Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers face another tough captaincy decision for Double Gameweek 28, with no real standout favourite for the armband.
In an attempt to find the best one for this latest round, first we will assess the fallout of the captain poll, before then analysing the key options, Rate My Team (RMT) and the Premier Fantasy Tools ratings ahead of Saturday’s 11:00 GMT deadline.
THE CAPTAIN POLL
Following confirmation of Chelsea’s Double Gameweek 28, we reset the captain poll on Wednesday night.
Up until that point, Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) led the way, pulling in the support of 23.15% ahead of Liverpool’s Anfield clash against West Ham United.
However, he has since been replaced at the summit by Aston Villa’s Philippe Coutinho (£7.4m), who comes into this round with 18.23% of the vote. The Brazilian is averaging 5.3 points per match since his January arrival, but has blanked in four of his six appearances.
This week’s top three is closed out by Raphinha (£6.5m), who, despite scoring just one goal since Gameweek 18, could be reinvigorated by the arrival of new head coach Jesse Marsch.
Antonio Rudiger (£6.1m) and Raul Jimenez (£7.5m), meanwhile, are the best of the rest this time around as Chelsea travel to Burnley and Norwich City, while Bruno Lage and his Wolverhampton Wanderers squad take on Crystal Palace and Watford at Molineux.
PHILIPPE COUTINHO
Philippe Coutinho has settled well at Aston Villa following his January arrival, having produced two goals and two assists in his first six appearances for the club. During that time, he ranks top amongst team-mates for shots, with 14, although just six have arrived in the box, whilst his eight created chances/0.30 expected assists (xA) is a tad underwhelming, given his playmaking abilities.
However, up until Gameweek 27, Villa had been going through a difficult moment, losing 1-0 to Watford and Newcastle United in back-to-back matches, which no doubt impacted the Brazilian’s actual returns and underlying numbers.
On a more positive note, things did improve last time out, as Steven Gerrard shifted to a more compact 4-3-1-2 formation, which enabled him to get both of his goalscorers – Ollie Watkins (£7.5m) and Danny Ings (£7.7m) – onto the pitch at the same time. It must be said that Villa were a little more cautious overall in attack, and Coutinho did sometimes take up a deeper role (see below), but the fact he still has three central midfielders deployed behind him suggests he won’t have to curb his attacking instincts too much, if at all.
Above: Philippe Coutinho’s touch heatmap v Brighton and Hove Albion in Gameweek 27
PHILIPPE COUTINHO – LAST SIX MATCHES
| Goals | 2 |
| Assists | 2 |
| Double Digit Hauls | 1 |
| FPL points | 32 |
| Non-pen xG | 1.38 |
| xA | 0.30 |
Now, Villa host Southampton before a trip to Leeds United in Double Gameweek 28.
The Saints are one of the division’s in-form sides, losing just one of their last 10 matches, but have failed to keep an away clean sheet since October.
As for Leeds, their defensive issues have been well documented of late, and resulted in the departure of Marcelo Bielsa last weekend. Because of that, they are a bit of an unknown under new head coach Jesse Marsch, although with limited time to prepare, plus the ongoing absence of key midfielder Kalvin Phillips (£4.7m), it could perhaps take a few weeks before we start to see his impact on the pitch.
ANTONIO RUDIGER
