CAPTAINCY HYPE 2017/18: FPL Gameweek 17
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 4-0 West Ham) - 13pts
Alternative: Roberto Firmino (Watford 3-3 Liverpool) - 12pts
Wildcard: Josh King (West Brom 1-0 Bournemouth) - 2pts
GW2
Essential: Romelu Lukaku (Swansea 0-4 Man Utnited) - 6pts
Alternative: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool 1-0 Crystal Palace) - 1pt
Wildcard: Steve Mounie (Huddersfield 1-0 Newcastle) - 1pt
GW3
Essential: Harry Kane (Spurs 1-1 Burnley) - 2pts
Alternative: Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Man United 2-0 Leicester) - 5pts
Wildcard: Alvaro Morata (Chelsea 2-0 Everton) - 12pts
GW4
Essential: Romelu Lukaku (Stoke 2-2 Man United) - 6pts
Alternative: Alvaro Morata (Leicester 1-2 Chelsea) - 6pts
Wildcard: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth) - 1pt
GW5
Essential: Harry Kane (Spurs 0-0 Swansea) - 2pts
Alternative: Gabriel Jesus (Watford 0-6 Man City) - 6pts
Wildcard: Eden Hazard (Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal) - 1pt
GW6
Essential: Sergio Aguero (Man City 5-0 Crystal Palace) - 11pts
Alternative: Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal 2-0 West Brom) - 13pts
Wildcard: Benjamin Mendy (Man City 5-0 Crystal Palace) - 0pts
GW7
Essential: Romelu Lukaku (Man United 4-0 Crystal Palace) - 6pts
Alternative: Dele Alli (Huddersfield 0-4 Spurs) - 2pts
Wildcard: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal 2-0 Brighton) - 6pts
GW8
Essential: Harry Kane (Spurs 1-0 Bournemouth) - 2pts
Alternative: Jamie Vardy (Leicester 1-1 West Brom) - 2pts
Wildcard: Raheem Sterling (Man City 7-2 Stoke) - 15pts
GW9
Essential: Gabriel Jesus (Man City 3-0 Burnley) - 1pt
Alternative: Eden Hazard (Chelsea 4-2 Watford) - 5pts
Wildcard: Tammy Abraham (Swansea 1-2 Leicester) - 2pts
GW10
Essential: Sergio Aguero (West Brom 2-3 Man City) - 0pts
Alternative: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool 3-0 Huddersfield) - 4pts
Wildcard: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal 2-1 Swansea) - 2pts
GW11
Essential: Sergio Aguero (Spurs 1-0 Crystal Palace) - 2pts
Alternative: Mohamed Salah (West Ham 1-4 Liverpool) - 15pts
Wildcard: Riyad Mahrez (Stoke 2-2 Leicester) - 7pts
GW12
Essential: Romelu Lukaku (Man United 4-1 Newcastle) - 6pts
Alternative: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool 3-0 Southampton) - 16pts
Wildcard: Glenn Murray (Brighton 2-2 Stoke) - 1pt
GW13
Essential: Harry Kane (Spurs 1-1 West Brom) - 8pts
Alternative: Gabriel Jesus (Huddersfield 1-2 Man City) - 4pts
Wildcard: Callum Wilson (Swansea 0-0 Bournemouth) - 2pts
GW14
Essential: Alvaro Morata (Chelsea 1-0 Swansea) - 1pt
Alternative: Mohamed Salah (Stoke 0-3 Liverpool) - 13pts
Wildcard: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal 5-0 Huddersfield) - 8pts
GW15
Essential: Mohamed Salah (Brighton 1-5 Liverpool) - 5pts
Alternative: Alvaro Morata (Chelsea 3-1 Newcastle) - 8pts
Wildcard: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester 1-0 Burnley) - 6pts
GW16
Essential: Harry Kane (Spurs 5-1 Stoke) - 12pts
Alternative: Eden Hazard (West Ham 1-0 Chelsea) - 2pts
Wildcard: Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool 1-1 Everton) - 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), 8 (13), 1 (14), 5 (15), 12 (16) = 83 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), 8 (15), 2 (16) = 114 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), 6 (15), 1 (16) = 67 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.
