CAPTAINCY HYPE 2018/19: FPL Gameweek 2
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: 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 2: Essential Captain
Player: Sergio Aguero (MCI)
Position: Forward
GW2 Fixture: Huddersfield (H)
Player Price: £11.5%
Player Selection %: 32.5%
With Gameweek 2 quickly approaching, and a first Saturday morning of the season, a first home fixture of the season for Man City has proved too much of an attraction in our captaincy article, with Sergio Aguero winning our essential captaincy poll.
Pep Guardiola's side brushed aside Arsenal on their own patch thanks to strikes from Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva, and with Mohamed Salah off to Crystal Palace for the first taste of Monday Night Football this season, 54% of 1,284 voters have signalled that it is time for the Argentine forward to come good after failing to find a way past Petr Cech during Gameweek 1.
On paper, the pick of Aguero is a straight forward one. Man City look a level above the rest of their competition in the Premier League, have an extra dimension in attack with Riyad Mahrez, and they take on a Huddersfield side who were dismantled by a Chelsea side, who in turn were comfortably beaten by City in the Community Shield less than two weeks ago.
On the surface, it looks like many will give the thumbs up for Aguero, but with City, there is always the promise of rotation. Stating that there is simply a rotation 'risk' doesn't do justice to the situation - rotation does happen on a regular basis, much to the angst of FPL players.
Last week it was Leroy Sane on the chopping blocks. This week it could be any number of players who make way, and we're not simply talking about removing a good first team player for a sub standard one.
We're talking Otamendi in for Stone or Laporte. David Silva in for Gundogan or Bernarndo Cilva. Leroy Sane in for Mahrez or Sterling. Jesus in for Aguero.
Elite players will no doubt come in for elite players at some point, and despite our belief that Man City will be looking to build momentum, and will most likely stick to the lineup that provided Unai Emery with a defeat on his managerial debut in the Premier League, there is a slight thought in the backs of our heads suggesting that the task at hand is only lowly Huddersfield - that this might be the perfect opportunity to show faith in those that started last week on the bench, and one of those areas could very well be the Forward position.
There is always the risk, but Gameweek 2 could reap the reward if Aguero does start. Crossing your fingers and having faith might just win you the week. That, or masses of Fantasy players will take to the internet in utter despair. Let's hope for the former.
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 2: Alternative Captain
Player: Christian Eriksen (TOT)
Position: Midfielder
GW2 Fixture: Fulham (H)
Player Price: £9.5 million
Player Selection %: 16.9%
With Sergio Aguero taking top spot this week, winning with a 4% majority, the task of picking an alternative captain is actually a difficult task. With Salah's ownership boasting its own majority, we have decided to look elsewhere for captaincy potential this week, which leads us to the home of English football, Wembley.
Spurs open their 'home' account for the season as they still lodge at Wembley whilst their new stadium finishes construction, and more to the point, has been delayed its grand opening against Liverpool due to critical safety concerns.
What will be a concern for FPL players is the continued drought of Harry Kane in August. We're by no means one's to judge the fitness and levels of a player, but there is something visibility wrong with Kane right now. To us, the England captain appears massively fatigued and lacking energy in the final third. Kane has been dropping deep at an increasing rate for both club and country, enabling pacey wingers space and room behind opposition defenders.
There's still a sense that Kane was rushed back when he twisted his ankle against Bournemouth last season, with a leggy and uninspiring performance against Newcastle his lowest moment in the month of August to date - at least last season the Englishman was on the cusp of scoring two dozen times.
Despite our reservations surrounding Kane, there's no doubting that sooner rather than later it will be Christian Eriksen's time in the FPL spotlight. Eriksen was a favourite amongst players for Gameweek 1, and despite not providing a goal or assist, the Dane was so close to being awarded assists on several occasions, including the corner which led to Spurs's opening goal at Newcastle.
Likewise with Aguero, this week might provide a new emphasis for the players that didn't make the Fantasy impact they wanted last week, in an enticing home fixture against a side that looks like they'll spend most the season struggling for points.
For Spurs, they are playing Fulham at the right time. Their team is compromised of many new faces that will take time to gel, whilst Tottenham are a team of familiar faces that look settled and well-drilled. With Fulham dropping deep, this screams like a game in which Christian Eriksen take by the horns and make his own.
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 2: Wildcard Captain
Player: Raheem Sterling (MCI)
Position: Midfielder
GW2 Fixture: Huddersfield (H)
Player Price: £11.5 million
Player Selection %: 3.2%
After a mixed World Cup 2018 the England forward moved on quickly from the disappointment in Russia by kickstarting the Unai Emery era at Arsenal with a loss the Gunners record. His inclusion in the Man City came as a huge surprise after Mahrez and Sane were the starting wingers during pre-season, and in typical Pep Guardiola style the Spaniard rotated his midfield as common as he changes his underwear. This has gifted the differentials with one of the FPL’s top performers last season as the best differential that we can recall in a long time.
Everyone expected Sane to be starting, and Kevin De Bruyne (which still is very strange to think why people considered him an option at the beginning of the season), and soon enough David Silva will be back in rotation, and Jesus too…and this will be normal. What isn’t normal is Sterling getting rotated, he is Pep’s teachers pet and when in favour he plays every minute. After destroying Arsenal’s hope yet again there comes the first home game for Man City against Huddersfield.
The Terriers were woeful against Chelsea, it looks like they are going to be struggling for both goals and clean sheets, so this fixture is a double-edged sword for City options, and none better than Raheem Sterling whose potential automatically places him as this week’s prime differential.
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.
