The Captain poll for Gameweek ten is now in full swing with well over a thousand votes already collected. As expected, Tottenham’s Rafael Van der Vaart dominates with a third of the vote so far. The outspoken Dutchman goes into a home clash with QPR having scored a brace at Blackburn, while Neil Warnock’s men arrive having been spanked 6-0 on their last away trip. Van der Vaart’s owners will go into the weekend with all the confidence and swagger of the player himself.
While team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor also surfs the wave of optimism surrounding Tottenham’s chances on Sunday, having collected 8% of the vote, he is separated from Van der Vaart by City’s prime attacking specimens – David Silva and Sergio Aguero.
Gloriously omitted from last night’s team-sheet, confidence in Roberto Mancini’s selection will now be building and there’s an obvious swell of opinion that backs both players to start against Wolves on Saturday. The forthcoming trip to Villareal on Wednesday remains a concern however; those handing Silva and Aguero the armband will surely do so with a strong Vice Captain option in place.
A slew of strikers then follow – Mario Balotelli – another omitted from Manicini’s midweek lineup, earns fifth spot. Luis Suarez’ reputation received a timely boost with a classy double in last night’s win at Stoke and he sits next in our poll. His owners will now be seeking confirmation of a clean bill of health, having seen him wince and limp from the Britannia turf late on.
Wayne Rooney takes the fight to Goodison on Saturday lunchtime for the early midday kick-off. He’ll be given his usual reception, spiced up by the recent red card in Montenegro and Sunday’s demolition at the hands of rivals City. It could go either way for Rooney – we suspect that Saturday’s game won’t be without incident. Alex Ferguson will surely be firing up his men following the Old Trafford drubbing but, at the same time, the United boss will likely have to curb Rooney’s “enthusiasm” against his former club.
Surprisingly perhaps, Robin Van Persie sits in mid-table position in the poll. Despite four goals in his last two league outings, obviously the prospect of facing the Chelsea defence is providing a barrier for his owners. Andre Villa-Boas is unlikely to feel quite so confident about putting the buffers on the prolific Dutchman, however – he’s seen his side concede in eight of their nine games this season and, with Arsenal’s defence equally obliging, goals in Saturday’s clash look likely.
If you’ve yet to cast your vote this week, don’t forget to fire it off via the homepage before Friday night when our final votes will be collected.
