CAPTAINCY HYPE 2018/19: FPL Gameweek 3
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 3 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 3: Essential Captain
Player: Mohamed Salah (LIV)
Position: Midfielder
GW3 Fixture: Brighton (H)
Player Price: £13.0 million
Player Selection %: 54.4%
Salah. Aguero. Salah. The pattern of captaincy this season in FPL has been very clear and obvious, with Liverpool and Man City rotating nicely home and away to start the season. The burden of responsibility is flip-flopping with Gameweek 3 favouring Liverpool's home fixture against Brighton in Saturday's evening kick-off, whilst Sergio Aguero is likely to take the Gameweek 4 crown when Man City host Newcastle (a fixture that is synonymous with Aguero scoring goal after goal).
For the third consecutive week our captaincy poll winner received a majority, which implies that the decisions are clear-cut with FPL players on our social media platforms. We decided to include Sadio Mane this week, an action which has seen Salah's winning margin drop slightly, with Aubameyang's home fixture against West Ham also seeing some attention.
Most your mini-league rivals will be backing Salah, and with a goal and two assists to kick off the season, we're talking about a Mo Salah is living up to his inflated price. Salah's been incredibly unlucky not to have 4-5 goals to his name already, so a big performance is on the cards, and against Brighton it is ideal opposition.
Liverpool decimated Brighton 5-1 away and 3-0 at Anfield on the final day of last season, so there is every worry for Chris Hughton's side about the floodgates opening, even though the Seagulls performed brilliantly against a below-par Man United side.
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 3: Alternative Captain
Player: Callum Wilson (BOU)
Position: Forward
GW3 Fixture: Everton (H)
Player Price: £6.1 million +
Player Selection %: 11.3%
At times last season Clalum Wilson was relentlessly mocked and taken aim at by the FPL community on Twitter for letting players down when entrusted. We too joked before the season started that Callum Wilson was a 'friend' for FPL players this season, with the opening games of the season putting egg on our faces that an il-fated prophecy is coming true.
Wilson has started the season strongly, scoring against both Cardiff and West Ham - fixtures that the Englishman would have blanked in last season. Wilson's equalising goal against West Ham was a superb solo-effort, highlighting several factors of play, including speed, hunger, technical ability, confidence on the ball and general form, which has made the 14-point Forward a serious contender for a place in your Fantasy team.
When picking an alternative captain this week we have certainly gone left-field, and could have easily chosen Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, or risked a Kane or Lukaku inclusion, but decisively we've backed the form charts.
Wilson, who has stripped Josh King of his pre-season limelight to begin the campaign, faces an attack-minded Everton squad that will leave gaps at the back for Wilson to exploit. Everton haven't found their niche from a defensive perspective this season, making Wilson a perfect alternative to captain - one wo you mini-league rivals won't bank on.
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 3: Wildcard Captain
Player: Troy Deeney (WAT)
Position: Forward
GW3 Fixture: Crystal Palace (H)
Player Price: £6.0 million
Player Selection %: 2.9%
A few times a season we try and pick up on Watford’s early season form. It has happened for the last two seasons…they start strong, then they taper off after they close to 30 to 35 points. Crystal Palace have lost their first game of the season against Liverpool and now they travel to Watford who are in their purple patch.
Troy Deeney and Andre Gray have a blossoming partnership which tore Burnley apart, and now they have another game to continue their exploits. We have selected Troy Deeney as a captain in the past three seasons of our captaincy series, and he has always returned for us so right now is that time to put some faith in his ability again.
A goal and an assist against Burnley cannot be overlooked, his slick movement and interplay with the players behind him make him prime real estate for GW3, even more than all the other differentials.
We haven’t even mentioned that he is on penalty duty and with some luck could once again be a hugely overlooked option, and one for captaincy contention given the right extremities of your mini-leagues.
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, subscribe to our YouTube channel, or visit our website here at www.thehypetrain.co.uk
All aboard.
