CAPTAINCY HYPE 2017/18: FPL Gameweek 36
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
GW17
Essential: Harry Kane (Spurs 2-0 Brighton) - 2pts
Alternative: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool 0-0 West Brom) - 3pts
Wildcard: Alexis Sanchez (West Ham 0-0 Arsenal) - 3pts
GW18
Essential: Eden Hazard (Chelsea 1-0 Southampton) - 6pts
Alternative: Jamie Vardy (Leicester 0-3 Crystal Palace) - 2pts
Wildcard: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle) - 3pts
GW19
Essential: Raheem Sterling (Man City 4-0 Bournemouth) - 13pts
Alternative: Jamie Vardy (Arsenal 3-3 Liverpool) - 10pts
Wildcard: Charlie Austin (Southampton 1-1 Huddersfield) - 6pts
GW20
Essential: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool 5-0 Swansea) - 9pts
Alternative: Sergio Aguero (Newcastle 0-1 Man City) - 2pts
Wildcard: Charlie Austin (Crystal Palace 2-3 Arsenal) - 2pts
GW21
Essential: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool 2-1 Swansea) - 14pts
Alternative: Alvaro Morata (Chelsea 5-0 Stoke) - 2pts
Wildcard: Alexis Sanchez (West Brom 1-1 Arsenal) - 5pts
GW22
Essential: Harry Kane (Swansea 0-2 Spurs & Spurs 1-1 West Ham) - 3pts
Alternative: Alvaro Morata (Man City 3-1 Watford) - 6pts
Wildcard: Sadio Mane (Burnley 1-2 Liverpool) - 8pts
GW23
Essential: Harry Kane (Spurs 4-0 Everton) - 13pts
Alternative: Romelu Lukaku (Man United 3-0 Stoke) - 5pts
Wildcard: Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace 1-0 Burnley) - 3pts
GW24
Essential: Mohamed Salah (Swansea 1-0 Liverpool) - 2pts
Alternative: Raheem Sterling (Man City 3-1 Newcastle) - 5pts
Wildcard: Cenk Tosun (Everton 1-1 West Brom) - 2pts
GW25
Essential: Sergio Aguero (Man City 3-0 West Brom) - 6pts
Alternative: Roberto Firmino (Huddersfield 0-3 Liverpool) - 8pts
Wildcard: Eden Hazard (Chelsea 0-3 Bournemouth) - 2pts
GW26
Essential: Sergio Aguero (Burnley 1-1 Man City) - 2pts
Alternative: Anthony Martial (Man United 2-0 Huddersfield) - 1pt
Wildcard: Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace 1-1 Newcastle) - 5pts
GW27
Essential: Mohamed Salah (Southampton 0-2 Liverpool) - 13pts
Alternative: Harry Kane (Spurs 1-0 Arsenal) - 6pts
Wildcard: Alexis Sanchez (Newcastle 1-0 Man United) - 2pts
GW28
Essential: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool 4-1 West Ham) - 10pts
Alternative: Jamie Vardy (Leicester 1-1 Stoke) - 2pts
Wildcard: Sadio Mane (Liverpool 4-1 West Ham) - 7pts
GW29
Essential: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool 2-0 Newcastle) - 8pts
Alternative: Harry Kane (Spurs 2-0 Huddersfield) - 5pts
Wildcard: Alexis Sanchez (Crystal Palace 2-3 Man United) - 5pts
GW30
Essential: Harry Kane (Bournemouth 1-4 Spurs) - 1pt
Alternative: Riyad Mahrez (West Brom 1-4 Leicester) - 11pts
Wildcard: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal 3-0 Watford) - 9pts
GW31
Essential: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool 5-0 Watford) - 29pts
Alternative: Steve Mounie (Huddersfield 0-2 Crystal Palace) - 2pts
Wildcard: Cenk Tosun (Stoke 1-2 Everton) - 13pts
GW32
Essential: Mohamed Salah (Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool) - 7pts
Alternative: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal 3-0 Stoke) - 13pts
Wildcard: Ashley Barnes (West Brom 1-2 Burnley) - 6pts
GW33
Essential: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal 3-2 Southampton) - 6pts
Alternative: Harry Kane (Stoke 1-2 Spurs) - 1pt
Wildcard: Eden Hazard (Chelsea 1-1 West Ham) - 2pts
GW34
Essential: Romelu Lukaku (Man Utd 0-1 WBA & Bournemouth 0-2 Man Utd) - 8pts
Alternative: Harry Kane (Spurs 1-3 Man City & Brighton 1-1 Spurs) - 10pts
Wildcard: Alexis Sanchez (Man Utd 0-1 WBA & Bournemouth 0-2 Man Utd) - 2pts
GW35
Essential: Mohamed Salah (West Brom 2-2 Liverpool) - 7pts
Alternative: Gabriel Jesus (Man City 5-0 Swansea) - 7pts
Wildcard: Wilfried Zaha (Watford 0-0 Crystal Palace) - 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), 1 (14), 5 (15), 12 (16), 2 (17), 6 (18), 13 (19), 9 (20), 14 (21), 1, 2 (22), 13 (23), 2 (24), 6 (25), 2 (26), 13 (27), 10 (28), 8 (29), 1 (30), 29 (31), 7 (32), 6 (33), 8 (34), 7 (35) = 242 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), 3 (17), 2 (18), 10 (19), 2 (20), 2 (21), 6 (22), 5 (23), 5 (24), 8 (25), 1 (26), 6 (27), 2 (28), 5 (29), 11 (30), 2 (31), 13 (32), 1 (33), 10 (34), 7 (35) = 215 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), 3 (17), 3 (18), 8 (19), 2 (20), 5 (21), 8 (22), 3 (23), 2 (24), 2 (25), 5 (26), 2 (27), 7 (28), 5 (29), 9 (30), 13 (31), 6 (32), 2 (33), 2 (34), 2 (35) = 151 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 36: Essential
Player: Harry Kane (TOT)
Position: Forward
Player Price: £12.9 million +
Player Selection %: 33.2%
35 down, 3 to go. The FPL is in its final stretch before it powers down for the season, and personally we can't wait for some time away from the Fantasy Premier League. At times, the most frustrating gaming experience you could wish to imagine, the hopes players has more often than not have come down to their captaincy picks, and ahead of Gameweek 36 we had an interesting poll result.
