Saturday’s start with the usual stroll along the precipice of the FPL deadline and this morning it’s the issue of the FPL armband that’s occupying my cluttered head…

Okay, so I’ve slept on the FPL captain scenario but I’m still not clear on it and I’m bleary eyed as a result. It’s a lottery this week. Neither Ronaldo nor Lampard have delivered of late. The Ballon d’Or brandishing Ronaldo has drawn three blanks in a row and there are some doubts over his fitness having suffered a hip injury against Sunderland last weekend. Lampard meanwhile, has earned just one assist and a single bonus point in his last five matches.

I’m pretty convinced that Ronaldo will start and possibly in a central attacking role with Berbatov looking unlikely to recover from an Achilles injury. United will find it tough at Spurs though – Redknapp’s side have conceded just three goals on the last five at the Lane. This looks a narrow win for United then, which could limit Ronaldo’s contribution.

As for Lampard, he is up against his former club at Stamford Bridge, and while Chelsea have struggled at the Bridge of late, the return of Drogba could be the tonic they need to help their home form and allow Lampard to prosper once again. Having said that, West Ham are a stubborn side away from home having conceded just four goals in the last five away games.

The stats and form point elsewhere then – maybe this is a week to look beyond the big two that have struggled in recent weeks and turn instead to the likes of Gerrard, Kuyt, Defore, Crouch or even consider at a defensive option such as Bosingwa.

Your decision could well depend on the situation your in. Personally, I’m struggling to see an obvious captain contender who will score heavily. With Chelsea looking odds on for a clean sheet and with Lampard up against his former club, I’m opting for him for a guaranteed six points and hopefully an assist or goal thrown into the mix. That’s a conservative selection though – if you’ve a gap to bridge in your mini-league a braver move for a Defoe or Crouch may reap the rewards you need to help your cause. In short, it looks a decent week to take a risk and, without coming over all Kenobi – “trust in your feelings”.

Moving on to some late team news that you may have missed yesterday – Griffin is out for Stoke with an ankle injury. Traore is back in training for Portsmouth but apparently still out according to reports on the BBC – make of that what you will, Adam’s is talking up an almost fit squad for tomorrow’s game with Newcastle.

Saha looks increasingly unlikely to make a return for Everton at City, while Anichebe is also struggling with a back injury. He’ll have a fitness test so Everton could well turn to Jutkiewicz to fill the void up front. In the same game, Robinho remains a doubt with an ankle injury. All the noise from Hughes suggests that he’ll return in some capacity but Hughes was talking as if he planned to start him on the bench with lingering doubts over his fitness. As I’ve already mentioned, all the noise coming from the United camp is that Berbatov is struggling for the clash with Spurs.

As far as my fantasy lineups go, I’ve not been tempted into last minute tinkering or backed any overnight hunches. I’m troubled by the situation I’ve got with Agger, Carragher, Geovanni and King with my FPL side but have opted to back the Liverpool defence and go with Geovanni to hopefully catch any Hull attacking points should they breach the Anfield rearguard. A tricky situation and I’ve gone with a conservative solution but that suits me right now.

In the Guardian game, I’ve slipped up of late, benching both Anelka and Alonso last week rather foolishly. I’m worried about gambling on a Robinho return and Scolari’s plan for his front line, so I’ve opted for Van Persie up front in a 5-1-3-1. I’m banking on Wright-Phillips returning some points at last here. I’ll no doubt ring the changes with my transfers if I suffer another mediocre week of scoring.

That’s about it then. All the remains is for me to wish you luck for what looks like another tricky, unpredictable fantasy week. Here goes…