Fantasy Premier League Captain Picks Gameweek 30

Fantasy Premier League Captain Picks Gameweek 30

Welcome to Fantasy Premier League Captain Picks Gameweek 30. Surprise everybody – after a lengthy bit of time off from writing Fixtures, I’m back again to do the Capos article. Now, people might say that’s a lot of Guy Sanchez in such a condensed period of time, but I can tell you with certainty, you can never have too much Sanchez. Well that’s not true. My wife and I are celebrating our anniversary this week, and I’m pretty sure she has a limit to how much of me she can stand after all these years. But you lot have never even seen me naked, so there’s no way you’re fully disgusted with me being here yet.

But that’s neither here nor there, the point is that I’m supposed to be writing about who you all should be considering for captaincy this week. And after captaining Lukaku last week, I’m feeling a bit more up to the task. But you should know up front, my picks for capos have been a bit spotty. Two rounds ago I captained Mane for 4 points. Two rounds prior to that I captained Firmino for 4 points. So let’s agree now that I won’t be recommending any Liverpool players for the upcoming derby. Deal? I mean, it’s not like I’m excluding Liverpool players simply because they’re the enemy. But I’ve given them a fair shake and have nothing but regrets. Kind of like how my wife feels about me I’d imagine. So in lieu of Liverpool players, here’s who I’m recommending this week:

#4) Diego Costa (home vs Crystal Palace)
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[/three_fifth]Costa’s injury doesn’t look too bad, but it’s worth keeping an eye on just to be sure. If he’s fit and available, you won’t find a more steady pick for positive returns. Only three times this year has his score hit double digits, but his sweet spot is a decent 6-9 point return on a day’s work. Is it flashy? Not really. But if you just want to double up the value of a goal, Costa is definitely your man.

He’s not my top pick this week, but he deserves a shout for those of you who might be locked into H2H mini leagues and need a solid return to get you over your opponent. And when you think about Costa in that sense, he’s really more of a perfect choice for a mini league victory than he is to push you up the rankings. Costa already played against Palace earlier in the year on GW17 – and in that game he got his goal and a 6 point score. Again, not the best captain in the world for a splashy score, but he gets the job done for the right situation.

#3) Manolo Gabbiadini (home vs Bournemouth)
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[/three_fifth]For all of you who owned Gabbiadini for his last game (myself included), seeing him subbed off for a groin injury at the half hour mark was painful. Nobody really paid much attention to how much pain the player himself was in, we just all felt really sorry for ourselves that we went out and bought the Italian goal-scoring machine only to see him sub himself off with an injury after a miss. So incredibly Italian of him.

But let’s say he really was hurt physically and wasn’t just pouting. If that’s the case, the break might’ve helped him out considerably. He’s still showing up as flagged on the game site, so follow his injury status along with Costa. There isn’t a lot of news on him starting or sitting yet that I’ve been able to find, and that’s a bit of a worry. But if he’s fit, he’s definitely worth a look for capo. Prior to his injury, he’d scored 4 goals over three matches and accumulated 25 points in that span. And his opposition, Bournemouth, haven’t been great on the road lately. The last game that Bournemouth won on the road was back on December 31 against Swansea – but since that time, Bournemouth have been outscored 12-6 in their four road games since. Everything sets up perfectly for Gabbiadini to continue on his torrid pace. Again, assuming he’s healthy.

#2) Jamie Vardy (home vs Stoke)
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[/three_fifth]As I said in my article yesterday, Leicester are back. And not only do they deserve a look for inclusion into your squad, they deserve a look at getting a chance at the armband in the right spot. This week I’m going Jamie Vardy over Riyad Mahrez simply for the fact that Vardy has really shown an attitude like he’s trying to make up for lost time. His last three matches have seen him earn 3 goals, 2 assists and 5 BP for a grand total of 29 points. He’s really onto something right now, and going up against a team like Stoke is only going to add fuel to that fire.

Stoke have only won a single game in their last five road matches. Anybody care to guess who it was they last won against? Of course it was Sunderland. Anybody remember the old ‘Yo Mama’ jokes from grade school? Well to modify one of those jokes a bit: If you need a win, Sunderland are like a doorknob – everybody gets a turn.

But let’s leave off that win that Stoke got against Sunderland, outside of that, Stoke have been outscored 9-2 in their other most recent 4 away matches. And all of this sets up nicely for an in-form striker like Vardy to pick up where he left off.

#1) Romelu Lukaku (away vs Liverpool)
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[/three_fifth]What can I say? Outside of my allegiance to the club, you have to slot Lukaku here in the top spot until he gives a reason not to. Lukaku is that leading goalscorer in the league, and he shows no signs of slowing down. He hasn’t been held off the scoresheet for the last four rounds, and over his last six rounds he has 9 goals and 2 assists and a total of 63 points. That’s just an astounding tally.

Now of course the Merseyside derby should be a worry. Those games are unpredictable and heated. But you have to ask yourself: do you think Simon Mignolet has what it takes right now to stop Lukaku in the form that he’s in? Mignolet has one clean sheet in his last ten matches – and that’s the keeper that’s going to keep Lukaku in check? I don’t see it. I’m not saying that Everton get the win here – but I think either way Mignolet will be a loser on the day.

Like I said, until Lukaku gives us a reason to doubt him, he’s the odds on favourite to score in bunches in every game he plays.

Thanks for reading Fantasy Premier League Captain Picks Gameweek 30. This article was written by Guy Sanchez

Follow @Guy_M_Sanchez

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The Fixture Tracker in full…

DGW34 IS ON THERE AS CONFIRMED BUT DGW37 IS VERY MUCH PROVISIONAL!
That’s our best guess as to how it will pan out and there is still Southampton vs Arsenal to be rearranged. That looks likely to be in GW35 or 36. The FPL site itself has said that they expect the remaining games to be confirmed on or around the 7th April.

Teams with DGW’s ahead… (with thanks to Rosco)