Holly Shand from Fantasy Football Community returns with captaincy corner and her three player picks in three positions for Gameweek 18.
Gameweek 17 threw up some surprises, not least because Norwich stopped Jamie Vardy in his tracks, taking away just a solitary exist and his goal-scoring record hopes in tatters. Fortune favoured those who looked to Mo Salah - he's been in sensational form in his last couple of games, deservedly taking a brace against Watford. Sadio Mane was unlucky to not deliver more fantasy points.
Gameweek 18 throws up major headaches for us fantasy managers though. First and foremostly, Liverpool are away at the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar, and have no fixture this week, with their scheduled game against West Ham yet to be rescheduled. Add into the mix Leicester travelling to the Etihad, and Spurs facing Chelsea in a London derby, there are plenty of question marks over our usual suspects. Rotation also remains a concern: some sides have been involved in EFL League Cup quarter-finals this midweek and the next round of games are as soon as Thursday (Boxing Day). The captaincy debate is truly wide open.
Captaincy Corner
The shield pick is likely to be the most captained player of the week, allowing you to play safe and keep pace with the pack. The sword pick will be a less popular selection: if they perform it can shoot you up the overall rankings, but the risk from failure is higher.
Shield Pick: Marcus Rashford vs Watford (A)
Anytime Goalscorer Odds: 11/10
Rashford is topping the polls and so looks well-placed to be the top captain this week. From an ownership perspective, Vardy, De Bruyne and Abraham may well be in the conversation, but Rashford is the highest owned attacker with a perceived favourable fixture. Manchester United have scored seven goals in their last four games, with Rashford having a hand in more than half of those. He's also on penalties and faces a poor Watford defence, who have conceded six goals in their last four games. They do have a clean sheet in their last home game though and Manchester United are known to throw up some poor results in away games - that may be enough to deter me from giving Rashford the armband. Will you play safe with the Shield Pick?
Sword Pick: Son Heung-Min vs Chelsea (H)
Anytime Goalscorer Odds: 13/8
For those looking beyond Rashford for the captaincy, Spurs assets are looking promising, with Son Heung-Min in particular catching the eye. Spurs are expected to have the upper-hand over a struggling Chelsea side: Spurs are on the best scoring run of all clubs in the league under Jose, whereas Chelsea have just one win from four, scoring a mere four goals in four games. Son has delivered fantasy returns in each of his last three home games, with two goals and three assists. Chelsea are without an away clean sheet all season, conceding on average two goals per game. Son got himself on the score-sheet in this fixture last season, with Spurs winning the game 3-1. Are you going to take a risk in selecting the Sword Pick?
Holly's Hopefuls
I share my top three players for each Gameweek, selecting one defender, one midfielder and one striker. These are players that I'm tipping for the FPL Dream Team and they could also make intriguing differential captain decisions for you to consider too.
DEF: John Lundstram vs Brighton (A)
It always takes a brave manager to captain a defender, but the stars could align this week. With Lundstram playing out-of-position as a midfielder, does it even count? He has three goals, three assists and six clean sheets this season, providing four double-digit hauls. An away trip to Brighton could produce more attacking returns or another clean sheet - some fantasy managers will be open to both! Brighton are without a clean sheet in their last six games, conceding two per game on average. A clean sheet looks unlikely for the Blades though, since Brighton have scored in each of their last four games.
MID: Dele Alli vs Chelsea (H)
Having studied the captain debate at length this week, and without Son Heung-Min in my side, I'm leaning towards giving Dele Alli the armband. He loves to play Chelsea: from five league games, he's taken five goals and two assists. He's also got the form to back it up: he has blanked just once under Mourinho, delivering three goals and three assists. Only Vardy has scored more goals over the last four games. He's clinical in his conversion, grabbing those three goals from four big chances. He's likely to be my captain in Gameweek 18.
FOR: Raul Jimenez vs Norwich (A)
Jimenez shouldn't be overlooked for the captaincy this week. He's consistently delivering attacking returns, with just one blank in his last seven games. Three assists from his last four is good, if not spectacular, with Jimenez likely to be on penalties in this game too. That's a crucial fact when they face the team who have conceded the most spot-kicks this season. Norwich have been weaker on home turf this season, regularly conceding two goals per games. When Wolves score, Jimenez is likely to be involved in the goals.
Until next time…
Good luck!
Holly
Find even more Fantasy Premier League Tips over on Holly's website: Fantasy Football Community
