CAPTAINCY HYPE 2017/18: FPL Gameweek 6
Picking a Captain to double down on in the Fantasy Premier League is the most important question asked ahead of each of the 38 Gameweek's in the Premier League season. There's a lot of self-help out there for FPL enthusiasts, with our Hype Team providing three major considerations for the armband for each and every Gameweek. We'll be detailing the Essential choice for captain, a popular alternative that's pushing the consensus, and a Wildcard pick to add to the chaos. Captaincy can make of break a Gameweek so strap in tightly, it's time to lose your marbles. All aboard.
Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek Deadline
For the 2016/17 Premier League season, the FPL deadline will be one hour before the commencement of the week's first game. The Premier League website lists each FPL deadline, you can always ask on social media, and you can also view a real time countdown on our Weekly Hype page
CAPTAINCY HYPE: 2017/18 SEASON PERFORMANCE
In each Captaincy Hype article we track our progress throughout the 2017/18 FPL season. Below you can check how our Captaincy selections have performed by week to week in the Fantasy Premier League.
GW1
Essential: Romelu Lukaku (Man United vs. West Ham) - 13pts
Alternative: Roberto Firmino (Watford vs. Liverpool) - 12pts
Wildcard: Josh King (West Brom vs. Bournemouth) - 2pts
GW2
Essential: Romelu Lukaku (Swansea vs. Man Utnited) - 6pts
Alternative: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool vs. Crystal Palace) - 1pt
Wildcard: Steve Mounie (Huddersfield vs. Newcastle) - 1pt
GW3
Essential: Harry Kane (Spurs vs. Burnley) - 2pts
Alternative: Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Man United vs. Leicester) - 5pts
Wildcard: Alvaro Morata (Chelsea vs. Everton) - 12pts
GW4
Essential: Romelu Lukaku (Stoke vs. Man United) - 6pts
Alternative: Alvaro Morata (Leicester vs. Chelsea) - 6pts
Wildcard: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal vs. Bournemouth) - 1pt
GW5
Essential: Harry Kane (Spurs vs. Swansea) - 2pts
Alternative: Gabriel Jesus (Watford vs. Man City) - 6pts
Wildcard: Eden Hazard (Chelsea vs. Arsenal) - 1pt
Totals
Essential Total: 13 (1), 6 (2), 2 (3), 6 (4), 2 (5) = 29 points
Alternative Total: 12 (1), 1 (2), 5 (3), 6 (4), 6 (5) = 30 points
Wildcard Total: 2 (1), 1 (2), 12 (3), 1 (4), 1 (5) = 17 points
CAPTAINCY HYPE: THE ESSENTIAL PICK
Our Essential picks for captain are selected each and every week on our main Twitter account, @RealHypeTrain, with four highly selected FPL options battling it out for alpha status amongst fellow FPL players.
Gameweek 6: Essential
Player: Sergio Aguero (MCI)
Position: Forward
Player Price: £11.6 million +
Player Selection %: 22.7%
It's that time of the season again when Man City forward Sergio Aguero makes a case for himself as the standout captaincy choice each and every week amongst players. After four goals and two assists in his last two Premier League matches, the Argentinian forward has seen his ownership double and be the standout captaincy choice ahead of Gameweek 6.
In our essential captaincy poll this week we pitted Aguero, who plays Crystal Palace at home, against Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku, and Alvaro Morata this week, with premium forward options becoming a staple amongst FPL players.
Understandably, Aguero won with a healthy majority this week, with a 57% margin of success, and was only really pushed by Harry Kane's away visit to West Ham to open the sixth round of Premier League matches.
Power Rankings Analysis: Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus
Two is always better than one, right? That’s the motto with Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, who both feature in the Power Rankings, with Jesus maintaining his fourth spot, and Aguero coming in as a new entry at number three.
It’s been a lethal couple of weeks for Man City. Ruthless in victories against Liverpool (5-0), Feyenoord (4-0), and Watford (6-0), Pep Guardiola’s side have averaged five goals per game in their last three matches, which is absurdly high regarding of who you play for.
