We’re another week down the line and with the close of the season fast approaching, that ever-decisive choice only gets more important by the second, minute and hour. This week The Captain’s Poll will have the final double Gameweek to contend with…
In the safe zone we’ve got two men marked for consideration for Fantasy managers looking to hold firm and keep their rivals at bay.
Papiss Cisse has nine goals, 17 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) bonus points and two assists over the last six fixtures. It stands to reason that [at the time of writing] another 61,000 FPL managers have already thrown him into their squads and, ahead of a pair of fixtures against Wigan and Chelsea, make him prime candidate #1 for the Fantasy armband. A safe and secure option with heavy ownership and a hearty backing.
Hot off a brace at Old Trafford last Gameweek, Nikica Jelavic has risen from choice differential to prime candidate #2, having proven to the be the goalscorer Everton have long been waiting for. The Croatian has an astounding statistic that his last 27 goals since May 2011 (with Rangers and Everton) have all been one touch finishes. Put the ball in his path and he might just continue to add to that at home to Fulham and away at the Potteries.
Those Fantasy managers looking to lean a little left of centre and make up some ground on their mini-league rivals look set to rely on a stuttering Spurs. With fixtures against Blackburn and Bolton, there’s plenty of potential for goals -and many of them- but with a sharp drop in form from Harry Redknapp’s men, the likes of Gareth Bale and recent Watchlist candidate Rafael Van Der Vaart are clearly a gamble.
The Welshman provides an option closer to safety with a high ownership boosted by his own 57,000+ transfers in this Gameweek, while the Dutchman has looked the stronger threat in front of goal and is owned by just 6% of Fantasy managers, in comparison to Bale’s hefty 37%. Double figure returns are within reach for both Bale and Van der Vaart if Spurs can muster the form required to clamber back into the reckoning for a Champions League place. For those toying with a risk this week, these two appear to be the biggest temptations on offer.
However, there’s one player in particular with a strong record in these situations who has gathered just 6% of the votes in our Poll to date. Clint Dempsey has a history with double Gameweeks, and it’s a pretty outstanding one. The last three occasions that Fulham have had two fixtures for the price of one, Dempsey has bagged a brace in one of the two games. He’s not known as “Captain America” for nothing.
If Dempsey can maintain his record, then, those Fantasy managers looking to get that edge on their rivals could find themselves sitting pretty. A trip to Everton may not be so straightforward but the US international then faces Liverpool four days before their FA Cup Final at Wembley – possibly the perfect distraction to open the way for Dempsey to put them to the sword.
All strategies, undoubtedly, will rely on where Fantasy managers find themselves in their mini leagues. Those chasing a gap will perhaps “need” to take a risk in the hope of catching up be it Dempsey, a Spurs player or even those risks way off base (Fernando Torres anyone?). Those sitting pretty in their leagues will perhaps feel a punt is an unnecessary risk and instead cling to the comfort of Cisse or Jelavic, feeling far more assured in their recent outstanding form.
Our Captain Poll continues to run in the middle menu of the Homepage – cast your vote if you’ve yet to do so.
