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Gameweek 12 of the English Premier League can’t get here quickly enough, as fans and FPL managers around the world endure the agony that is the international break. Last week’s results were a mixed bag, with some of the results falling into the template that we’re starting to expect now, while others sprang some new surprises and forced us to rethink our FPL tactics going forward.
Nearly a third of the season has passed and most of you would be looking to cut those gaps to the top of your mini-leagues, while others seek to maintain their dominance and have the bragging rights at the end of the season.
A solid captaincy pick is crucial to the success of any FPL team, and to help you with your captaincy dilemmas, we bring to you our top captain picks for Gameweek 12:
Romelu Lukaku - Manchester United
Manchester United take on Newcastle at Old Trafford in Gameweek 12, and there is almost certainly a Manchester United win on the cards here. Manchester United had a blistering start to the season that saw them go toe to toe with City until their recent slump that has now left them 8 points behind, and Mourinho’s side will be eager to make amends and get back on track.
United have one of the most formidable home records in the league, having scored 15 goals in 5 games and astonishingly, have yet to concede their first goal at home.
Romelu Lukaku hit the ground running at United, scoring 7 league goals in the first 7 games, but the goals have dried up ever since. It’s hardly a surprise that Lukaku’s goal drought coincides with Manchester United’s mini-slump.
Another big factor was Paul Pogba’s injury, before which there seemed to be a lot more creativity and flair from United’s midfield. Now Mourinho still isn’t being forthcoming about whether Pogba will start against Newcastle, but we do know that he’s back in full training, so we can in all probability expect to see Pogba’s name on the team sheet against Newcastle.
This is likely to boost Lukaku’s goal output as well, for the link-up play and camaraderie between Lukaku and Pogba on the pitch (and off it) is there for all to see. Lukaku regained his goalscoring touch with 2 goals for Belgium in their international friendly, and he should be raring to have a go at Newcastle, and end his PL goal drought.
Additionally, Lascelles is an injury doubt and would definitely be a big blow to Newcastle’s backline if he were to miss the United game.
We expect to see Lukaku regain top spot as the most popular captain pick this weekend, as he has been for much of this FPL season.
Mohamed Salah - Liverpool
Gameweek 12 will see Liverpool take on Southampton, at Anfield, in what is the start of an extremely difficult run for the Saints. Salah was at his prolific best last week against West ham, scoring 2 beautiful goals and returning 15 points with a maximum bonus of 3.
Sadio Mane, however, has picked up a knock again after just returning to full fitness last week. His fitness would play some role in our recommendation of putting the armband on Salah, for Liverpool look a different side when he’s on the pitch.
Mane adds fluidity and electric pace to Liverpool’s attack and he made the difference against West Ham, providing both the assists for Salah’s goals. His influence on the pitch was unquestionable and his link-up play with Salah and Firmino up front was a delight to watch.
On the bright side though, Klopp’s squad received a big boost with Coutinho and Lallana returning to full training and could possibly be available for the Southampton game.
On current form, there’s just no looking past Mohamed Salah. He’s classed as a mid, but has all the attacking numbers of a premium forward, making him a must-have in all of our midfields right now.
He ranks second in the entire game for shots in the box with 32 shots, behind only Harry Kane who has had 38 attempts in the box. This is higher than Lukaku (31), Aguero (24), Morata (24) and the other attacking heavyweight options at our disposal.
He also has the highest shot accuracy in the elite bracket of 70%, with more shots on target (24) than Lukaku (18) and even the prolific Harry Kane (22).
Salah is on 7 goals for the season and he’s pushing on in the race for the Golden Boot, only 1 behind the leaders of the pack. Couple these stats with the fact that he returns more points per goal/clean sheet than any premium forward and with Liverpool’s fixtures going forward, looking as lucrative as they do, he’s definitely one you overlook at your own peril.
Harry Kane - Tottenham Hotspur
This weekend’s best fixture, will see Tottenham take on Arsenal in another edition of the North London derby at the Emirates Stadium. Spurs’ Premier League season, so far, has seen a few strong wins followed by a drab draw or loss.
Both their losses of the season were against top PL opposition, a 2-1 loss to Chelsea and a 1-0 loss to Manchester United, both of which one could argue Spurs didn’t really deserve to lose.
We expect Spurs to kick on now as their fixtures look mouthwatering after the NLD, all the way up to Gameweek 24, with only an away game against free-scoring Manchester City in that entire run, posing a lone threat.
FPL managers needs no introduction to this man, the mercurial forward, Harry Kane. He is capable of absolutely destroying teams on his day and that’s what makes him such an explosive captain pick.
