FPL Captain Picks GW12

Welcome to FPL Captain Picks GW12

Is the robot broken? That seems to be the question on many a managers lips this international break, and over the last few weeks. He has really let the side down lately and has seen many people want to move not only the armband off him but move him out of their teams altogether! I know I have sold him this week on my Wildcard. That should really end the article and debate right there as we all know my luck will mean Haaland scores 5 this weekend against Spurs, but alas I live in eternal hope that my decisions are correct.

Below we have 3 men who have written about 3 other men that we all will let dictate our moods over the weekend! I might just light a fire, pour a drink and sit in ignorance!

Let’s see what has been said…

Rosco – Haaland vs Tottenham (H)

Purely from the perspective of effective ownership, this week could be one of the best this season to captain Erling Haaland.

In Game week 11, he was sold by the masses, and whilst his EO still tipped over the 100% mark for many, it was minimal. Over 200k have already sold him this week, and although his ownership is still high overall (63%), I’d wager that number to be a lot lower amongst active and engaged managers.

So, what about his lack of goals? Well, there is no denying he has dropped off somewhat. If we compare his first 6 games with his last 6, then its 10 goals vs 2. That’s 65 FPL points vs just 19. Quite the fall from grace. But what do the underlying stats tell us?

Well, for starters, as a club, City are still creating chances. Lots of them. They topped the table for chances created in their first 6 games with 95, and in their last 6 they again come top of the lot with 91. This automatically makes you look to Haaland himself as the problem, but is he?

In Haaland’s first 6 games he scored 9 non-penalty goals from an NPxG of 5.47, so an overperformance of 3.53 goals. This is not that unusual from Haaland given some of the chances he puts away. In his last 6 he’s put up NPxG if 5.28 but only scored twice, an underperformance of 3.28.

So, an almost identical NPxG with very different results. Factor in his 31 goals attempts (in his first 6) vs 29 goal attempts in his latter 6 and you can see that not a whole lot has changed, other than the net bulging and his FPL points tally that is. The important stuff.

Furthermore, compare Haaland to Somone like Mo Salah (who is the reason many managers are selling) and you will see that in his last 6, the Egyptian has 10 goal contributions (5 goals, 5 assists) from an NPxG of 5.47 – identical to Haaland’s first 6 stats and not far off the numbers he’s put up since.

At the Etihad, City have played 5 times, scoring 12 goals. Spurs are the visitors this week, having played 5 games on the road, conceding 7 times and keeping just the one clean sheet. There are goals to be had in this one, there usually are, if past encounters are anything to go by.

In conclusion, Haaland overperformed early on, he’s underperformed in recent weeks. Will this trend continue? I highly doubt it. He’ll score a hattrick when managers least expect it. It could be this week. You just never know.

Stone Frog – Palmer vs Leicester (A)

Can I tempt you with the highest points scorer from last season (244) and the second highest points scorer so far (84) who just so happens to be playing against a promoted side?

In truth, I wasn’t sure of Palmer at the very start of the season, however a cool 17pt haul at Molineux in GW2 and I hastily transferred him in. That and a cold 25pt monster haul against Brighton, shows just how explosive he can be.

He should be in the captain conversation more often! He boasts a total of 12 goal involvements (7G, 5A), second only to Salah and equal to Haaland, and directly contributing to just over half the goals scored by the Blues this season. Recent output has dipped slightly, but that was expected given the tough run of fixtures, which are now turning more favourable starting with a visit to the King Power.

The Foxes have conceded 21 goals so far, surprisingly the same as Southampton and only one less than Ipswich. Granted Wolves have conceded more (27); however, this is partly due to Chelsea and Palmer in GW2.

Just a quick note that he is currently flagged, but has been pictured in training. Given that he will likely be a slight differential choice this week, he could be a good throw of the dice for those looking to claw back rank or those keen to back against Salah/Haaland.

Gear – Salah vs Southampton (A)

Looking at the confessionals, this probably doesn’t need to be said, but Mo Salah is clearly your man this week. He is the top points scorer so far this season and has 23 points more than the next best player in the game.

For those interested, he is currently rocking a xG of 0.58.

In 11 games against Southampton, Salah has bagged 7 goals and 4 assists. Not his best stats against an individual team, but still respectable and for this fixture, we can probably discard matches from previous seasons. Southampton are rock bottom of the league and have conceded 21 goals in the league this season.

The final and most important point is this, it’s a Sunday game, so no Ghandi rule to worry about.

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 — Haaland

Follow @DCoelho

The Gallant Pioneer — Bruno Fernandes

Follow @MitchellC_FF247

Jamesimmo — Salah

Follow @James777Simpson

Ivan — Haaland

Follow @IvanGB111

Swirly — Salah

Follow @theswirly

Matt — Salah

Follow @MattyMcveigh

Loud Atlas — Salah

Follow @FantasyFooty247

Smash — Salah

Follow @Chrismartin1984

Kop — Salah

Follow @KenLyons79

Rosco — Salah

Follow @eugoogooly

Ellefcee — Haaland

Init — Haaland

Follow @AdamalcockFF247

Gear — Salah

Follow @Lukerouthorn

Stone Frog — Salah

Follow @StoneFrog638

OddDane — Salah

Jamie Mc — Haaland

Thanks for reading FPL Captain Picks GW12.

Follow @FantasyFooty247

VOTE ON THIS WEEK’S CAPTAIN POLL

FPL FIXTURE TRACKER

Both leagues will be shut to new entrants as of 01/01/25.