Less than 48 hours after the previous round of fixtures came to a conclusion, we roll out our usual pre-Gameweek members piece ahead of Saturday morning’s 11.30 deadline.
First up, we cast an eye over the main Captain Poll contenders, then analyse the Opta numbers and Rate My Team rankings before suggesting a differential or two to help with your current armband dilemma.
The Captain Poll
Arsenal’s trip to Chelsea means that, for once, Alexis Sanchez fails to top our Gameweek Captain Poll.
As a result, it’s a far more open affair this time around, with Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku battling it out for top spot ahead of home encounters with Middlesbrough and Bournemouth respectively.
The Spurs frontman leads with 21% of the votes cast – he’s bagged six goals in as many Gameweeks, including a hat-trick in his previous home outing.
Kane’s team-mates Dele Alli, with eight goals in seven, and Christian Eriksen, with four double-figure hauls in his last five home appearances, look differential alternatives, with just 7% and 3% backing respectively.
Middlesbrough have been fairly resilient, though, conceding more than once in just three of their 11 road trips.
Similar to Kane, both Lukaku and third-placed Zlatan Ibrahimovic have suffered back-to-back blanks.
The former has scored in each of his last two at Goodison Park, though, while the Cherries have conceded at least twice in six of the previous seven Gameweeks.
Ibrahimovic rolls up to Leicester City with the backing of just 9% of our voters.
The United frontman has netted in all but one of his last six away appearances and squares up to a defence that has shipped at least two goals in five of their previous six at the King Power Stadium.
Sergio Aguero earns fifth spot for City’s home encounter with Swansea City.
We have to acknowledge here that our Poll went live on Wednesday morning, hence the absence of Gabriel Jesus, whose goal and assist away to West Ham United later that evening places question marks over the Argentine’s minutes.
The Swans have clearly improved since the departure of Bob Bradley and won three of their last four but have, nonetheless, failed to keep a clean sheet in those fixtures and conceded eight times.
Sanchez and Diego Costa convince just 4% and 6% of voters ahead of their Stamford Bridge showdown.
The Chilean has produced returns in ten of his last 11 league outings and bagged a 14-point haul against the league leaders earlier in the season. Costa has delivered a goal or assist in nine of 10 home appearances this season but has yet to manage more than nine points in front of his own supporters.
Liverpool’s inconsistency means that the likes of Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane are backed by only 1% ahead of a trip to Hull.
Expected to return to the Reds’ XI after turning out for Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations, Mane has scored in three of his last four away starts.
Palace’s home encounter with Sunderland brings Christian Benteke onto our radars. The big Belgian is backed by 3% after ending a seven-match scoring drought with a strike in the midweek win at Bournemouth.
