It's been a very long international break with a variety of injuries interfering with our FPL plans. Casting our minds back to GW7, Kane won the battle of Shield vs Sword with a brace compared to Lukaku's singular goal.GAMEWEEK 7 TOP CAPTAINS @RomeluLukaku9 - 41%@HKane - 17.4%@LacazetteAlex - 4.5%#FPL pic.twitter.com/FDZedBVpRP
— FPL (@OfficialFPL) 30 September 2017
Given all the injuries and some tricky fixtures ahead for some, it's as important as ever to get the captaincy choice right. Here's my picks for GW8.Shield - 6 points Sword - 13 points Punt - 2 points Park the Bus - 6 points https://t.co/AS5luMZqeN…
— FPL Holly (@fplholly) 30 September 2017
Shield Pick: Harry Kane vs Bournemouth (H)
Anytime Goalscorer Odds: 1/3It's been quite a few weeks for Sir Harold Kane, eclipsed by a Ballon d'Or nomination and he's finally ousted Lukaku from the shield spot. There's no denying that he's in blistering form after THAT slow August and even chipped in with a couple of goals over the international break. It was a relief for managers to see him score a goal at Wembley and with an easy match up against Bournemouth, I suspect he will be the leading captain choice for GW8. He's ranked 1st for shots (44), hitting the woodwork (5) and is on penalties. He also has a decent record against Bournemouth with 6 goals and 1 assist in just 3 appearances. There's a word of caution here though: Spurs face Real Madrid in the Champions League midweek, that could influence Kane's minutes - you have been warned!Harry Kane's last 10 days:
⚽️⚽️⚽️ vs APOEL ⚽️⚽️ vs Huddersfield ✅ Named @England captain ⚽️ vs Slovenia Sends England to WC Incredible pic.twitter.com/3xGzuBwJyD — SPORF (@Sporf) 5 October 2017
Sword Pick: Romelu Lukaku vs Liverpool (A)
Anytime Goalscorer Odds: 7/2It's been an eventful international break for Lukaku but it appears he's fit and ready for Liverpool this weekend. Kane's ousted him from the top spot with his explosiveness, but Lukaku's consistency can't be overlooked. The fixture looks tricky on paper but I expect United to break down the leaky Liverpool defence who've already conceded 12 goals this season. It was disappointing to see Lukaku struggle with injury against Palace and only get the one goal but he has scored against Cyprus in the internationals during a sub appearance. Kane looks to be the best option this week but Lukaku is a close 2nd and should definitely be considered.Lukaku has 16 goals in 13 appearances for club and country this season. In fact, he's only failed to score in one game he's played in. pic.twitter.com/AjUMykdtFX
— Scott Patterson (@R_o_M) 10 October 2017
Form Pick: Raheem Sterling vs Stoke (H)
Anytime Goalscorer Odds: 9/2Sterling wins this spot this week, with the best form of all the attacking players in the league. He has 3 goals in his last 3 games and his starting berth now looks secure in this City side, although we can never quite predict Pep's rotation. He faces a Stoke side who have conceded 11 goals and are still struggling with their centre back fitness. Manchester City have been in electric form at the Etihad, as has Sterling, with goals in each of the games he has started there. With question marks over who starts up front, will Raheem get the armband this week?5️⃣ goals already this season & back-to-back home games approaching
What's not to like about @sterling7? https://t.co/97ehBz8VJA pic.twitter.com/52dMJwYi4I — FPL (@OfficialFPL) 10 October 2017
Fixture Pick: Eden Hazard vs Crystal Palace (A)
Anytime Goalscorer Odds: 10/3With question marks over Morata's fitness, Eden Hazard is back in our thinking for the armband against bottom of the league Palace. He looks to be back to his best after his injury lay off in the summer, getting 2 goals and 1 assist for Belgium over the international break. Palace have the worst defence in the league having conceded 17 goals already and with Hazard on penalties too, it looks inevitable that he will get on the scoresheet.Eden Hazard has scored a brace for Belgium for the first time in his career.
Doubled up. ⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/2il8x4DKMS — Squawka Football (@Squawka) October 10, 2017
Punt Pick: Alexis Sanchez vs Watford (A)
Anytime Goalscorer Odds: 7/2It was a woeful international break for Sanchez as Chile failed to qualify for the World Cup. He will be looking to bounce back this week against an attack minded Watford side. He is starting to find form with assists in his last couple of games for Arsenal and looks like he could explode at any moment. With his fair share of set pieces, it's only a matter of time until he gets on the scoresheet. He has an incredible record against Watford with 3 goals and 4 assists from 4 appearances, including a goal and two assists in this fixture last season. Is it time to take a punt? Alexis Sanchez:
❌ Not Nominated for Ballon d'Or ❌ Not Going to 2018 World Cup ✅ Returning to Arsenal Not the best week pic.twitter.com/2AyKo53WT6 — Football Stuff (@FootbalIStuff) 11 October 2017
Clueless Husband Pick : David Silva vs Stoke (H)
Anytime Goalscorer Odds: 7/1It was a captaincy failure for the clueless husband last week when Salah failed to deliver against Newcastle so the armband is on the move this week. For those of you tracking his progress, he's over 1 million places ahead of me, currently ranked 200,000 with all his chips intact. This week he's gone for "that Silva guy, because I've seen that he's got a shaved head like me"! Silva has 6 assists so far and was suspended for the second Spain match so should be pretty fresh for the weekend. Will you be going with his hairy pick?Manchester City star Silva goes full Pep with buzz cut https://t.co/SoBBjX18ga pic.twitter.com/S3KMg6dxPY
— Zesty Man City News (@zesty_mancity) 30 July 2017
Defensive "Park the Bus" Pick: Ben Davies vs Bournemouth (H)
Anytime Goalscorer Odds: 28/1 Clean Sheet Odds: 20/23Our new feature got off to a successful start last week with Phil Jones defying the odds on the injury front to get a clean sheet and 6 points. This week, Ben Davies gets the honour after a mammoth start to the season. He is the top scoring FPL defender, supported by 2 goals and 3 assists in 6 appearances - they are the sort of figures you'd be content with from a premium priced attacker. This week he comes up against a Bournemouth side who've only scored 4 goals this season with just 1 coming away from home. Surely a clean sheet is in the bag and attacking returns look likely too. Are you brave enough to Captain a defender? Defenders were the key focus for my guest article on Sportito this week, and you can read all about it here. Until Next Week… Good Luck! Holly. Follow Holly for more FPL insight... Follow @FPLholly Also be sure to check out Holly's brand new website where she is pulling together all the best of #FPL - Fantasy Football Community..@Ben_Davies33's season so far:
⏱️ 8 appearances ⚽️ 2 goals 16 chances created 80% passing accuracy ⛔️ 4 clean sheets#COYS pic.twitter.com/mmKSzgN3ow — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) 3 October 2017