Holly Shand from Fantasy Football Community returns with captaincy corner and her three player picks in three positions for Gameweek 36+.
Gameweek 35+ was a real mixed bag for the captaincy, with some high profile players like Kevin De Bruyne and Willian failing to deliver. Fortune favoured the brave, with the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling scoring big. Gameweek 36+ looks even tougher where the armband is concerned, with rotation likely for some given FA Cup fixtures at the weekend for Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea. Manchester City and Manchester United have particularly tight schedules.
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 Bournemouth
The fixture looks great for Kevin De Bruyne but the biggest question marks surround whether he starts this game and how likely he is to deliver offensive returns. De Bruyne was rested just under two weeks ago, where he was a substitute against Southampton. He's now gone three Premier League games without scoring. Despite Manchester City scoring five goals apiece in their last two games, Kevin De Bruyne has come away with just an assist. He has been somewhat unlucky though, having created a huge 12 chances over those two games alone, so there's a suggestion more returns will be around the corner. Having played just over 180 minutes across Manchester City's last three fixtures, there's a suggestion that he should be fit enough to start this game. It is a seemingly easy fixture, but he is Manchester City's crucial player and is missed when not in the side, particularly in the earlier parts of a game, when the opposition are tougher to break down. Will you play it safe with the Shield Pick?
Sword Pick: Bruno Fernandes vs Crystal Palace
Bruno Fernandes is the one player who can match Kevin De Bruyne for consistency this season. He's only been in Manchester for a matter of months, but, at the time of writing, he has 13 offensive returns from ten games. He's arguably improved since Paul Pogba returned to the side, giving him licence to play more advanced in the number 10 role. He also has more attacking talent ahead of him now, with Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford providing plenty from the flanks since the restart. Manchester United have scored three or more goals in each of their last four games and this potent attack shows no signs of slowing down. Fernandes is at the heart of everything they do, dominating the set pieces which only improves his fantasy appeal. The penalty situation remains unclear though, and it will be interesting to see if it's Fernandes or Rashford who takes the next spot kick. 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: Lucas Digne vs Aston Villa
Everton have been somewhat of a surprise package defensively since the restart, having kept two clean sheets in five games since the restart, conceding just three goals at the time of writing. Meanwhile, Lucas Digne is creating plenty of chances down the left flank, with three assists over this period. He's had five shots and created nine chances over this period, with the outcome of the Wolves fixture still unknown. Can he achieve the holy grail of attacking return, clean sheet and bonus points once more?
MID: Christian Pulisic vs Norwich
Chelsea have one of the best fixtures to target this week, as they face an already relegated Norwich in the only game on Tuesday. It's certainly a game to target Pulisic for, who has scored three goals and earned three fantasy assists since the restart. Expect a convincing Chelsea performance here as they look to bounce back from the defeat against Sheffield United at the midweek and find some momentum going into their FA Cup semi-final at the weekend. Pulisic has had 16 shots since the restart, while creating eight chances.
FOR: Jamie Vardy vs Sheffield United
Finally, Jamie Vardy continues to be in the frame for this week. He is in control when it comes to the Golden Boot race, having nearly matched his biggest tally of goals in a single Premier League season: he scored 24 goals when Leicester won the league in 2015/16. He's really pushed on in recent weeks. He's a Sheffield Wednesday fan and so there's no love lost between him and his opponents this week. He scored in the reverse fixture and should be on penalties, given Maddison's injury and his motivation to be top goalscorer.
Until next time…
Good luck!
Holly
Find even more Fantasy Premier League Tips over on Holly's website: Fantasy Football Community
