Fantasy Premier League Captain Tips For Gameweek 28

Are you on the fence over who to captain in Gameweek 28? Read on to find out why we're tipping Sadio Mane ahead of his home fixture against Burnley. This article will look at Mane's recent form, Fantasy Premier League history and potentially difficult fixture against the Clarets.

Mane has emerged as the prime Liverpool option.

In the first half of the season the Liverpool midfield was a Fantasy Premier League minefield. Despite the Reds' free-scoring form under Jurgen Klopp it became a lottery predicting which of Mane and fellow attackers Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino would claim the lion's share of the points. The Senegalese missed the beginning of 2017 to participate in the African Cup of Nations, coinciding with a woeful spell for Liverpool in which they only won one game out of seven in all competitions. While Firmino had struggled before last week and Coutinho's form has been patchy since his return from injury, Mane has thrived in recent weeks. Form since Mane returned from AFCON:

Player	Games	Goals	Assists	Average points
Mane	5	3	1	6.8
Firmino	5	1	2	4.8
Coutinho	5	1	0	3.4

The above table shows how Mane has emerged as the prime Liverpool threat. A surprising stat however is that the Senegalese has taken less shots in that time (9) than both Coutinho (20) and Firmino (10) in that time, although his shot accuracy (75%) and ability to get into dangerous positions appears to be giving him the edge.

He has the potential to explode in any given Gameweek.

As he showed in his time at Southampton before the move to Anfield, Mane has the ability to explode with points. This year has been no different, with the 24-year-old delivering no less than 12 goals and seven assists, as well as seven double-figure hauls, with only Fantasy Premier League top scorer Alexis Sanchez (eight) scoring more. Unlike seasons past however, Mane has started to apply some consistency to his game as well having delivered returns in 12 of his 24 games.

He is facing a Burnley side who are woeful away from home.

One area Liverpool have struggled with this season is dealing with the smaller teams - they've already lost once to Burnley this season. The extent of their struggles has been somewhat exaggerated however, with Klopp's boys only losing one game at home and racking up 34 goals in 13 games. The Clarets, on the other hand, have been woeful on the road having failed to win in any of their 13 matches and conceding 28 goals in the process. Sean Dyche's side have kept only one clean sheet away from Turf Moor and have conceded a league-high 72 chances in the box. This, mixed with Mane's propensity for getting into dangerous positions make the Liverpool man an excellent captain option for this gameweek.