CAPTAINCY HYPE 2018/19: FPL Gameweek 4
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 4: Essential Captain
Player: Sergio Aguero (MCI)
Position: Forward
GW4 Fixture: Newcastle (H)
Player Price: £11.3 million +
Player Selection %: 48.7%
Salah. Aguero. Salah. Aguero.
Trends in picking our essential captaincy pick has been a two horse race between the reigning Player of the Year and all-time leading FPL points-scorer in a single season (and who can forget the most goals in a single season), Mohamed Salah, and an FPL heartthrob in Sergio Aguero, who manages to find endless affection for few big performances - enough to have players forgive him for blanking either side of a 20-point performance.
Heading in to Gameweek 4, Sergio Aguero is this week's prominent player, commanding 70% of our essential captaincy poll, with Mo Salah's visit to Leicester only sealing 15% of the vote.
Despite a show-stealing 20 points against Huddersfield during Gameweek 2, it is Mohamed Salah who would have scored you more points as your captain if you have set-and-forget the armband on one of the two. Aguero's 24 overall points, which includes a brace of 2 points Gameweek's against Arsenal (GW1) and Wolves (A) would have scored you 48 points, whilst Salah has so far delivered in all 3 of Liverpool's fixtures, earning 25 Fantasy points and 50 in total for captaincy suitors.
Aguero's inclusion was a foregone conclusion well before we put up our poll due to his opposition this weekend. Last season, Aguero scored a debatable hat-trick against Newcastle, with one of his efforts (maybe) flicking off a single strand of hair following a Kevin De Bruyne cross - one which appeared to go straight in.
Statisticians will be favouring Aguero this weekend as the Argentine has scored 14 goals in 11 appearances against a Magpies short of quality, confidence and key players for their visit at the Etihad. Rafa Benitez and the Newcastle fan base, who all deserve better from a club's hierarchy who are curtailing investment into the club on and off the pitch, has suffered a media storm this week that reads of doom and gloom as Rafa's side tough fixtures shows no signs of slowing.
Man City are ruthless opponents, with Benitez set to park the bus at The Etihad. City, whose only loss to Newcastle with Aguero in the squad was in the League Cup last 16 three years ago at home, will certainly have too much firepower for the Magpies to hold tight at the weekend.
FPL players will also be keen to avoid captaincy hoodoo in the early Saturday fixture with Liverpool travelling to Palace, so it might be best to just save yourself the heartbreak of disappointment should Liverpool prove to be sluggish on their travels.
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 4: Alternative Captain
Player: Eden Hazard (CHE)
Position: Midfielder
GW4 Fixture: Bournemouth (H)
Player Price: £10.6 million
Player Selection %: 14.7%
An expansive and positive table is stacking the deck in Chelsea's favour to begin the season, with the London side winning all 3 of their opening league fixtures. Defensively prone due to their full-backs galloping up the pitch, Chelsea are looking a real threat in the middle of the park, and the return of Eden Hazard in a starting role should in theory take Chelsea to another level as they prepare two two winnable home games against Bournemouth and Cardiff.
The Belgian play-maker was brilliant at the World Cup in Russia, and has continued his rich vein of form in to the new season. Hazard has provided an assist or scored in all of his league appearances this season, assisting against Huddersfield and Arsenal from the bench, before resuming penalty-kick duty in a controlled 2-1 victory at Newcastle.
Bournemouth, who have their own in-form attackers to thank for a lively season, do look like conceding against the upper echelon of the team's in the Premier League this season, with Eden Hazard our gut instinct pick to make a big statement this weekend.
We debated Marcos Alonso in this very position this week, but luck doesn't last forever and in Callum Wilson and Josh King, the travelling Cherries have the firepower to cause Chelsea some damage at the back, so have opted for Hazard's ability to sneak bonus points due to the fouls he draws and successful dribbles, that might be a key factor for the Blues this weekend.
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 4: Wildcard Captain
Player: Cenk Tosun (EVE)
Position: Forward
GW4 Fixture: Huddersfield (H)
Player Price: £7.0 million
Player Selection %: 5.5%
Everton have spent an amazing 48% of their time in the Premier League so far playing with ten men, and amazingly they have five points and have yet to lose a game. Marco Silva’s bounce on the club is evident, and it isn’t Richarlison who has been the biggest winner of the Portuguese managers arrival, it has been this week’s differential captain Cenk Tosun.
Surrounded by pacey wingers there is a legitimate purpose to the Turkish forward in this Everton team than otherwise standing up top asking why he is playing in this team at all. Tosun has become the enabler for the others around him and this is evident by the two assists he has registered. What the Turk is doing well is holding up play and bringing in the others such as Walcott and Richarlison to manoeuvre the channels and shine bright.
Tactically, Tosun has been excellent in the three games he has started. Priced at a reasonable £7.0mil the forward is overdue goal after three bright performances, and with Richarlison out for another game it could be the time that Tosun is rightly rewarded for his efforts.
We’d have opted for Lukaku this week as the differential captain, but his overall performance has warranted the Belgian jumping the queue ahead of Tosun. The Toffees have a favourable fixture against Huddersfield where they arguably won’t even need Richarlison to see them off, especially with players in-form such as Tosun. There is also a lack of fixture congestion for Everton, you could set and forget Tosun. For now, we recognise a forward that could finally score his first goal of the 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.
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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.
