Welcome to the latest article in a new series for the 2020/21 Fantasy Premier League season from @FPL_Heisenberg for FPL Bet. In this weekly series, Heisenberg will be looking into the best captaincy options, as well as ‘outside of the box' captaincy choices for each Gameweek. Heisenberg has a proven track record in FPL, having finished inside the top 32k in each of the last 6 seasons, including a best finish of 836th. Let's cook!
Gameweek 12 Captains:
Mohamed Salah (Fixture: Fulham, Away)
Salah is a top-pick for captaincy in Gameweek 12, especially since he's facing a Fulham side that have conceded a lot of goals this season, only West Brom have conceded more. He's coming into this game off the back of a goal and assist vs Wolves and a goal in the Champions League.
The Egyptian King has started the season well, with nine goals and three assists in 10 league games. He's been consistently performing well in all the key metrics such as creating chances, shots on target, shots in the box, expected assists and expected goals and I have no doubt this will continue against Fulham. Furthermore, as Mo is on penalties, that is another route to points for him too.
If you're worried about Salah's game time due to playing the full game in the Champions League then you could go for his equally explosive teammate, Sadio Mane who only played a few minutes in the Champions League.
Kevin De Bruyne (Fixture: Man United, Away)
Following on from a lively � but ultimately fruitless � performance against Spurs from the Belgian midfield maestro, De Bruyne then produced the goods with a 10-pointer at home to Burnley, followed by a 14-pointer at home to Fulham.
De Bruyne was last seasons top point scorer, but he needs to start adding more open play goals to his assists if he wants to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. He has a strong chance of doing that this week, after he was once again well-rested in all of Man City's last three Champions League matches.
“But they play Man United away, that's a hard fixture” is what some will say and to them I ask… Is it? Man United have conceded 17 goals this season, that's only one goal better than bottom of the table Sheffield United, so they are likely to concede, especially if Man City play to their potential.
Will Man City be able to kick on further and build upon their free-scoring performances. For those captaining De Bruyne, they'll sure hope so.
Harry Kane (Fixture: Crystal Palace, Away)
It took Kane just 45 minutes to amass one goal and one assist in Gameweek 11 at home to a reasonably decent defensive side this season, Arsenal. He really is looking back to his absolute best in front of goal this season, add to this with his new found assist threat, we have Harry Kane back as a genuine captaincy contender against any opposition.
Harry Kane has been a goal threat for many years in the Premier League, but his assist threat is something he's added to his game. His passing ability has always been exceptional, but tactically he was more the man to get on the end of passes, now he's dropping into the number 10 position at times to feed the lightning quick lethal finisher Heung-Min Son. The stats show how much better he's become creatively, with the highest expected assists score in the league with 5.26, the most big chances created with 9 and the most assists with 10.
If you don't have Kane in your FPL team then maybe you fancy putting the armband on his teammate, the South Korean international Son who's also a great choice this Gameweek.
Jamie Vardy (Fixture: Brighton, Home)
Top Stat: despite playing less minutes than many top players Vardy is top in terms of expected goals, with 8.65. The Leicester number 9 will be full of confidence following his last minute goal away to Sheffield United. If he can continue this form, then Jamie Vardy could score well in Gameweek 12.
Vardy has all the qualities I look for in a captain, nailed on to play 80 plus minutes virtually every Gameweek, proven goalscorer, good underlying stats and on penalties. Further to that he's at home, against one of the poorest defences in the division, only Leeds, Fulham and West Brom have conceded more goals than Brighton. Leicester and their talisman Jamie Vardy could run riot in Gameweek 12 vs Brighton.
‘Outside of the Box' captain:
Danny Ings (Fixture: Sheffield United, Home)
The Southampton talisman is currently selected by under 7% of FPL players at the time of writing, and he will be a huge captain differential, with your mini-league rivals likely to captain one of the premium assets like Salah, Kane, De Bruyne etc.
The Saints number 9 will be full of confidence following his goal from the bench on his return to action following his injury. If he can keep that attacking momentum going, then Ings could score well at home to bottom of the league Sheffield United.
It's also worth remembering that Ings is Southampton's penalty taker, giving him that extra route to potential points which is always nice for your FPL captain. In fact, all 5 captain choices this week are penalty takers!
Thanks for reading the latest article in this captaincy series from FPL Heisenberg, be sure to follow @FPLBet and @FPL_Heisenberg on Twitter so that you don't miss the weekly article. Agree or disagree with these captaincy picks? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!
