CAPTAINCY HYPE 2017/18: FPL Gameweek 13
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
GW6
Essential: Sergio Aguero (Man City vs. Crystal Palace) - 11pts
Alternative: Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal vs. West Brom) - 13pts
Wildcard: Benjamin Mendy (Man City vs. Crystal Palace) - 0pts
GW7
Essential: Romelu Lukaku (Man United vs. Crystal Palace) - 6pts
Alternative: Dele Alli (Huddersfield vs. Spurs) - 2pts
Wildcard: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal vs. Brighton) - 6pts
GW8
Essential: Harry Kane (Spurs vs. Bournemouth) - 2pts
Alternative: Jamie Vardy (Leicester vs. West Brom) - 2pts
Wildcard: Raheem Sterling (Man City vs. Stoke) - 15pts
GW9
Essential: Gabriel Jesus (Man City vs. Burnley) - 1pt
Alternative: Eden Hazard (Chelsea vs. Watford) - 5pts
Wildcard: Tammy Abraham (Swansea vs. Leicester) - 2pts
GW10
Essential: Sergio Aguero (West Brom vs. Man City) - 0pts
Alternative: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool vs. Huddersfield) - 4pts
Wildcard: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal vs. Swansea) - 2pts
GW11
Essential: Sergio Aguero (Spurs vs. Crystal Palace) - 2pts
Alternative: Mohamed Salah (West Ham vs. Liverpool) - 15pts
Wildcard: Riyad Mahrez (Stoke vs. Leicester) - 7pts
GW12
Essential: Romelu Lukaku (Man United vs. Newcastle) - 6pts
Alternative: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool vs. Southampton) - 16pts
Wildcard: Glenn Murray (Brighton vs. Stoke) - 1pt
Totals
Essential Total: 13 (1), 6 (2), 2 (3), 6 (4), 2 (5), 11 (6), 6 (7), 2 (8), 1 (9), 0 (10), 2 (11), 6 (12) = 57 points
Alternative Total: 12 (1), 1 (2), 5 (3), 6 (4), 6 (5), 13 (6), 2 (7), 2 (8), 5 (9), 4 (10), 15 (11), 16 (12) = 87 points
Wildcard Total: 2 (1), 1 (2), 12 (3), 1 (4), 1 (5), 0 (6), 6 (7), 15 (8), 2 (9), 2 (10), 6 (11), 1 (12) = 50 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 13: Essential
Player: Harry Kane
Position: Forward
Player Price: £12.8 million
Player Selection %: 13.79%
We're in the thick of the FPL season, with the 13th round of games quickly followed by a midweek round of games upcoming for Gameweek 14. The revolving issue of captaincy has once again thrown around a few surprises, with Spurs forward Harry Kane once again winning favour in our captaincy poll, despite not scoring in the last 3 games.
Harry Kane's Premier League Goals
GW4: Everton 0-3 Spurs (2 goals)
GW6: West Ham 2-3 Spurs (2 goals)
GW7: Huddersfield 0-4 (2 goals)
GW9: Spurs 4-1 Liverpool (2 goals, 1 assist)
Confidence has been low in Harry Kane in recent weeks, and he hasn't featured in the essential spot since Gameweek 8. That was Spurs's victory over Bournemouth, which saw Kane register a massive 2pts.
Kane missed the GW10 loss at Man United, and then was subbed before the 80th minute against Crystal Palace and Arsenal, bringing just 3pts to the table in the last three matches.
It is looking like it will be a last chance for Harry Kane, with fixtures in Spurs's favour ahead of Gameweek 13 with the visit of a West Brom side who will not be managed by Tony Pulis.
Realistically we could be looking at another tight affair at home, with Kane's minutes limited to keep him fresh ahead of Gameweek 14 in midweek, so the Hurrikane will need to get the business done early to appease much FPL hatred in the last few weeks.
It's Kane though, and his pedigree can't be understated, so his inclusion will always be a popular pick is fit and raring to go.
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 13: Alternative
Player: Gabriel Jesus
Position: Forward
Player Price: £10.5 million
Player Selection %: 15.6%
The words of Jesus Christ are life changing and timeless. When Jesus spoke, lives were transformed and the trajectory of life forever altered. He tells he is "the way, the truth and the life." (John 14:6)
Welcome to the confession box FPL managers, in recent weeks we favoured Harry Kane over Jesus, we turned out back on the chosen one and were left betrayed by a false prophet. Eight goals and one assist from nine starts if a phenomenal return the second season of the saviour. Meanwhile, Kane has been nothing but disappointing. We didn't believe, and we were punished for our lack of loyalty in a proven Man City asset.
The only thing that would make Jesus an even more convincing option would be Pep Guardiola finally stop tinkering with his own fantasy team, toying with the rotation of Aguero and Kane. Despite this Jesus has been averaging a return from every start, and he is standing strong despite his manager doing his best to rack the hearts of every trusting fantasy manager with nerves an hour before kickoff. Jesus is going up against Huddersfield, and we don't need to sell you on the potential of Man City to run riot, the Citizens have scored EIGHTEEN goals in their last five games, it is an unbelievable number.
A number that can only be possible due to the feet and charity of Jesus, the best captaincy option for this week. Kane might be the obvious choice, but Jesus has been the player not letting the people down.
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 13: Wildcard
Player: Callum Wilson
Position: Forward
Player Price: £6.0 million
Player Selection %: 2.4%
After becoming the first Englishman to score a hat-trick against Huddersfield the FPL community has been reintroduced to Callum Wilson who once a popular value option when Bournemouth got first promoted to the Premier League. Now, he has shown the same qualities as in previous seasons. To make it easier we have broken down his differential status into pros and cons.
Pros:
1. Personal Form: Coming off scoring three against Huddersfield he could carry that form into GW13. Hungry, motivated, he looks to keep his place in the team alongside Josh King.
2. Clean Sheet Wipe-outs: Swansea have not kept a clean sheet in the Premier League since GW8 when they hosted Huddersfield in a 2-0 win.
3. Cherries Form: Eddie Howe is turning around the luck for this season, and they are now undefeated in their last two encounters without conceding, and scoring five goals. Swansea have lost their last four games.
4. Budget Option: Priced at £6.0mil he is a cheap forward option with plenty of potential.
5. H2H Form: Bournemouth are undefeated against Swansea in their four Premier League encounters, picking up three wins and one draw. The Cherries have scored ten goals and kept two clean sheets in these four encounters.
6. Long Term Fixtures: Bournemouth have Swansea, Burnley, Crystal Palace, and Southampton in their current run of fixtures, so you wouldn't need to drop of rotate Wilson out of your team.
Cons:
1. Away Form: Overall, Bournemouth have lost four of their six away games so far this season. However, the last two they have won.
2. Rotation: Approaching the Christmas period the Cherries have all of their attacking options fit (Defoe, King, Wilson, Afobe, Mousset. There is never a guarantee with minutes. However, it is unlikely that Howe will drop Wilson after scoring three in his last game.
3. The Premier League: Who knows what the league throws at fantasy managers any game, both teams are bottom of the table and a fixture like this could throw up any manner of surprises.
On paper there are very cons of including him into your fantasy team, it makes sense to make a tactical gamble on Wilson. Also, the cons are not cons but potential pitfalls more than anything. In short, there is no reason why Callum Wilson shouldn't be in your fantasy teams.
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.
