Golden rules of FPL to be broken this weekend

Never captain a defender in Fantasy Premier League they say, yet Shane Duffy (£4.7m) is the talk of the town this week ahead of Brighton’s Double Gameweek against Bournemouth (home) and Cardiff (home).

Following Harry Kane’s (£12.6m) injury midweek, Son Heung-min (£8.6m) is the new leader of the captaincy poll, followed closely in second by the Irishman who has found the back of the net five times already this season.

The Seagulls have conceded just 16 goals at home in 15 matches in 2018/19. Two clean sheets in Gameweek 34 is a distinct possibility. Even if Duffy only managed one clean sheet out of two and a few bonus points, it would be a healthy return of points from your captain.

Let’s hope we don’t see a repeat of his 2016 performance playing for Blackburn when he scored two own goals and got sent off in a game against Cardiff! Maybe they are his bogey team?

After the impressive win over Manchester City in the Champions League, Mauricio Pochettino may use the Huddersfield fixture this weekend as an opportunity to rest some of his key men ahead of the return leg next week.

Let’s face it, Spurs could field their under-23s against the Terriers and still pick up the three points. Son looked exhausted towards the end of that City game which puts me off him for the captaincy.

Duffy, who will play twice vs Son who may get a rest is an easy decision in my eyes, although I haven’t ruled out giving the armband to the in-form Jamie Vardy (£9.2m) at home to Newcastle on Friday night. The Englishman is flying under Brendan Rodgers, scoring eight in his last eight. He’s going nowhere on my Wildcard.

A big question this week for those going for the Wildcard 34/Bench Boost 35 strategy is whether to go all in on the Brighton triple up or not. It looks great on paper for Gameweek 34 with the two home games but not so good in Gameweek 35 with two away ties against Wolves and Spurs.

In contrast to their solid defensive record at home, Chris Hughton’s side have shipped 30 goals on their travels. Ideally, you don’t want to have to use any more than one Brighton asset in Double Gameweek 35. For this reason, I’m unlikely to opt for the triple up as it means booking in transfers for next week when there is likely to be other fires to put out ahead of the Bench Boost.

The Kane injury is a spanner in the works for those managers who had him earmarked for the triple captain chip. If he does miss the rest of the season (yet to be confirmed) we need to look for alternatives for that chip.

Liverpool at home to Huddersfield in Gameweek 36 springs to mind with Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) and Sadio Mané (£10.1m) the likely candidates. The final day of the season is often a goal fest and it may be worth holding on to the chip until then. Son could be an exciting prospect against Everton, Manchester United face Cardiff at home and if the title goes down to the wire, the Liverpool and Manchester City assets will be options as well.

Good luck for the Gameweek and enjoy your weekend folks.

All aboard the Duffy Express.