We know he loves a London Derby, his goalscoring record in London derbies is absolutely phenomenal. Kane is right at the top of the all-time charts for goals/game in London derbies, he’s on 0.82 goals/game, having raced past legends like Thierry Henry (0.73), Jurgen Klinsmann (0.65), Dimitar Berbatov (0.55) and Ian Wright (0.53).
Kane has been ruthless on the road, having scored 6 of his 8 goals away from home. Spurs will definitely be up for this game, as they seek to rise above the debate of who the bigger team in North London is, and move on to bigger battles at the summit of the Premier League (and potentially, the Champions League).
Kane might not be the ideal captain pick for those who want to play it safe. But for those who are willing to accept the downside risk of Kane blanking in return for the upside potential which is always limitless with this man, you should definitely consider giving him your captain’s armband.
Alvaro Morata - Chelsea
Gameweek 12 will see Chelsea travel to the Hawthorns to take on West Brom. Two consecutive losses against Manchester City and struggling Crystal Palace had left Chelsea stranded in an unfavourable position before they rallied back with 3 back to back wins, the last of which was a hard fought 1-0 win over Manchester United.
Chelsea seem to have turned a corner now, and the fixtures look a lot better going forward, with the exception of Liverpool in Gameweek 13. We know Conte likes to run a tight ship, and the grit and determination showed by his side, particularly in the last two wins, both of which ended 1-0, would no doubt be an encouraging sign going forward.
Can they demonstrate a 2016/17-esque comeback from a similar position in terms of points (Last season they amassed 22 points from the first 10 games. This season, they have 22 points from their first 11 games), and take on Manchester City in the Premier League race?
We’re probably getting a bit carried away with ourselves, so let’s just focus on Morata and the West Brom game for now.
One of the reasons he wouldn’t be our first pick is his minutes, he often gets subbed off at the 70th-minute mark when Chelsea are chasing a result. He is, however, a force to reckon with on his day, as we saw in the game against Stoke, where he scored a hattrick and returned 17 points.
Morata isn’t perhaps as explosive an FPL captain as Kane or Lukaku, but he is likely to deliver consistent returns on a weekly basis. One key factor to watch out for is the fitness of Eden Hazard, who is so crucial to Chelsea’s and Morata’s fortunes and had picked up a slight knock with Belgium.
The news we’re getting, though, is that it’s nothing serious and that Hazard will feature in the West Brom game. West Brom have problems of their own, having lost 3 on the bounce and on a terrible run which has returned only 3 points in the last 8 games.
Tony Pulis does set up his teams to defend deep and frustrate teams before trying to pick them out with long balls or set pieces. But if Chelsea can score the first goal early, expect the game to open up and Morata to be amidst the points.
Differential captaincy picks
Eden Hazard - Chelsea
This one’s for those of you who want to try something different, (albeit, it could be risky) to make up the points in your mini-leagues. We know what Eden Hazard is capable of doing in FPL terms, but he’s yet to stand up and be counted as one of the big guns in this season.
Hazard has been showing signs of returning to his unstoppable best, his goal against Bournemouth making the difference, returning 11 points with a maximum bonus of 3. He was at the focal point of every offensive move by Chelsea last weekend and looked like the most dangerous player on the pitch by some distance.
Hazard did pick up a slight knock with Belgium, but Roberto Martinez said in his interviews that it wasn’t anything serious and that it was precautionary rest, so we can definitely expect him to be fit and on the teamsheet for the West Brom game.
Also, adding to his appeal is the fact that Hazard is the only premium midfielder who is on penalty duty. With just over 5% ownership, and the devastating potential he offers going forward, he makes for a great differential captain pick.
Richarlison - Watford
Richarlison is quickly emerging as the best budget midfield option, and he looks to return great value for money over the course of the season. He offers a great attacking threat going forward and is always in and around the opposition box, drawing defenders out of position, getting into good areas to score goals or create chances for his teammates.
Watford are a transformed side this season under the tutelage of Marco Silva, and this side has plenty of goals in them. Much like Salah, Richarlison boasts of attacking numbers that put him in the same class as the top forwards in the game. He ranks 2nd in the entire game (behind Kane) for total shots and 4th in the entire game for shots in the box.
He is prone to squandering the odd chance, but while he’s getting so many of them, that’s hardly a problem. He is on 4 goals and 4 assists for the season and one can safely expect him to return double figures on both fronts.
West Ham, in contrast, are in dire straits now, finding themselves in the relegation zone and have a new manager in David Moyes. They will be eager to prove a point to their new manager, so this game can probably go both ways.
We still expect a Watford win and that definitely means Richarlison could well be in the mix for big points. This game does present a good chance to gain some differential points and for those who are willing to take a punt on the armband this week, Richarlison certainly qualifies as a good bet.
