Captain Sensible – Gameweek 21

Next up this Monday evening, we roll out our usual pre-Gameweek members article and assess the leading captaincy contenders for the weekend ahead. We take a three-part approach that includes the weekly poll standings, the Opta statistics and our Rate My Team projections to help steer your thoughts on the armband conundrum.

The Captain Poll

In the wake of his match-winner against Watford last Gameweek and FA Cup goal and assist at Norwich, Sergio Aguero surges to the summit of the Captain Poll with 34% of the vote. A home tie against Everton could propel the Argentine back into the essential bracket, given that the Merseysiders have managed just two clean sheets in their last 14 league matches. Everton’s inability to batten down the hatches also finds Kevin De Bruyne (8%) – who’s produced 16 points in each of his last two home starts – among the top five selections.

Harry Kane occupies the silver-medal berth with 13% of voters taking the plunge. Although Spurs’ premier marksman carded five blanks in his last seven outings, he’s recorded two braces in four home fixtures ahead of Leicester City’s visit and also netted against Claudio Ranieri’s men in yesterday’s cup draw.

With three goals and one assist in two league starts, Diego Costa (10.7) has re-emerged as a contender on the Fantasy market. The Spain international was also amongst the goals in yesterday’s cup win over Scunthorpe and, if he can shrug off the knock that forced him off, could take advantage of a West Bromwich Albion outfit that has notched just one clean sheet in their last 10 match-ups.

Having sealed his return from injury with a couple of recent sub appearances, Dimitri Payet (6%) charts in the top five. Prior to his two-month layoff, the former Marseille playmaker bagged four goals and three assists in eight starts – underlining his capacity for attacking returns before a trip to Bournemouth this Tuesday. Slaven Bilic has revealed he is “99% certain” that Payet will be unleashed from the start at Dean Court, suggesting he could get back amongst the points once again.

Mesut Ozil (5%) and Odion Ighalo (4%) are next in line following their rare blanks in the previous wave of fixtures. The former has contributed to 56% (three goals, 16 assists) of Arsenal’s goals this term and travels to face a Liverpool unit that’s riddled with defensive injuries, while the latter boasts seven goals and two assists in seven outings as Watford gear up for a trip to Southampton

Romelu Lukaku and Riyad Mahrez look real differential candidates for Gameweek 21, with just 2% and 1% of the votes cast respectively. Lukaku is expected to recover from a minor ankle problem in time for Everton’s trip to the Etihad and bagged the winner against City in last week’s Capital One Cup win. Meanwhile, confidence in Mahrez has decreased due to three successive blanks, though the Algerian has still managed five double-figure hauls on his travels ahead of the trip to Tottenham.