Given that every team plays home/away again for the second Gameweek running -depending on where they were playing these last two days- the case of refreshing the Captain Poll ahead of Gameweek twenty-one whiffs of deja-vu. We see a repeated effort, as those catching the eye this week were most certainly on the radar in days just gone…
Roberto Mancini decided to rest his star striker’s hamstrings on Tuesday in a case of opportunity lost as Mario Balotelli took the chance to put a woeful Aston Villa to the sword, Carlos Tevez will inevitably be raring to go after a little break and the visit of the equally penetrable Blackpool defence will see the Argentinean rascal as a leading armband candidate.
Didier Drogba‘s recent form has seen his Fantasy Premier League (FPL) price plummet from a high of £13.2m to a now lower than original price of £12.4m, but the Ivorian hasn’t been doing awful by any stretch of the imagination; just perhaps not as well as people wanted for such a heavy outlay. The aforementioned traveling troops of Aston Villa might just afford Drogba the chance to boost an upturn in form. Florent Malouda may also be back in contention after his first goal in ten games in last night’s win over Bolton.
The Liverpool duo of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres play at Anfield once more, against a Bolton defence that rarely keeps clean sheets. That will undoubtedly be on the radar again, although last night’s dismal showing will give Fantasy Managers little confidence – existing owners may well look to back their investment however. Rafael Van Der Vaart may have had a rare quiet day in terms of Fantasy football, but a home game against the weary travellers of Fulham looks tantalising. The only slight doubt nagging in the back of our minds will be the threat of rest and rotation – “Can a recently recovered player start 3 games in under a week?”. Then again, can Harry do without his considerable influence?
Team-mate Gareth Bale bagged a goal and 2 FPL bonus points at home to Newcastle and will always be in the mix for points while those who have hopped aboard the Frank Lampard train nice and early may want to welcome the New Year with a gamble on his prospects against Villa. Last time he faced them at the Bridge he scored four goals.
Throw in Dimitar Berbatov and Nani -if he’s finally fit to return- at West Brom and you’ve got yourself a vast array of high calibre options.
What’ll be your new years resolution then? Keep faith in Chelsea? Never trusting Mancini again? To throw a curveball and captain Cesc Fabregas away St. Andrews? Whatever it is, make sure you head back to the frontpage and get your vote in then discuss with your peers right here.