In the Premier League, Sergio Aguero’s hat-trick against Watford during Gameweek 5 means he is the joint-top scorer in the league with five goals, sharing top-spot with Man United’s Romelu Lukaku.
In the case of Aguero, it’s another case of amassed FPL frustration for the Argentine forward, with a substitute appearance against Bournemouth ringing the alarm bells of -135,729 players, who immediately shipped out Aguero, before a small run of four goals and two assists from his last two fixtures. Now, in the days after the Watford decimation, Aguero’s ownership has nearly double, and currently sits at 21.5%, a figure that will certainly rise before the Gameweek 6 deadline.
Supporting Aguero, and not to be forgotten in the equation, Gabriel Jesus has maintained his fine form, scoring four goals in the last three matches, all whilst being heavily game managed by Pep Guardiola, with the Brazilian yet to complete ninety minutes of action in the league (but not that he needs it).
Gabriel Jesus’s Premier League Minutes
GW1 (BHA 0-2 MCI): 77 mins
GW2 (MCI 1-1 EVE): 45 mins
GW3 (BOU 1-2 MCI): 81 mins (1 goal)
GW4 (MCI 5-0 LIV): 56 mins (2 goals)
GW5 (WAT 0-6 MCI): 64 mins (1 goal)
Man City’s Fixture List
GW6: Crystal Palace (H)
GW7: Chelsea (A)
GW8: Stoke (H)
GW9: Burnley (H)
GW10: West Brom (A)
GW11: Arsenal (H)
GW12: Leicester (A)
With Man City firing on all cylinders, and the only top six club at home, both Jesus and Aguero are worthy picks for the captaincy armband when Crystal Palace, who have yet to score, come to the Etihad for Gameweek 6.
Stats and Information: Sergio Aguero
Sergio Aguero has begun his FPL season with 41 points, with 5 goals, 2 assists, and 6 bonus points.
Aguero managed maximum Bonus Points during GW1 at Brighton, and Gameweek 5 at Watford, both in away fixtures.
The Argentinian forward has been benched on one occasion this season, during Gameweek 3's 2-1 away victory at Bournemouth.
After his substitute appearance at Bournemouth, a net average of -135,729 players removed Aguero from their teams, only for him to score 29 points in the next two matches.
Aguero has not been booked yet this season, with the forward picking up 4 yellow cards and 1 red card (against Chelsea) last season.
With 41 points, Aguero is the top player in the FPL heading into Gameweek 6.
CAPTAINCY HYPE: THE ALTERNATIVE PICK
Our Alternative selection for captain typically commands a smaller FPL ownership percentage, but can be reserved for The Hype Train's own gut instincts on who could be captaincy inspiration.
Gameweek 6: Alternative
Player: Alexandre Lacazette
Position: Forward
Player Price: £10.3 million
Player Selection %: 10.7%
With Aguero as the top pick this week, with the likes of Kane, Morata, and Lukaku, all of whom have interesting and potentially complicated fixtures at hand, all missing out, we switch focus with our Alternative captaincy pick ahead of Gameweek 6. For the first time this season Sergio Aguero featured, and we can now add Alexandre Lacazette to the list of inclusions.
The big money signing from Lyon has had a rocky start to life in the Premier League, and has been a victim of Arsene Wenger's rotational policy at the clubs, have only completed 90 minutes once so far this season, and that was during the opening 4-3 victory against Leicester.
Lacazette's Premier League Minutes
GW1 (ARS 4-3 LEI): 90 mins (1 goal)
GW2 (STK 1-0 ARS): 78 mins
GW3 (LIV 4-0 ARS): 28 mins
GW4 (ARS 3-0 BOU): 74 mins (1 goal)
GW5 (CHE 0-0 ARS): 65 mins
In recent weeks Arsenal have improved their performances on the pitch, with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Bournemouth, and a resolute 0-0 draw at Chelsea, a game which the Gunners should have won on the balance of play. This bodes well for Arsenal players ahead of the visit of West Brom, another potentially tricky customer who make a habit of limiting their opposition to a few goal-scoring opportunities in each match.
