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The league leaders Liverpool returned to their winning ways in style, as they routed Watford 5-0 at Anfield. However, their talisman and the most captained player in FPL, Mohamed Salah returned only 3 points even though 4 of his teammates recorded double digit FPL points. Another surprise was the 55th minute substitution of Leroy Sane during Man City’s 1-0 win against West Ham.
Checkout: FPL Captain Tips | Most points in FPL Last Season
Meanwhile, the most popular forward Sergio Aguero has played over 200 minutes of football in the past week. This raises some question marks – will Aguero’s time be managed this weekend? Is it prudent to look away from Salah for the captaincy? If not these two, then who should be my captain?
Amongst the favourites are likely to be Paul Pogba, Sergio Aguero and Mo Salah. However, opting for a differential option can lead to big gains.
Read on to see the top 5 differential picks for the Gameweek 29.
#1 Sadio Mane, Midfielder, £9.7m – Everton (Away)
Liverpool forward Sadio Mane heads into the weekend’s Merseyside derby with some confidence after having scored 6 goals in his last 6 PL matches. One of the most in-form players at the moment, Mane has averaged 8 points per match lately. He has amassed 14 goals so far this term, which is already his most prolific return in English top flight and over 10 games are left to play.
Mane’s hosts on Sunday Everton have been under-performing lately with their boss Marco Silva coming under increasing scrutiny. The Toffees have won only 1 of their last 7 home matches, conceding 15 goals in the process.
This bodes well for Liverpool, who recorded their largest win of the season in the midweek. And Mane looks like a safe bet for the armband.
#2 Raheem Sterling, Midfielder, £11.3m – Bournemouth (Away)
While Sterling's team-mate Sergio Aguero has been amongst the most captained players of late, and rightly so, but only 3 of his 18 goals have come in away matches. Plus, he has played over 200 minutes of football in the past week. His game time is likely to be managed with an important Champions League match against Schalke coming up on 5th March.
This should make Raheem Sterling the go-to option for the armband this weekend. Sterling has scored in each of his 6 PL matches against the hosts Bournemouth. After being on the bench against West Ham in the midweek, he should be involved from the beginning this weekend.
Sterling has got 12 goals and 13 FPL assists to his name this season, and he is the second highest scoring player in FPL.
#3 Harry Kane, Forward, £12.4m – Arsenal (Home)
After missing four gameweeks, Kane marked his comeback at Burnley with a fine goal. Fit and fresh, he welcomes an Arsenal side that have managed only 5 clean sheets this season. That is the third lowest in the league and the same number as that of the bottom ranked Huddersfield.
Adding to that the fact that Harry Kane seems to particularly enjoy playing against Arsenal. He has scored 8 goals in 8 matches against them, including his goal at the Emirates earlier this season. In fact, he has scored in each of his 4 home PL matches against Arsenal and has 5 strikes to his name in those fixtures.
All these statistics make a compelling reason to hand over the captaincy to the 2018 World Cup Golden Boot winner. It has also been confirmed that Kane will not face any disciplinary action following his altercation with Caesar Azpilicueta during Spurs’ 2-0 defeat at Chelsea in the midweek.
#4 Eden Hazard, Midfielder, £10.8m – Fulham (Away)
Chelsea have been out of sorts lately and things only worsened after the Kepa Arrizabalaga row last weekend. But they secured a vital 2-0 win over Spurs in the midweek much to the relief of their under-pressure boss Maurizio Sarri.
However, their away fixture at Fulham comes at the right time for the Blues would relish travelling facing a team that have lost each of their previous 4 PL matches. Fulham have only 2 clean sheets to show in their 28 matches. Particularly, Hazard can benefit against the leakiest defence in the Premier League and can prove to be a good differential option in this gameweek.
He was slightly tired against Spurs in the midweek and was taken off in the 60th minute. And you wouldn't want to bet against a fresh and fit Hazard getting a few goals.
#5 Raul Jimenez, Forward, £6.9m – Cardiff City (Home)
Wolverhampton Wanderers welcome the newly promoted Cardiff City team that have let in 8 goals in their last two matches, including 5 against Watford. The Bluebirds have the second-worst defensive record and have conceded 3 or more goals 11 times this season.
The Wolves attack can profit from this and score a couple of goals. And who better to captain than their star striker from Mexico, Raul Jimenez who has contributed to nearly 50% of the goals Wolves have scored in the Premier League this season.
One of the top-scoring forwards in FPL this season with 133 points, the Wolves striker has 10 goals and 7 FPL assists to his name. While he is owned by nearly 36%, Jimenez is not a very popular captaincy choice and can be a good differential option this weekend
