Yet again last week captaincy favourites Sergio Agüero and Alexis Sánchez failed to repay the faith of those who placed the armband on them.  Despite underlying goal attempt statistics to suggest both are overdue an explosion of points, they have both consistently been unable to convert the myriad of chances that have come their way. With question marks over Agüero’s fitness and form ahead of Gameweek 6, this week’s article explores some alternatives for your armbands.

Kolarov versus West Ham

Manchester City are yet to concede a goal this season and even managed to shut out Crystal Palace last week. Thanks to Bowstring the Carp we know wing-backs are hogging the bonus ahead of strikers and centre backs this season and only only just behind midfielders. Furthermore, as the baseline bonus points article by Innsie showed last week Aleksandar Kolarov currently offers an excellent chance of bonus points as well as his regular clean sheet, goal and assist points. With uncertainty over Manchester City’s midfield Kolarov looks a good sky blue option for your armbands in the coming weeks.

Stats. – Currently averaging 9.2 PPG in FPL terms Kolarov is the highest scoring City player.

Verdict – A good option for those who have lost faith in Agüero but want to stick the armband on a City player.

Mahrez versus Stoke

In a season where a big hitter has yet to consistency return points Riyad Mahrez is looking increasingly like he might be this season’s Harry Kane. With another double point haul last week the bonus hogging Leicester man (9 points more than any other Leicester player so far) looks an excellent option for your armbands this week.

Stats. – Mahrez is currently the Premier League joint top goal scorer with 4 goals but also has two assists.

Verdict – Punished me for doubting him after he was protected by Ranieri against Bournemouth, I won’t make the same mistake twice.

Benteke versus Norwich

Christian Benteke has proved he can score whatever team is playing behind him. Last week he scored an incredible acrobatic volley from the edge of the box on Sunday that left David de Gea well beaten. This week Liverpool welcome back Philippe Coutinho and face a Norwich side that has leaked goals all season.

Stats. – Benteke faces a Norwich side that have conceded 21 penalty box shots this season.

Verdict – Surely the ultimate hipster pick, sure he’s unlikely to bag a hat-trick or many bonus points but when he does score you can be sure those 3 points won’t do it justice.

Last Week’s Picks – How They Performed

All three of my picks for last week defeated the top FFScout captaincy poll pick (Agüero), although considering he left the field early through injury and picked up just one FPL point that wasn’t hard.  Currently Agüero is still (just) leading the community poll but has lost ground to more in form players. At this rate by next week the ‘alternatives’ may have become the most popular options.

Wilson versus Norwich

Score: 2

Verdict – Unlucky, Bournemouth scored well against Norwich but Wilson didn’t manage to get on the scoresheet.

Ayew versus Watford

Score: 2

Verdict – Miss. Swansea failed to break down a resolutely defensive Watford, but I’m backing Ayew to deliver against Everton this week.

Sakho versus  Newcastle 

Score: 2

Verdict – Not for the first time this season Sakho failed to return points while Dimitri Payet turned in a double point haul. It is clear Sakho may not be the best Hammers option going forward.

The one that got away

Mahrez versus Aston Villa

Score: 11

I omitted Mahrez from my picks last week purely because at the time of writing the article he was flagged as injured. That flag dropped before the game and I know many a player who took a punt on him and were generously rewarded.

In the meantime please do join the discussion in the comments below and or on Twitter @magicomelette