CAPTAINCY HYPE 2017/18: FPL Gameweek 37
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
GW36
Essential: Harry Kane (Spurs 2-0 Watford) - 6pts
Alternative: Raheem Sterling (West Ham 1-4 Man City) - 11pts
Wildcard: Ashley Barnes (Burnley 0-0 Brighton) - 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), 6 (36) = 248 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), 11 (36) = 226 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), 2 (36) = 153 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 37: Essential
Player: Harry Kane (TOT)
Position: Forward
Player Price: £13.0 million +
Player Selection %: 36.1%
36 down and 2 to go in the FPL this season, with Double Gameweek 37 acting as the penultimate round of games for us avid players to sink our teeth into before the World Cup in Russia takes to the main stage.
With many mini-leagues and Head to Head leagues still very much up for grabs the issue of captaincy is more important than ever, and our poll of 4 options this week resulted in a victory for Harry Kane. Spurs's 27-goal Forward beat competition from Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Jamie Vardy this week, to claim bragging rights.
This just might be us, but we're 50/50 regarding Harry Kane this week. Sure, it's The Hurrikane, he's chasing Mohamed Salah in the Golden Boot race, and yes Kane produced massive numbers in the same position last season, but it's a new season and in recent weeks Harry Kane hasn't looked assured, as if he has come back from his ankle injury too early.
Kane has scored in back-to-back matches 6 times this season, the latest coming in GW34's 1-1 away draw at Brighton and GW36's 2-0 home victory over Watford. Both of Kane's goals were poachers strikes, with the Englishman failing to shine on either occasion as we're used to seeing.
Kane has only scored in 3 consecutive Premier League matches once this season, with goals against Liverpool (GW26), Arsenal (GW27), and Crystal Palace (GW28).
To live up to expectations of Fantasy players, Kane will have to score in 4 consecutive league matches, something the 197 point Forward hasn't managed this season, and to hit the heights of last season which saw 4 goals in DGW37 last season, Kane will equal the goal-scoring record of 31 goals in a single season, a feat Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has already reached.
Kane scored back-to-back hat-tricks once this season, netting 3 times against Burnley (GW19) and Southampton (GW20), and also has back-to-back braces against West Ham (GW6) and Huddersfield (GW7), so it isn't impossible to think that Kane can repeat feats that he's already managed this season.
The obstacles? A solid West Brom side who have found form under Darren Moore's managerial style, and a defensively organised Newcastle side led by Rafa Benitez. The latter fixture will be Newcastle's visit to Wembley since the 1999 FA Cup final, so this isn't a fixture that Newcastle will take lightly, especially as it will be Kenedy's last appearance for the club, as the Brazilian is ineligible against parent-club Chelsea on the final day of the season.
Kane has his work cut out for him this Gameweek, that's for sure, so it really is a case of hoping and praying that the defensive walls of West Brom and Newcastle will be softened as both clubs already know of their fate for next season.
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 37: Alternative
Player: Gabriel Jesus (MCI)
Position: Forward
Player Price: £10.4 million +
Player Selection %: 16.7%
We deliberately left Gabriel Jesus off of our essential captaincy poll for Double Gameweek 37 as the Forward is the perfect fit for our alternative captain this week. Owned by 16.7% of FPL players means that only a fraction of Fantasy players will be relying on Jesus this Gameweek, and for those without it could be a long weekend and mid-week period of nail-biting anxiousness.
The Brazilian has scored in 4 of his last 5 Premier Leagues, with the only game Jesus failed to score after coming on in the 3-2 home defeat to Man United during Gameweek 33.
This means that Jesus has found the net against Everton (GW32), Spurs (GW34), Swansea (GW35), and West Ham (GW36). Jesus also picked up an assist before his scoring run started against Stoke (GW30), which builds perfect momentum heading into a Double Gameweek with the odds decked in City's favour.
A brace of home ties at the Etihad against Huddersfield and Brighton is a dream scenario for FPL owners, with the only real obstacle in picking players is selecting the right ones. Pep Guardiola isn't afraid of rotation, as has been proven this season most recently with the omission of in-form David Silva in the 4-1 away win at West Ham during Gameweek 36.
With Sergio Aguero sidelined until the end of the season, the only real competition for Jesus's spot comes from Bernardo Silva or Raheem Sterling, but it looks nailed on that Jesus will be the man leading the line, with potential rotation to Sane, Silva, and Sterling, a potential doubt in the backs of FPL players heads.
Man City will lift the Premier League trophy against Huddersfield this Sunday, and with a feel good factor at the Etihad, we're expecting another convincing home performance with points across all areas of the pitch, which means Jesus as the focal point of the attack, could come into his own this Gameweek and cement himself in the FPL history books..
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 37: Wildcard
Player: Alexis Sanchez (MUN)
Position: Midfielder
Player Price: £11.5 million
Player Selection %: 3.3%
Whose else could be the captain this Double Gameweek? The name Alexis Sanchez is a name synonymous with Double Gameweek's, that is because during his time at Arsenal the Chilean was the go-to-player for everyone’s teams. In the last two seasons Sanchez has hit big, scoring double-digits in both years.
Currently, the midfielder plies his trade at Manchester United and has finally gotten over the integration phase with his new club and is once again a player that a lot of fantasy players are talking about positively. The steep price of Sanchez was always going to render him a differential for the entire season, especially with Mohamad Salah coming to prominence meant that Sanchez was left out in the cold.
Brighton and West Ham are both teams that are currently teams that are shipping plenty of goals, so on paper you’d expect these two fixtures to be comfortable for the Red Devils to come out unscathed. Factor in Lukaku’s injury, and there is potential that Sanchez could be the player to fill the goal-scoring void left by the Belgian forward. Out of all the players that will play twice in the Double Gameweek it may not be a surprise to see Sanchez keep up his phenomenal record in congested weeks such as this. It is such a shame that few people can budget for his inclusion.
Alexis Sanchez Key Stats:
The previous fixture ended: Manchester United 1-0 Brighton
Alexis Sanchez achieved 6pts against Brighton for Arsenal in GW7. The Chilean made an assist for one of Arsenal’s two goals.
Alexis Sanchez obtained 10pts in his last away game, this happened during GW33 against Manchester City
With Romelu Lukaku’s recent injury, there is the potential for Sanchez to play in a forward position.
Manchester have won their last three away games in the Premier League.
Brighton have not won their last three home games in the Premier League.
Brighton have conceded in their last eight Premier League home games, the last time the Seagulls kept a clean sheet at home was during GW19 against Watford in a 1-0 win.
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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.
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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.
