Welcome back for another round of FPL captaincy debate!
In what has easily been the most atypical season in the history of FPL, things are about to get interesting one more time. If you have been anywhere online in the last 24 hours before reading this, then the news has been impossible to miss - we are heading into (I must use caps for emphasis here) a TRIPLE GAMEWEEK!
Ahh, the triple gameweek, the rarest of gems. I believe it has been about a decade since we had one of these. I remember it being Birmingham City and I remember the then fledgling FPL community going bananas over the prospects of it, only for it to end in pretty ho-hum fashion. I suppose folks were so excited about a triple gameweek, they had forgotten that Birmingham City weren’t exactly a steady source for FPL returns.
Things are different this time around, however, as it is a big club, Manchester United, who have three games on tap in Week 35, and according to my Twitter feed, the Red Devils are going to win all three by a 4-0 scoreline and all their players will score twenty points or more.
Right. Yeah, I think the community is going a bit crazy over United, when you have to consider several other sides have a double gameweek and can do equal, if not more, damage. More to come on these thoughts in this somewhat unorthodox presentation of my column this week, but I would say up top - I do not think captaining a United player is necessarily a “must”. The advantage of a player with two matches versus those with one is greater than a player with three games versus another playing two. It is not too difficult a concept to grasp. Say, for the sake of an absurd example, one player had 100 games in a round, and another had 99. Would you really be so automatic as to anoint the player with the one extra game the hands-down choice for the armband, with nothing else in consideration? 3 versus 2 is not as significant as 2 versus 1. It is that simple.
So, no surprise really - this armband choice is going to have two camps - those who captain Bruno Fernandes, and those who captain someone else. That being the case, this column will have only two parts - the low-down on Fernandes and then a look at the alternatives. So, with yet another Friday night fixture and United having just finished a Europa League game a few hours ago, it is another small window for your humble writer, so let us dive into the Week 35 edition of Captain Obvious...
Bruno Fernandes (11.5m)
Rostered % - 56.1% (rising steady)
Total points - 221 (16 Gs, 13 As, 32 BPs)
Opponent - Aston Villa (away), Leicester (home), Liverpool (home)
I said this column had to be brief so I am going to cut right to the chase. There are two reasons why giving the armband to Fernandes makes all the sense in the world, and you cannot find fault in your decision, even should it turn out to be a disappointing return.
- It’s Bruno Fernandes. He sits currently as the highest-scoring player in the game. Period. When a player who has been a top 3 armband candidate all season, is the game’s highest scoring player AND has three games in one round - what more do you need to know about whether he has the credentials?
- The armband rate this week will likely be insanely in favor of Fernandes. To NOT captain him is an extreme risk. To captain him and he disappoints - at least you are sharing the same fate of the vast majority of managers currently ranked above you. So while success with Fernandes will be somewhat muted by the fact that so many other people will cancel that score out, there is at least some insurance in backing in case picking another option blows up in your face.
Those are the main reason for captaining him and, for many managers, that’s reason enough, no need to dwell further, and just be thankful that it is an easy decision this week.
However, we need to address some of the reality of this situation. Including last night’s Europa League game, by the time Week 35 ends on Thursday night next week, United will have played four times in eight days. Starting with the first PL game in this round against Villa, it will be three games in five days. That is just ridiculous. I would say that chances of any United player starting all three of the triple gameweek fixtures are extremely unlikely. Typically, I would at least say the keeper could be depended on, but with the de Gea/Henderson situation at United these days, even that position cannot be counted on.
So, one has to imagine, best case scenario, Fernandes, or any other United player for that matter, starts two of the three and then comes on as a substitute in the remaining game. You also then have to consider, of the games these players start, someone like Fernandes could only get 70-75 minutes. This is a completely made-up projection, but let’s say Fernandes plays in terms of minutes, a series of 75, 30, 75. That is 180 minutes. So really, two games. Sure, you will get one additional appearance point in that third game as a substitute, but that’s really it. There are bound to be double gameweek players that DO play 180 themselves.
