ML leaders miles ahead I think its time to use my WC…
Current Squad:
DDG, Jaku
Stones Walker Williams Amat Souare
Hazard Coutinho Walcott Gundon Fletcher
Kun Lukaku Benteker
0.0m itb and 1FT
Should I risk a non Kun and Sanchez WC team and get this?:
Cech Pickford
Stones Valencia Alonso Prodl Amat
Hazard Coutinho KdB Walcott Fletcher
Lukaku Austin Defoe
leaves me with 0.0m itb
Else what else should I do, need to fix this
Meant Gundogan not Gundon, sorry
If you’re going without Kun I would recommend a team with 5 premium mids. And play 3-5-2
That would also mean downgrade some of your back 5.
COSTA and either defo or Austin up top and a cheap third fwd who plays
PP
I agree with McB here. If I were going without Kun, I’d max the midfield to the hilt and probably change Fletcher to Firmino (even Tadic would be a good shout).
Stones and Valencia haven’t done much to convince me they should be in a WC team.
Barragan, Ward (Burnley), Firmino and Anichebe in for
Stones, Valencia, Fletcher and Defoe?
Sounds better to me.
Get your front eight straight and then look about for the best cheap-fit defenders.
GP
DDG Pickford
Francis Barragan Prodl Amat Evans
Hazard Coutinho KdB Walcott Firmino
Kane Austin Anichebe
That’s some midfield that is PP.
Nice job.
First of all, I believe that it is too early to get rid of Kun. He still is the focal spot of the impressive offensive machine the City can be. The last two games were disappointing, but before that they were imrpessive. and the fixtures are good.
If you go for a 3-5-2 without Kun, I would favour the midfield to the expense of the defense. Alonso could stay, the rest would be in the 4-4.7 bracket.
And fianlly, I would not leave Lukaku on a WC team now. You must take Costa! Or Kane!
Vinci,
Vinci,
A problem. I know Kun is explosive, sometimes even against teams with tough home records-like Burnley. I’m tempted by a Coutinho switch (after another disappointing red arrow), but last time I did this, Kun, and Citeh, ate up West Brom. And he looked rusty last weekend-sitting on an international bench? I guess we just take our chances?
Hello chaps,
A lot of food for thought in this article, im starting to regret picking aguero each week!
Could I have some advice on my team please? Here are the transfer I am thinking of with 1FT and £1.2m ITB:
Walker or Williams to Alonso?
Upgrade Barry or Allen ?
Lukaku to Costa?
Wilson to Defoe?
What do you think for this week? I’m feeling long term I need a better 4th mid.
Cheers guys
Also tempted by the Aguero downgrade potentially…
beno
I would give it one more week with Aguero especially considering the fixture and I would save the FT. Once you have two free transfers, the downgrade of him or upgrade of your fourth midfielder should be simpler.
I would play Williams in Allen’s place this week.
Cheers Gallant
I feel like there are points to be had with Alonso and a better third striker though?
Or would you prioritise downgrading aguero/upgrading 4th mid?
I would prefer Alonso to Walker, yes definitely but I couldn’t advise on priorities as there are so many ways you can go from here. I like Austin who would be a good bet for Wilson’s place. You could keep Allen for a while or straight swap for a few other decent options at that price.
I don’t personally want to let go of Aguero just now but if you did, then yeah I would upgrade Allen with that cash saved.
It all depends on what you think is the best play for points. Sorry if that is a bit of a wishy-washy answer. I didn’t mean it to be.
You mention many good moves, I my opinion.
I would probably do Lukaku->Costa. I have been having Costa since GW6 and he is a consistent performer. One day he will get his ban, but that will be just for one game.
I also like Walker->Alonso. Spurs are not playing well while Chelsea is impressively solid.
I am a devoted Kun believer, so I would stick to him. Longer term, I would downgrade a bit the defense to free some funds, and upgrade the 4th mid or 3rd striker as soon as a mid-price promising alternative emerges.
But indeed if you keep Kun, you won’t be able to get a big hiter on either of these positions…
cheers Vinci,
it seems a bit of a dilemma!
I want Alonso, costa and potentially to downgrade Aguero all at once haha….
so I guess I need to make a plan of when to do which transfer
Thank’s guys for awesome articles this week! Now I need your help once again. Red arrows each week allthough my overall rank is pretty good (20.000).
So, what would you do with this team? 1Ft an 2.0 itb
Magpies,
Nothing much needing doing there. I would go with it. All your attacking players could potentially score in reasonable games for them this week.
Deeney to Austin would be a better long term move I reckon but no rush. Gundogan’s game time will now need to be watched but he could start v Burnley even if he does start tonight.
Defence looks sound but an Arsenal to Chelsea switch there would be good.
Have to agree with GP there. I roll with that side, worst case scenario Gundogan doesn’t start and you get someone off the bench or he plays 20 minutes. So while that might not sound appealing, having 2 FTS next GW will certainly allow you to change the side in a longer term way if need be, be it through 2 FTS or 3 transfers with a -4. Good side though, but as you know in FPL, things have a way of going tits up just when you think you have it figured out.
Posting here as the thread seems a little confusing earlier.
Current Squad:
DDG, Jaku
Stones Walker Williams Amat Souare
Hazard Coutinho Walcott Gundon Fletcher
Kun Lukaku Benteker
0.0m itb and 1FT
Potential WC Squad:
DDG Pickford
Francis Barragan Prodl Amat Evans
Hazard KdB Coutinho Firmino Walcott
Kane Austin Anichebe
0.0m itb
Surely Aguero will come good he always does
Yes he’s in good form and should have scored last week
If you decide to go without Aguero, this team is good.
I personnally think that KdB is quite expensive for his outcomes currently. Alternatives would be Sterling or Nolito, since you probably need City coverage.
They are certainly less reliable, but the extra 2M you would get (that could extend to 3 if you agree to do DDG->Heaton) could maybe fund Austin->Costa?
In short: the small remaining weakness I see is the 2nd forward spot.
Team looks just a tad bit weak in the attacking department.
Plus keep in mind how Austin and Anichebe rotate.
That midfield is classy.
Don’t believe DDG is the best pick for a goalie.
Courtois would be my choice
If you are short by 0.1mn then downgrade Evans to Nyom for the Courtois move