Our pre-Gameweek members article returns this evening as Fantasy managers look to improve upon last week’s disappointing start to the season. As always, we take a three-part approach – the first section will be free for all visitors to the site and will analyse the chief protagonists in our Gameweek Captain Poll, though the latter two parts will be members-only, as we delve deeper into the Opta and Rate My Team projections.
The Captain Poll
Wayne Rooney sits atop the summit of our Captain’s Poll for the second week running, with 25% of voters backing the Red Devils frontman to open his account at Villa Park. Manchester United struggled to carve out many clear-cut chances last Saturday, but they’re likely to enjoy a more free-flowing affair against an Aston Villa side that’s recorded just one home clean sheet under Tim Sherwood’s stewardship. The fact that only Queens Park Rangers (30) and Newcastle United (26) conceded more goals than the West Midlands outfit (23) following their managerial change in 2014/15 serves as further encouragement for Rooney owners.
Christian Benteke heads up the chasing pack with a 24% share of the votes. Following a cagey head-to-head against Stoke City last weekend, the Belgian marksman will be relishing the chance to test out the resolve of Bournemouth’s rearguard at Anfield. From Gameweek 26 last term (Sherwood’s first match in charge), no striker tallied more goals than Benteke (11), with five goals arriving in his last four home starts. Two braces and a hat-trick in the final ten rounds of fixtures illustrated his propensity for explosive returns, augmenting his attraction as a captaincy candidate.
A large gap has opened up between the second and third-most popular captaincy picks, with 8% of voters planning to entrust Harry Kane with the armband when Stoke City pay a visit on Saturday. Spurs’ talismanic striker suffered from a lack of service against United but looked sharp on the few occasions he was afforded possession in dangerous areas of the pitch. The Lilywhites will be out to avenge a 2-1 defeat in the corresponding fixture last term but face a resilient Potters outfit that conceded just 23 goals on the road – the same as Chelsea.
Graziano Pelle is pushing Kane for that bronze medal berth with 7% of the vote. The Italy international opened the scoring against Newcastle with a powerful header and appears to have picked up where he left off in the previous campaign, having bagged four goals in his final seven outings. Allied with strikes in both of Saints’ Europa League qualifying matches, Pelle’s form is reminiscent of his start to the 2014/15 season, when he chalked up six goals and one assist in the first eight Gameweeks. A visit from Everton is certainly no pushover, but Pelle has thrived at St Mary’s Stadium up to now, with 11 of his 13 goals coming on home turf.
His partner in crime, Sadio Mane, comes in at 5%, having spurned two great chances to grant Saints the lead in stoppage time at St James’ Park. He, too, will be buoyed by the revelation that Everton conceded the sixth most number of away goals (29) last season.
Perusing the lower reaches of the list, Philippe Coutinho and Dimitri Payet are being tipped by 3% of our readership by virtue of their favourable home match-ups and attacking returns last Gameweek. Meanwhile, dormant big-hitters Sergio Aguero and Alexis Sanchez have also been backed by 3% of voters, with early adopters looking to profit from their probable first starts of the new campaign.
Theo Walcott and Eden Hazard have plummeted down the rankings this week, with each laying claim to 2% of the vote. The former was a surprise omission for many in the starting line-up against the Hammers, yet Alan Pardew’s attacking Eagles outfit should encourage Arsene Wenger to start the jet-heeled winger at Selhurst Park. The latter, meanwhile, faces a trip to the Etihad Stadium, which many will expect to be a tight, attritional encounter.