To Lacazette's credit, both of his Premier League goals this season have come at home, and it isn't inconceivable to see the player, who has rightfully been overlooked by every premium forward over the £10.0 million price-tag, to reignite interest from FPL players with another goal at the Emirates against Tony Pulis's side.
Stats and Information: Alexandre Lacazette
Alexandre Lacazette has opened his FPL account with 17 points and 2 goals, from the opening five matches of the season.
Both of Lacazette's Premier League goals have come at home, against Leicester (GW1) and Bournemouth (GW4).
Only Danny Welbeck (3 goals) has scored more goals in the league than Lacazette (2 goals). Arsenal have scored 7 goals from their opening five matches.
With 10.7% ownership, only Xhaka (13.2%), and Kolasinac (11.7%), are selected by more players than Lacazette.
Lacazette has started one match as a substitute this season, which was during the 4-0 defeat at Liverpool during Gameweek 3.
Lacazette has played 335/450 minutes this season, which is joint 7th at Arsenal. Kolasinac, another FPL option, has played the same number of minutes as Lacazette.
CAPTAINCY HYPE: THE WILDCARD PICK
Our Wildcard selection is one of the ten differential picks that is featured in our Weekly Wildcards article. This captaincy selection has a very small percentage of owners in the FPL, and is our left field option.
Gameweek 6: Wildcard
Player: Benjamin Mendy (MCI)
Position: Defender
Player Price: £6.5 million
Player Selection %: 1.9%
Ahead of Gameweek 6, we've gone big with our wildcard captaincy pick, selecting a second Man City player for the captaincy article. Full-back Benjamin Mendy earns consideration after a run of successive clean sheets, and an assist for Leroy Sane against Liverpool in the 5-0 decimation during Gameweek 4. Crystal Palace are yet to score this season, so perhaps a defensive return might be one to consider this week in the midst of some potentially complicated fixtures playing out this weekend.
Analysis by @HypeTrainSam
Picking a defender as our wildcard captain is bold move, but when you consider what makes a good fantasy captain if you are a midfielder or forward option is the certainty of a return (goal or assist). Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't come off. The same rule applies to defenders, but people are missing the trick by trusting certain clean sheets. Crystal Palace are not scoring goals, and Man City are keeping clean sheets. When you choose forwards, you have that feeling of 'It's going to happen, he is going to score'.
The same rule applies to defenders, and this fixture is one of them gut feelings. Benjamin Mendy is a great differential, mostly due to the high starting price, which means he will be overlooked most weeks. Moving into dangerous positions down the left channel his crossing is a striker’s dream, and he can also be on the end of an attacking return. Mendy is like Marcos Alonso, they play a similar game, and we think that the Frenchman is in for another convincing Gameweek.
Stats and Information: Benjamin Mendy
Benjamin Mendy has opened his FPL account with 17 points from 3 matches played, with two clean sheets, an assist, and 1 bonus point.
With 1.9% ownership, Mendy is the 13th most selected player from Man City heading into Gameweek 6.
Mendy has played the full 90 minutes in the last three Premier League matches.
Mendy is averaging 5.7 points per match this season.
Priced at £6.5 million the defender is the joint second most expensive defender in the FPL right now, and shares his price-tag with fellow full-back Kyle Walker, also of Man City.
Want to know more about The Hype Train?
The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in the Fantasy Premier League (#FPL), providing beautiful graphics and weekly insight for hopeful players attempting to climb ranking tables. We are also occasional media reviewers, with a keen interest to review movies, live sport, and professional wrestling.
As well as providing FPL articles on our website, we are a founding Contributor to the new Fantasy Football Hub, where you can find more unique articles, including weekly Power Rankings, from The Hype Team. You can support us and read exclusive members only content for just £2 per-month by clicking here.
The Hype Train were nominated and shortlisted for the 'Best Football Blog 2016' by the Football Bloggers Association at their annual Football Blogging Awards (The FBA's), with the final presentation held at Old Trafford in Manchester.
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All aboard.
