Next up this Friday afternoon, we roll out our usual pre-Gameweek members article, casting an eye over the captaincy conundrum ahead of the weekend’s fixtures. As always, we analyse the Opta data for the main contenders and assess the team statistics and Rate My Team’s reckoning, before rounding off with our opinion on the current poll standings in light of the data analysis, including our view on differential captains.
Captain Poll
With a couple of trips to Watford and Palace on his Gameweek 33 agenda, Romelu Lukaku is the standout armband candidate for this week.
A massive 75% have backed the Everton striker to serve up the points against a pair of defences with just two clean sheets apiece in their last 14 league outings. Lukaku – who has two goals and an assist in his previous four – has already scored or assisted against both teams earlier in the season.
City’s home encounter with West Brom has earned Sergio Aguero 8% of the votes. Having produced 25, 16 and 11-point hauls in front of his own fans, the Argentine is one of the few players capable of outscoring any double Gameweek option, though the Baggies have tightened up in recent matches and conceded just once in the last three.
Yannick Bolasie, Ross Barkley and Aaron Lennon sit around the 2%-mark for their respective doubles. Whilst four goals and an assist in seven underlines the latter’s form, Bolasie and Barkley have been highly unpredictable.
The Palace winger has earned points in only five of his 21 league outings ahead of back-to-back home clashes with Norwich and Everton, though the Canaries have one away clean sheet all season, whilst the Toffees have a couple of shut-outs in nine.
Although Barkley is more nailed-on than Lennon, he has netted in just one of his last 16 appearances – a pair of penalties against Newcastle in Lukaku’s absence back in Gameweek 24.
Elsewhere, the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and Harry Kane are backed by 1%. Like Aguero, all four are capable of explosive single-Gameweek hauls but can any of them realistically usurp Lukaku in our thinking?
Let’s start breaking down the player and team data for their respective last four matches and shed a little more light on the situation.
