Crunch time has arrived. This Sunday brings the curtain down on another season and, at the top of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL), and over mini-leagues everywhere, there’s still plenty to play for. The handing out of the captain’s armband will, as ever, be a decision that proves crucial…
Manchester City have the best home record of the season (17 victories and a draw) by a country mile and QPR have accrued the least points on their travels (11 out of 54) out of all twenty Premier League sides.
This all points to the fact that we’re 90 minutes away from seeing Roberto Mancini’s men being crowned as Champions for the first time. It also explains just why Sergio Aguero is blazing ahead as the prime candidate for the Fantasy captain in this final Gameweek.
With the Citizens tipped for goals and their leading goalscorer and penalty taker the focal point of their attack, Aguero’s dominance is easy to explain. The reluctance to gamble on some of the rich talent playing behind him is perhaps more of a mystery. Even Carlos Tevez, the spark behind City’s late revival, can be found floundering in fifth spot in our poll, with just 4% of the vote compared to Aguero’s 39%.
Robin Van Persie is undoubtedly the real alternative. This season’s likely top goalscorer and Fantasy elite member, Van Persie, is earmarked as “Plan B” – a intriguing position for the Gunners’ striker who, for once, has emerged as a differential when it comes to the captaincy.
Arsenal find themselves safe in the knowledge that a win away at the Hawthorns will see them qualify for the Champions League, regardless of what any of their rivals manage on Sunday. Van Persie will surely spearhead the effort against the Baggies and there’s every chance we’ll see him add to his 30 goal tally.
Can Van Persie outscore Aguero on Sunday? The Arsenal skipper has returned double figures 12 times to Aguero’s eight and half of Van Persie’s big hauls have come on away trips. However, in Aguero’s case, six of his eight big scores have arrived in front of his home fans. While Aguero drew a blank in 67 minutes against QPR earlier in the season, Van Persie chipped in with a goal and an assist in one of his double figure returns, when Roy Hodgson’s side drew up at the Emirates.
It’s a huge call and, from the current poll results, it’s clear that these two are splitting opinion: mini-leagues could well be decided purely on their fortunes tomorrow afternoon.
Beyond the two goalscoring heavyweights, we find ourselves swimming with the sharks, surrounded by risky options that provide plenty of scope to recover leads but with just as much potential heartache thrown in. Both of these sentiments are perfectly typified by one Fernando Torres.
With a hat-trick at home to QPR still fresh in the memory, there’s some renewed faith in a striker who has been stung by much criticism over the last season and a half. Another home fixture for Torres, against a relegated Blackburn outfit (they were bad when supposedly trying to stay in the league, can they get worse?), offers us a tempting attacking option who walks the tightrope that Fantasy managers in the ‘Last Chance Saloon’ will surely need to consider.
Tottenham, as so often is the case, offer another viable source of alternatives. They came good over the double Gameweek and, despite frustrating at Villa last time out, the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor and, in particular, Rafael Van der Vaart, may just offer a final spurt to push Spurs and our Fantasy squads over the line. Fulham’s threat has been blunted by the absence of Clint Dempsey and Spurs have to attack to earn the three points. A home win looks likely and Van der Vaart is a strong bet to be involved in any goals scored.
The Aguero vs Van Persie argument will likely settle the score this weekend, with Van der Vaart a suitable armband route for those looking to throw rivals off the scent. Torres is the real outsider – undoubtedly he’ll be looking to play his way into Chelsea’s Champions League final lineup, but will he get the assistance from team-mates to stake his claim? If he comes good, Torres could, against the odds, make a significant final impact on our seasons.
Our Captain’s Poll is found in the middle menu of the Homepage and will be collecting your votes right through until tomorrow morning.
