FPL Captain Picks GW4

Welcome to Fantasy Football FPL Captain Picks GW4

There once was a striker, Haaland by name,
Whose goals brought him fortune and fame.
With a powerful stride,
And defenders denied,
He’d score and just add to his claim.

There you go, that’s as much about Erling Haaland as I’ll be mentioning in this article. And no, I didn’t even write that limerick either – it’s amazing what ChatGPT can do, isn’t it?! Rest assured, there’s no more AI to this article, and it will become abundantly clear that it’s a very bitter FPL manager who has written this on account of the fact that he… I… whoever, still doesn’t have Haaland in his team and has ridden the seven goals the Norwegian has so far scored this season like a trooper. They’re brave tears!

So, looking past the most obvious candidate for captaincy as Brentford face the unenviable task of trying to get a semi-decent result at the Etihad, this article will be focusing on ‘the rest’, the kind of players I’m hoping will get me yet another Get Out Of Jail card and leave LiveFPL to try and convince me that while a 1.8m rank sounds horrible, it’s still in the top 18.25% apparently. You know, much like when you come last in the egg and spoon race when you’re a kid and your parent, friend or relative tries to paint it as positively as possible to a point that even a government spin doctor would blush? Yeah, that.

Let’s see who my pics are then…

Salah v Nottingham Forest (H)

Mo Salah, Mo Salah, running down the wing – and gaining FPL managers much-needed points at the same time. OK, the second bit doesn’t quite go with the song, but you get the gist. Rewarding managers who splashed out the £12.5m for him before the season began with 41 points so far – he’s also gone up in value £0.2m, by the way – Mo has three goals and as many assists to his name: already a sixth and a quarter respectively of what he managed all of last season. And we’re only on Gameweek 4!

He does face a so-far-resilient Forest defence that has conceded only two goals in three games so far, as Southampton failed to find a way through at St Mary’s, however it could be argued that the fact that the other two sides have been Wolves and Bournemouth, this is their first real test. And test it’ll be, as the Egyptian has managed to score in both of the last home games against the East Midlanders as part of 3-0 and 3-2 victories. Could it be another trio of goals against the visitors and, if so, will he have an even greater role to play on the back of his recent form? I wouldn’t want to bet against it. What’s more, the number 11 has scored 99 goals at Anfield so far – his hundredth, an incredible milestone, sure won’t be too long away.

By the way, full disclosure: I had a sneaky suspicion after the last deadline that I should have captained him against Man United – as his recent form against them in particular has been ridiculous – and so I may just be listening to my gut more this time round.

Palmer v Bournemouth (A)

This part of the article has been written on the full proviso that Cole is actually good to go, and that he was just purely rested for the international break. Or Nations League, or whatever you want to call it. A bloomin’ lack of Premier League and FPL is all I can call it. Despite the yellow 75% flag, he has since been spotted in full training all week, and so hopefully the trip to the south coast will see him on the pitch and not on the beach in what appears to be the last throes of summer. Building sand castles is one thing – and I’m sure he’s very good at it – but that doesn’t get the FPL points in!

Anyway, I digress. While there may not be enough real data to go on when it comes to his record against Bournemouth – one assist in the two times he’s played against them – Cole is another player who has been in and among the points already. He’s so far racked up 25 in the trio of Premier League games so far, of which the highlight was taking centre stage in the 6-2 rout at Wolves. A hat-trick of assists and a goal for good measure to amass 17 points?! Oh, go on then.

Indeed, the other defence to fall foul to his prowess was Crystal Palace in a 1-1 draw that ended the Blues’ run of 14 straight wins against the Eagles in all competitions, as Man City successfully kept him out. That therefore shows that, on paper at least, Palmer has a good chance of getting onto the scoresheet against a team that has so far shipped four goals. The high defensive line they have been known to play could be well exploited.

Watkins v Everton (H)

Poor Everton. You’ve got to feel for their fans – well, unless you’re a Liverpool supporter, I suppose – as it really already looks dire. The unenviable record of going from a winning position to losing at the latest time, in what can only be described as a complete defensive implosion at home to Bournemouth, just adds to the fact the Toffees have conceded an eye-watering 10 goals in three so far.

And now they face Aston Villa, a side that has one or two of their former players – most notably Onana who scored in the Villans’ last match – and has pretty much picked up where it left off at the end of the last campaign, under the stewardship of Unai Emery. But we’re not talking about Onana or indeed any of the other players in the same squad, this section is all about Ollie Watkins who, admittedly, is a bit of a wildcard on account of his lack of minutes and lack of attacking returns so far (the one assist against Leicester). So bear with.

This selection is based on the eye test – he was painfully close to getting on the scoresheet against Arsenal in a 2-0 defeat that saw a number of rued opportunities, with similar circumstances in the match against the Hammers. On the back of an incredible last season where he amassed 19 goals and set up another 18 – and then did what he did for England in Euro 2024 – it’s only a matter of time before the number 19 rewards those managers who, like the site team, have put their faith in him.

Again, like Palmer, there is the dreaded 75% yellow flag for the player, on account of an “ongoing issue” that has been limiting his minutes. So it’s worth waiting to hear on his fitness, however a fully fit Watkins will almost certainly deliver the goods – especially against a side that is seemingly on a low ebb at the moment. He could well add to the two goals and two assists he has already got against the Toffees in the seven times he’s faced them previously in the league.

Thanks for reading FPL Captain Picks GW4.

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