Wednesday night’s 5-1 rout of Huddersfield Town booked Manchester City’s place in the FA Cup quarter-finals and created this season’s first double Gameweek.
With a trip to Sunderland and home tie against Stoke City falling in Gameweek 27, Pep Guardiola’s troops will inevitably dominate our transfer activity and latest Captain Poll.
Sergio Aguero (12.7) will surely be the favourite for the summit after a brace against The Terriers brought his tally to four over the last two matches.
With no competition from the injured Gabriel Jesus and high praise from his manager after last night’s display, our rotation fears surrounding the marksman have been somewhat dampened. Aguero has gained more than 39,000 new owners in just the last 24 hours, with an overnight price rise seemingly inevitable.
Aguero’s captaincy credentials are boosted further by the fragility of the Stoke and Sunderland defences.
No side has conceded more shots in the box than the Black Cats over the last four matches and only Swansea City have been breached more often at home.
After shipping four away to Spurs, the Potters’ visit to the Etihad looks another mouth-watering prospect for City’s attack.
Indeed, the Gameweek 27 profit could be spread far and wide, ensuring that Aguero has rivals for the armband within the City ranks.
Raheem Sterling (7.8) and Leroy Sane (7.5), who have been Guardiola’s preferred wing partnership over the last four league matches, both present strong CV’s for the captaincy role.
Sterling may only boast a single double-digit haul over his last 20 outings, but the wide man has been a beacon of consistency, with attacking returns in eight of the last ten Gameweeks.
Sane is also a man in form, having notched a goal and two assists in his last four league outings and claiming the opener in Wednesday’s win.
So far, 10,000+ FPL managers have drafted in Sane in the last 24 hours, with over 30,000 falling for Sterling’s charms.
As the designated penalty taker for City, Yaya Toure (7.3) has also been added to the poll as an option; a mere 1.1% of FPL managers currently own the Ivorian.
Toure was rested for last night’s encounter and it remains to be seen if Guardiola considers him for the back-to-back Gameweek 27 fixtures. The midfielder’s absence would, presumably, bolster Aguero’s appeal as he assumes duties from the spot.
We perhaps shouldn’t ignore Stoke City as a factor in the Gameweek 27 picture. A home tie with Middlesbrough should attract some attention for their assets, while Mark Hughes will feel that his side can trouble an erratic City defence that again conceded in Wednesday’s tie.
Stoke’s immediate opponents Middlesbrough have lost three of their last four away league fixtures, which makes Potters midfielders Joe Allen (5.1) and 0.9% owned Marko Arnautovic (7.1) intriguing differential options for the armband.
No Stoke player has had more shots on target than Arnautovic over their last four league encounters, while Allen’s six goals make him their top scorer this term.
Peter Crouch (4.9) and Saido Berahino (6.0) are other Potters options, but their prospects are hindered by the possibility that they will likely be vying for just one striker position.
We have also included a series of options for consideration among players with just a single match in Gameweek 27.
Certainly, Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic (11.5) will be the big hope for those refusing to invest in Aguero and his City team-mates.
Ibrahimovic has delivered at least a goal or an assist in eight of his last ten Gameweeks and takes on a Bournemouth side at Old Trafford that has conceded 17 goals over their last six outings, more than any other side.
Southampton’s Manolo Gabbiadini (6.7) is another striker in form.
He has fired five goals in three matches since joining the St Mary’s ranks from Napoli in January. A visit to Watford offers the Italian a platform to maintain such form: the Hornets have kept just a single clean sheet in their last six league Gameweeks.
Swansea City’s protagonist Gylfi Sigurdsson (7.6) is also included, with opponents Burnley continuing to toil on the road ahead of their visit to the Liberty Stadium. Sigurdsson’s assist against Chelsea last weekend means he has delivered attacking returns in six of his seven starts under head coach Paul Clement.
The Captain Poll is now live in the middle column on your homepage on desktop, or via the slide-in menu on mobile and tablet under recent comments.
We will be back to check in on progress in the poll on Friday when we deliver our “Captain Sensible” article offering an analysis of the results and the statistics behind the leading contenders.