Also, keep in mind, we are not seeing the best form from Fernandes at the moment. Honestly, before the triple gameweek news came down, whenever I would see the name Fernandes bandied about on social media, it was in regards to “giving up” on him and transferring him out. It is amazing how an extra fixture can magically make a player perform better. I am being facetious, of course. But yeah, he has blanked in his last three and over his last eight matches, which is more than a fair sample size of one’s form, he has a very mediocre return of one goal and one assist. One more thing to consider with all Manchester United assets...the fixtures are not exactly enticing. Having Leicester and Liverpool as two of the three games is no easy task. These are sides we typically look to dodge if they are opposing our captain. The triple gameweek factor should not change that reality.
[[ad:athena]]
Everyone else - Let’s look first at United beyond Fernandes and I think the most helpful thing to do is look at who started last night against Roma. Here was your XI for last night -
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Maguire, Shaw; Fred, Pogba, van de Beek, Greenwood, Fernandes; Cavani.
Two notable names on the bench for me that stand out for fantasy purposes ahead of Week 35 are Victor Lindelof and Marcus Rashford. Before even thinking about captaincy potential, I would at least favor these two as transfer targets in this week, particularly Rashford if we are talking about an armband alternative to Fernandes. Rashford hasn’t exactly been on fire himself, but his form is better than Fernandes - a goal and an assist scattered over his last four games. Both Fernandes and Cavani were subbed off early last night, so you can at least feel secure that they will start at least the first of the next three games. One more name to consider is Mason Greenwood, who has the form and young legs on his side. If anyone has the energy to navigate through this fixture glut, it is him.
Now, to look elsewhere for those that dare. I will somewhat rehash why you would go against picking a United player and it all depends on your philosophy/situation in my opinion. Fernandes is the safe pick. However, we are down to crunch time here. To me, if there’s a time to risk going against the grain, it is here. Why? Because you are still looking at putting the armband on a solid player with two games. Here are my picks for the best from that lot…
Kelechi Iheanacho/Jamie Vardy - want to get some immediate results from your captaincy choice? Well, Iheanacho and Vardy are playing at home to Newcastle tonight. You could be looking at a top 10k round rank before we even get to Saturday. The Foxes play their second against Manchester United. Again, think of the drama. The majority of the FPL community tuning in to see Fernandes add to his round score, and there you are with a Leicester counter-weapon. Even though Iheanacho has been the hotter of the two Foxes, I think he and Vardy are close enough in my mental ranking of options this week to include them together.
Mo Salah - the postponed game between the Reds and Manchester United will be tacked on to the tail end of this gameweek. What that has done has set Liverpool up with an unexpected double gameweek, and you have to be excited about the first fixture, playing at home to Southampton this weekend after having that extended time off from the postponement. Salah, who is coming off a solid nine point return, could cash in big, first playing the Saints, then playing United when United will have played their third league game in five days, so they might be easier to slice up than they otherwise would be. Come on, folks. It is a healthy Mo Salah in a double gameweek, with one plus fixture and another improved fixture based on their opponent’s situation.
Outside of Leicester and Liverpool options, I probably would rather focus on United versus the other double gameweek clubs. Crystal Palace has it best in terms of fixtures and if Wilfried Zaha were in sizzling form, I might consider him, but that is a pretty brave armband pick. I am happy to have Dominic-Calvert Lewin as Everton coverage, but form and fixtures have me staying away from captaincy ideas. Arsenal have a nice first of two fixtures, at home to West Brom, but they are coming off a Thursday night game that knocked them out of the Europa League, so predicting playing time for their assets is too risky for armband consideration in my view. Chelsea have to travel to City and, considering City have the chance to seal the league title on their ground with a result here, it makes me worry about Chelsea’s fantasy prospects. They then meet up with the Gunners later in the week for a “who knows what” derby result. Finally, I have no Aston Villa representation this round nor am I worried about it. They have the toughest two games - Man United and away to Everton. Villa simply haven’t been trustworthy for consistent production since Jack Grealish went down with his long-term injury.
Hit me up on Twitter @FuzzyWarbles and let me know your thoughts on who you’ve nominated for captain and why. Good luck with your selection this weekend and may your arrows be green.
