Holly Shand from Fantasy Football Community returns with captaincy corner and her three player picks in three positions for Gameweek 30+.
The football has returned and, to many fantasy managers delight, it brings a Double Gameweek. Gameweek 30+ is the only planned Double Gameweek of the season remainder, so it could be an opportunity to use the Triple Captain chip, but there's a strong argument that the Bench Boost could be more superior. With action returning behind closed doors, and having had a long hiatus, we don't have form or home advantage playing into our captaincy decision. The fixtures do come thick and fast, but at least for Gameweek 30+, we expect most players to be fresh and our double gameweek assets to be physically able to play two games in quick succession.
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: Kevin De Bruyne vs Arsenal & Burnley
Anytime Goalscorer Odds: 6/5
A tasty Double Gameweek for Manchester City means that Kevin De Bruyne is the big captaincy candidate for the restart. He has the highest ownership in the game at the time of writing, so it's a safe bet to put your faith in him. He has a decent chance of breaking Thierry Henry's assist record (20) during the run-in, with 18 already to his name. His goalscoring has impressed this season, with him finding the back of the net a record eight times. He scored 19 fantasy points last time Manchester City played Arsenal, grabbing two goals and one assist on that occasion. Will you play it safe with the Shield Pick?
Sword Pick: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang vs Manchester City & Brighton
Anytime Goalscorer Odds:
While Kevin De Bruyne provides reliability, there's certainly some excitement about trusting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with the armband. His 17 goals this season demonstrates his ability, and he's well in contention for the Golden Boot. The struggle with Aubameyang is his positioning, we could have a frustrating pair of games if he's stuck out on the wing, where he is less effective. He failed to deliver an attacking return in either of the reverse fixtures, but he has shown some form in the off-season friendlies. 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 Aston Villa & Newcastle United
John Lundstram was sold heavily in the early part of the year, only for him to reclaim his spot in the Sheffield United midfield and return one goal and one assist shortly before the restart. While there are more consistent options in the Sheffield United defence, Lundstram is the more attractive punt in the midfield for this double gameweek. He now has eight attacking returns for the season and plays in a defence who've kept nine clean sheets. Can he achieve the holy grail of attacking return, clean sheet and bonus points once more?
MID: Jack Grealish vs Sheffield United & Chelsea
Following an eventful lockdown period, it's about time that Jack Grealish let his football do the talking. Aston Villa face an uphill struggle in their quest to avoid relegation and for them to succeed, talisman Grealish will need to be on top form. He's certainly provided excellent fantasy value this season and will be a popular pick for the double gameweek. With a crucial game in hand, and set pieces in his locker, it could be a big week for the Villa captain in the context of this campaign.
FOR: Sergio Aguero vs Arsenal & Burnley
Sergio Aguero is a fantasy legend and many of those performances that we look back on with fond memories surround double gameweeks. If we were certain that he starts and plays over 70 minutes in both fixtures, he would be the standout captaincy pick, but Pep rotation is never far from our thoughts. With the fixture pileup ensuing, it doesn't help his prospects. However, he has scored 16 goals this season and provides huge potential.
Until next time…
Good luck!
Holly
Find even more Fantasy Premier League Tips over on Holly's website: Fantasy Football Community
