CAPTAINCY HYPE 2017/18: FPL Gameweek 14

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

GW12

Essential: Harry Kane (Spurs vs. West Brom) - 8pts

Alternative: Gabriel Jesus (Huddersfield vs. Man City) - 4pts

Wildcard: Callum Wilson (Swansea vs. Bournemouth) - 2pts

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), 8 (13) = 65 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), 4 (13) = 91 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), 2 (13) = 52 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 14: Essential

Player: Alvaro Morata (CHE)

Position: Forward

Player Price: £10.6 million +

Player Selection %: 29.1%

For football fans we've entered a golden period of the season, with seven round of games after the third and final international break keeping Premier League fans amused until the New Year.

FPL players are entertaining the first round of midweek fixtures this season, and there aren't a lack of essential captaincy picks to be had. The only four of the highly selected picks who are not in form heading into this match is Romelu Lukaku, who blanked against Brighton in a 1-0 home victory during Gameweek 13.

The eventual winner of our day-long poll was Chelsea forward, Alvaro Morata, who also failed to score in his latest outing, a 1-1 draw at Liverpool, though the Spanish international looked dangerous throughout the lively draw.

Chelsea's Premier League Fixture List

GW14: Chelsea vs. Swansea

GW15: Chelsea vs. Newcastle

GW16: West Ham vs. Chelsea

GW17: Huddersfield vs. Chelsea

GW18: Chelsea vs. Southampton

GW19: Everton vs. Chelsea

GW20: Chelsea vs. Brighton

GW21: Stoke vs. Chelsea

GW22: Arsenal vs. Chelsea

If the Premier League is encountering a great run of fixtures, then it is Chelsea who profit from a very favourable fixture list, and with mass approval from the FPL masses across the world, Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard have become essential player picks over night.

Home encounters against Swansea and Newcastle have catapulted the love for the in-form Hazard and his strike partner to new heights, and we agree that Chelsea coverage is going to be an imperative part of the FPL between now and 2018, even if Chelsea completely implode in on itself.

The appeal for Morata is that he is a dangerous combination of power, speed, technical ability, and Azpilicueta assists, all which is making him a toxic mix to contend with in the FPL.

Morata has scored twice in the Premier League in his last five encounters, against Man United (GW11) and West Brom (GW12), and there's no signs of Morata's threat receding anytime soon with Paul Clement and Rafa Benitez struggling for form at their respective clubs.

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 14: Alternative

Player: Mohamed Salah (LIV)

Position: Midfielder

Player Price: £9.7 million +

Player Selection %: 47.3%

The Liverpool midfielder needs just five FPL points to become the first player to reach triple digits this season, and the away fixture at Stoke is incredibly winnable.

Liverpool have been victorious at Stoke in consecutive matches, winning 1-0 and 2-1 at the bet365 Stadium - with Philippe Coutinho scoring in both encounters.

*Top 10 FPL Players after Gameweek 13

Salah's most recent goal, against his old club Chelsea, is just the latest cherry on top for the top FPL player heading into Gameweek 14. You have to go back to Gameweek 8 in a 0-0 home draw with Man United for the last time Salah didn't register a goal or an assist.

With a quick turnaround of Premier League fixtures form is key for FPL who are looking to build on their overall rankings, and there is no better asset than Salah who is proving himself indispensable at Liverpool and in the overall strategy for players this season.

Plus, after last week banking on Gabriel Jesus, we're not trusting the Man City rotation game again for a while when picking our alternative captains.

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 14: Wildcard

Player: Alexis Sanchez (ARS)

Position: Midfielder

Player Price: £11.8 million

Player Selection %: 2.8%

Last up in our captaincy article takes us to the red side of North London, and to the Emirates where Arsenal host Huddersfield. Alexis Sanchez has squeezed into contention as the alpha differential pick after Alvaro Morata won our essential poll - otherwise this spot would have been Eden Hazard's.

Sanchez is the go-to option for FPL at Arsenal, even if at a masssive cost to your squad depth, with Sanchez the second most expensive player in the FPL at £11.8 million.

Sanchez pips Lacazette to the post for our consideration, and you can see below why the Frenchman isn't up in consideration for the golden boot so far this season, despite scoring six Premier League goals this season. Minutes are pinching Lacazette's potential, a direct bonus for Sanchez owners who benefitted from a penalty kick in the dying moments of another 1-0 away win at Burnley.

*Alexandre Lacazette's minutes in the Premier League this season

By @HypeTrainSam in our Differential article:

The final name in the power four is Alexis Sanchez, a man back on track in an Arsenal shirt...how long that remains will be seen in January, but for now the always-fit Chilean is in good form (and penalty duty) for the Gunners. Five FPL returns in his last eight games is an encouraging sign that Sanchez is once again a reliable option. Even if you look at his last five fixtures he has three fixtures where he has hit positive returns for trusting managers. Three goals, an assist, and five bonus points is a great haul for a player struggling for an iota of ownership.

Arsenal host Huddersfield who were most recently beaten by a fortunate Man City. Arsene Wenger meanwhile relishes games of this calibre, he is a master of dismantling small teams and with a player of Sanchez's quality and fitness we can see him being the difference maker in this fixture. The silly thing is that we have to justify Alexis as a differential, when he really isn't, and should be a player on the forefront of your minds heading into this gameweek. The fact that less than three percent of the entire FPL have Alexis in their teams shows that he isn't a trusted option anymore, especially with cheaper midfielders on more points, leaving the Chilean as a game changing differential for your team, in a fixture that could see Alexis in the dream team.

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.

You can follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, or visit our website here at www.thehypetrain.co.uk

All aboard.