CAPTAINCY HYPE 2017/18: FPL Gameweek 15
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
GW13
Essential: Harry Kane (Spurs vs. West Brom) - 8pts
Alternative: Gabriel Jesus (Huddersfield vs. Man City) - 4pts
Wildcard: Callum Wilson (Swansea vs. Bournemouth) - 2pts
GW14
Essential: Alvaro Morata (Chelsea vs. Swansea) - 1pt
Alternative: Mohamed Salah (Stoke vs. Liverpool) - 13pts
Wildcard: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal vs. Huddersfield) - 8pts
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), 1 (14) = 66 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), 13 (14) = 104 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), 8 (14) = 60 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 15: Essential
Player: Mohamed Salah (LIV)
Position: Midfielder
Player Price: £9.8 million +
Player Selection %: 52.0%
Fresh off a round of midweek games, that either delighted or frustrated FPL players, with little sleep in between Gameweek's to plan and prepare for a normal round of Premier League fixtures, the pressing issue of the essential captaincy comes to the forefront yet again.
With three forwards and in-form Mohamed Salah in contention, a close poll resulted in no majority, with the Egyptian pipping Morata, Kane, and Aguero, to contention this week.
After weeks of pressing for a place of the essential poll, and when included for two weeks being overlooked, Fantasy players aren't turning another cheek with Salah.
The Egyptian winger, who will be playing hosts Russia at next years' World Cup, is the first midfielder to be selected as the 'essential' pick from our regular Gameweeek polls.
Forwards, up until this point, have dominated our selection for captaincy selections, and the returns have yielded just 66 points from the opening fourteen rounds of Premier League matches. It's a low return that has caused a shift in favourtism when selecting midfielder's as captaincy picks.
Mo Salah definetely deserves his curtain call ahead of Gameweek 15. The winger scored twice in just 23 minutes of football at Stoke, despite starting the game on the bench.
Salah has registered double-digit point returns on 6 occasions, having featured in all fourteen matches.
Salah was also the first player in the FPL to reach 100 points, and the first to score 10 goals. He is also the most selected player, and the only one to have 50% plus ownership as of writing.
Currently leading the Premier League's goal-scoring charts, with 12 goals, there is no doubting Salah's inclusion as the essential captaincy pick as Liverpool travle to Brighton.
The only concern is more rotation, with Liverpool braced with a Champions League showdown with Spartak Moscow at Anfield next week, and the reality that Brighton are a tough nut to crack at The Amex.
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 15: Alternative
Player: Alvaro Morata (CHE)
Position: Forward
Player Price: £10.7 million +
Player Selection %: 32.9%
The Spaniard is hot property going into Gameweek fifteen, and it is unlikely that he will be rotated with the Batsman still out injured, but here is what I wrote for the captaincy article regarding the Chelsea forward:
We tried to assess what we thought of Morata pre-season, but there was such limited data on the striker who spent a lot of time on the bench, so it was a natural gamble as to why the Italian manager Conte spent a fortune bringing him to London. Having initially struggled with injuries and match fitness the Spaniard picked up a goal and assist in his first competitive game; and like most of his career up until that point was coming from the bench to make the impact.
@HypeTrainRob | 21st July 2017
“Morata, of course, was over the moon to play for Chelsea, and we have to think that Conte was instrumental in his arrival to Stamford Bridge. Conte has the assured word 'faith' in the forward, having pinned the Spaniard as his choice of forward at both Juventus, and now Chelsea. From an FPL point of view, upon viewing the statistics, and better understanding the type of player he has been - not saying what he can become - players will need to take a leap of faith with Morata heading into the new season.”
Chelsea’s upcoming fixtures:
GW15: Newcastle
GW16: West Ham
GW17: Huddersfield
GW18: Southampton
GW19: Everton
GW20: Brighton
GW21: Stoke City
Current Record: 2017/18 Season
Starts: 13/14
Goals: 8
Assists: 4
Yellow Cards: 4
Bonus Points: 11
An attacking return per start is evidence that Chelsea have bought a player of real value that contributes to the overall attacking game for the Blues. Life without Diego Costa has been certainly made life at Stamford Bridge easier for Antonio Conte. Morata is a certified FPL option and a player that could make an enormous difference for your team as captain against Newcastle. The Toon have conceded eleven goals in their past five games, and their record at Stamford Bridge isn’t happy reading either. The last time the Toon visited during Rafa’s first attempt at staving off relegation they conceded five goals.
Long term the fixtures are rosy for the Spaniard, there are seven games that you’d expect Chelsea to cruise through (as usual, especially because the Premier League always gives them a boost during the Christmas season). There would be no need to rotate or consider other transfers with Morata in your team, and you would be safe to captain him in any of the fixtures between now and GW22 when they face off with Arsenal.
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 15: Wildcard
Player: Riyad Mahrezz (LEI)
Position: Midfielder
Player Price: £8.4 million
Player Selection %: 4.6%
Symptoms of nostalgia include recalling the beautiful scenes at the King Power Stadium when Andrea Bocelli was singing as Leicester celebrated their title victory with a justified victory over Everton. Fantasy managers are currently being induced with these effects, recalling a time when Riyad Mahrez was an option for their teams, and with Claude Puel's arrival at the club a reminder of the Algerian's brilliance has been reignited. Five returns from the past seven games is a fantastic haul for any player, and with six attacking returns (three goals, three assists) The Foxes have the cutting edge in their team back.
The curling winner versus Spurs epitomised Riyad's mean streak, the magic is back in the boots of a player who won the PFA Player of the Year. Deployed as either a right winger, or as a second striker behind Jamie Vardy, is a good felling for Mahrez heading into a run of fixtures that includes:
GW15: Burnley (H)
GW16: Newcastle (A)
GW17: Southampton (A)
GW18: Crystal Palace(H)
Riyad Mahrez is a massive differential, with long term potential.
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.