Lukaku and Sterling were the backdrop for a two-way contest between Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane. After a convincing Champions League victory against Roma, the King of Egypt took a lead in our essential captaincy poll, but in the latter stages of voting Harry Kane admirers took control to secure a victory.
Spurs entertain Watford at Wembley, with Harry Kane owners, all 33.2% of them fully expecting The Hurrikane to come good in an effort to chase Mohamed Salah's 31 Premier League goals this season.
In their previous encounter during Gameweek 15, Spurs managed to get a 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road. Christian Kabasele opened the scoring before Son Heung-min equalised, both goals coming before the 25 minute mark. Davinson Sanchez was sent off in the second-half of the match.
Kane managed a 2 point return against Watford last time out, and scored against Brighton during Double Gameweek 34's second match, opening the scoring for Spurs in a 1-1 draw away from home. The goal was Kane's first goal in 6 Premier League appearances.
There's no logic in picking Kane as the in-form option, with Salah outweighing Kane in the charts right now. This was a popular pick due to circumstances surrounding Liverpool playing in the early fixture, and facing Roma next week in the Champions League, and there's not much else to it this week.
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 36: Alternative
Player: Raheem Sterling (MCI)
Position: Midfielder
Player Price: £9.0 million +
Player Selection %: 24.1%
Man City have the Premier League wrapped up in a nice bow, and are now just toying with their opposition, and that started in last weekend's 5-0 home victory against Swansea. City rotated 3-4 of their main playing squad, including the likes of Sane, Walker, and Otamendi, missing out of any play time.
David Silva starred, as did Raheem Sterling, with the English winger scoring and assisting in the first-half. Sterling lasted 70 minutes before subbed, but left the field with a tinge of heartbreak for FPL players.
Fouled in the penalty area, Gabriel Jesus missed the resulting spot-kick, an action that pretty much ended the hopes of Sterling gaining any bonus points (and a potential 17 point return). Sterling left the field with 11 points, and Fantasy players left wanting more, andwe won't have to wait.
Man City visit West Ham, a fixture that could be another mauling by the new Champions. Sane should return to the starting lineup to reform the explosive trio of Sane-Jesus-Sterling, a Forward line that should terrify the likes of Pablo Zabaleta.
Sterling managed 2 points last time out against West Ham, with the Hammers losing 2-1 at The Etihad. We've just got a feeling that the floodgates might open, and Sterling might be the man to bank on if you're not feeling Kane or Salah this week.
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 36: Wildcard
Player: Ashley Barnes (BUR)
Position: Forward
Player Price: £5.4 million +
Player Selection %: 5.3%
Here we are again, with a Burnley forward as the differential captain instead of a more established option like Hazard or Sanchez, and here we are again explaining that this season doesn’t make any sense.
Burnley haven’t made sense this season, they have defied every label placed on them by professional pundits, once touted as relegation fodder the Clarets have rallied behind a shared ethos, under Sean Dyche they are a well-oiled machine whose work rate is their biggest attribute. The European dreamers have quality in all positions, but probably their best attribute is making opportunities for Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood leading the line.
No matter what the circumstance the Clarets are forcing the issue, and with Gudmundsson proving to be a great playmaker, there is always a chance. Burnley host Brighton this weekend, and the Seagulls have proven to possess a leaky defence, and with Dyche rallying his men to push for a European place you’d expect the home side to have the advantage.
Ashley Barnes's key stats:
Ashley Barnes has 6 goals from his last 8 Premier League games. Barnes hasn’t scored a brace in this run.
The previous fixture ended: Brighton 0-0 Burnley
The last clean sheet that Brighton had was in GW21 away to Newcastle United. The Seagulls have conceded two or more goals since then in 9 fixtures.
Brighton haven’t tasted victory in their last four fixtures.
Brighton haven’t won away from home since GW11 when they beat Swansea by a lone goal scored by Glenn Murray.
Burnley haven’t won their last two fixtures, but before that they won five consecutive games (W5, D1, L1)
Burnley have scored in their last eight consecutive fixtures.
Ashley Barnes has started the last consecutive seventeen games for Burnley, the forward has been a staple, one that has barely been rotated this whole season.
Unlike Alexis Sanchez, and Eden Hazard, Ashley Barnes has something that the premium differentials don’t have…consistency. Last season that wasn’t the case, you’d have called us crazy to put Barnes ahead of either Hazard or Sanchez. This season however the rules of the game have changed, and Ashley Barnes is an underrated option, because he plays for Burnley. The Clarets have dared to be brave this season and it has worked so far this season.
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.