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 17: Essential
Player: Harry Kane (TOT)
Position: Forward
Player Price: £12.8 million
Player Selection %: 39.3%
Gameweek 17: Alternative
Player: Mohamed Salah (LIV)
Position: Midfielder
Player Price: £9.9 million +
Player Selection %: 55.7%
There's no time to catch our breath this week with FPL Gameweek 17 just hours away. The non-stop question about captaincy rears its head again, so we put four essential picks to the polls to see who would stick out like a sore thumb in regards to popularity and perception ahead of a second round of midweek games.
Late last Friday night we were sat at our computer screens, pulling our hair out over the idea of writing about Harry Kane as the essential pick. An easy and comfortable victory in the poll last week, it comes at no surprise that Harry Kane retains his essential billing ahead of Gameweek 17 after a brace against Stoke.
We’ve also compiled our essential and alternative picks this week as top billing for captaincy this week is painstakingly obvious ahead of another round of midweek games. The message this week is simplicity.
With the introduction of the FPL Cup this week, most players will play it safe with their captaincy picks, and to avoid sounding hipster, playing it safe is the way to go for this week.
Salah and Kane are the go-to men right now, and it is unthinkable that there is a 'Plan B' with this round of midweek games already sinking Alvaro Morata to injury, losing Lukaku to terrible form, and featuring a Man City attack that has an ever-changing rotatable policy which can strike anyone at anytime.
Spurs's Last 6 Premier League Results
GW11: Spurs 1-0 Crystal Palace
GW12: Arsenal 2-0 Spurs
GW13: Spurs 1-1 West Brom
GW14: Leicester 2-1 Spurs
GW15: Watford 1-1 Spurs
GW16: Spurs 5-1 Stoke
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 17: Wildcard
Player: Alexis Sanchez (ARS)
Position: Midfielder
Player Price: £11.8 million
Player Selection %: 2.8%
One year ago, the Chilean sensation was in the form of his life, and the FPL’s top player owned by virtually all the active players. Flash forward a year and barely anyone trusts the Arsenal attacker anymore. Cheaper options have rendered him obsolete in the eye of many fantasy managers, especially after speculation about his future move away from Arsenal a black cloud on whether the midfielder will put in one hundred percent for his current club.
As it stands the points that the Chilean is racking up speaks for themselves, and compared to other midfielders around his points tally with significant ownership things are looker much brighter for Alexis than they did in September. We firmly believe that his situation at Arsenal has settled for the time being and he is focused on his football, and the points have been coming in. Alexis is the key component of our differential team, and if you are looking for a player that can make a huge difference over a head-to-head opponent or get the advantage in the cup which launches this week then Alexis Sanchez is a smoking gun.
Sanchez's Key Stats:
Alexis Sanchez has four returns from his last five games (7, 11, 8, 1, 5). The 1pt week was the loss to Manchester United.
Arsenal have won three of their last five Premier League games (W3, D1, L1).
West Ham have the worst goal difference
Arsenal beat west Ham 5-1 at the London Stadium this time last year, with Alexis getting a hat-trick.
Arsenal’s record against West Ham is strong, having won eleven of the last thirteen fixtures against the Hammers. Arsene Wenger’s form against the East London rivals can’t be matched by any other manager. Wenger is a specialist in defeated West Ham.
Arsenal’s next five fixtures:
GW17: West Ham (A)
GW18: Newcastle (H)
GW19: Liverpool (H)
GW20: Crystal Palace (A)
GW21: West Brom (A)
Alexis Sanchez is a worthwhile investment over the Christmas period, and his extreme levels of fitness means that he is in contention to play these games without disruption. Last time round Alexis had three at the London Stadium, and West Ham must be fearing his return just as they start to pick up some momentum.
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.
