CAPTAINCY HYPE 2018/19: FPL Gameweek 7
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 7 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 7: Essential Captain
Player: Sergio Aguero (MCI)
Position: Forward
GW7 Fixture: Brighton (H)
Player Price: £11.4 million
Player Selection %: 52.3%
With Liverpool travelling to Chelsea this weekend, the door has opened for a few new essential captaincy contenders to come to the forefront. With doubts over Mohamed Salah's points potential, Gameweek 7 is all about Forward's, which is fully represented this week amongst our picks.
A home fixture against Brighton means that Argentine, Sergio Aguero, has been picked as our essential captaincy selection for a 4th time this season. We didn't need a mountain of votes to confirm what we know regarding trends this weekend - that Aguero is at the forefront of attention
7.16 points-per-game from his opening 6 fixtures of the season has Aguero’s owners purring on nicely heading into a fixture against a Brighton side who have only managed a single away point this season, against an inconsistent Southampton side during Gameweek 5.
4 goals and 4 assists for Aguero to open the campaign means an unmatched 52.3% of FPL players will be in default mode this weekend, even though there is real promise in the likes of Lacazette, Aubameyang and Harry Kane this week.
Aguero’s likely hefty haul of backers will be playing to negate everyone in hopes of missing out on a massacre of points, and the likely is on the table. Man City have scored 11 goals in 3 home matches, though Aguero has only scored in 2 matches this season – a hat-trick against Huddersfield during Gameweek 2, and a sole strike last weekend in the 5-0 decimation of Cardiff.
Aguero’s selection is the easy pick, but perhaps a necessary one, with Mohamed Salah potentially side-lined from consideration at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
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 7: Alternative Captain
Player: Romelu Lukaku (MUN)
Position: Forward
GW7 Fixture: West Ham (A)
Player Price: £11.1 million
Player Selection %: 10.5%
We didn't include our alternative pick in our essential captaincy poll with good reason - there was no doubt that against West Ham this weekend, Romelu Lukaku would feature as a left-field pick from Aguero and Kane.
Last season, Lukaku missed a 2-0 victory at London Stadium (you might remember an offside strike by now LA Galaxy Forward, Zlatan Ibrahimovic), though he was our Gameweek 1 essential captain last season on his Premier League debut for United, with the Belgian scoring twice on his Old Trafford debut.
Big Rom has scored 9 goals and assisted 4 times in 11 league appearances against the Hammers throughout his Premier League career, so there's no doubting that history is in Lukaku's favour, despite potential turmoil surrounding the club right now
It's a new season and there is a media storm surrounding the relationship between Jose Mourinho and his playing staff (well, mainly Paul Pogba), one that threatens to potentially cloud an FPL performance worthy of Lukaku's reputation against West Ham - as well as a recent uplift in form from Manuel Pellegrini's side.
Lukaku has scored 4 goals in the league this season, all in away fixtures this season. In United's system Lukaku has been gifted more opportunities to make an impact on the road, which might in turn prove to be a winning formula, especially as a contingency if the big-hitters this season aren't up to scratch.
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 7: Wildcard Captain
Player: Alexandre Lacazette (ARS)
Position: Forward
GW7 Fixture: Watford (H)
Player Price: £9.5 million
Player Selection %: 5.4%
The crown jewel of the differentials this season has been the Frenchman, Alexandre Lacazette. Since Unai Emery had the bright spark in his mind to play both of his main strikers together, Lacazette and Aubameyang have been on fire, with Arsenal now on a four-game winning streak in the Premier League. Since the game against West Ham when the Frenchman came on at half time he hasn’t looked back, notching three assists and two goals, making him a necessary part of the Arsenal team.
We are still concerned why it took Emery so long to start Lacazette, but that fever the Spaniard must have had has now passed and he is seeing clearly again. Lacazette can score poacher goals, long range goals, penalties, and acute shots from multiple angles, which is why we are not surprised that he has secured fantasy points in four consecutive fixtures due to his versatility.
Arsenal’s strong run of form can’t be ignored either, even if they are not playing at peak form they are pragmatic and are winning games by utilising key assets, such as Lacazette. Amidst a period where plenty of fantasy managers are activating their wildcards we are still baffled as to why Lacazette continues to be a differential when the forward is a better, and cheaper option, than Aubameyang.
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.
