The Stats Zone
May 4 2021, 16:05 · Tim Blackwell

FPL Triple Gameweek 35 – Captain Picks

FPL Triple Gameweek 35 – Captain Picks
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Finally a differential pick that paid off!! Unsurprisingly, given the chance to start, Gareth Bale (£9.1m) delivered in typical fashion, bagging a hat-trick as Spurs dispatched Sheffield Utd 4-0. His 21 FPL points were particularly sweet for not only this writer but every FPL manager who took the gamble and captained the Welshman over teammate Harry Kane (£11.9m). Kane duly blanked, which meant for owners of both players a potential 40-point swing – more than enough to rocket FPL managers up their mini-leagues. Elsewhere, Chris Wood (£6.4m) continued his excellent end-of-season form with a goal from the spot against West Ham. Only Kane and Kelechi Iheanacho (£6.3m) have scored more goals than the Burnley forward since March 1st. Costing just £6.4m, an ownership of 3.2% and fixtures to come against Fulham, Leeds and Sheffield Utd, Wood could be a nice differential pick over the last four gameweeks of the season.

Moving onto DGW35 and, at the moment (Tuesday), there is some uncertainty over the final gameweek fixture list. As of writing, eight teams are set to double, though this could increase to ten. Currently, Aston Villa, Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Leicester, Man Utd and Southampton will all definitely have two fixtures. However, the postponement of Man Utd vs Liverpool on Sunday has led to the need to fit an extra fixture into the final four gameweeks. Due to Man Utd and Liverpool’s current commitments, there aren’t too many available options left for the Premier League bosses and as such it looks likely that Liverpool, and subsequently West Brom, could also be playing twice this gameweek. As always, we'll direct you to @BenCrellin for the full breakdown of why this is the case but given he is rarely wrong about these things, this article will be written under the assumption that his fixture list will become official in due course. With this in mind, the best captain options will be discussed ahead of Friday’s 18:30 deadline.

PREMIUM OPTIONS

Mo Salah (£12.7m) vs SOU (H), WBA (a)

The big IF in this selection is the one discussed earlier. IF Liverpool end up with two fixtures this gameweek then Mo Salah (£12.7m) will easily be the top captain option and an excellent choice for those FPL players who have hung onto their Triple Captain chip. Even if Liverpool don't end up with two fixtures, a home match against Southampton is enough for Salah to be considered captain material. Still fighting for that fourth Champions League spot, Salah has scored in each of his last three league starts. Equally as impressive is Salah’s record against Southampton. With seven goals and one assist in seven league appearances, the Egyptian has never failed to score against the Saints when playing at Anfield (five goals in three matches). He’s also scored against West Brom in his only away appearance for Liverpool and with West Brom having to win at the weekend to avoid relegation, gaps will appear in what is already the league's worst defence.

Away from Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.6m) is a good option for those looking to capitalise on Liverpool’s fixtures but wanting something different to the most obvious choice. While attacking options always get the most selections, it is often attacking defenders who score most heavily in double gameweeks. TAA has been in excellent form recently and was only denied another clean sheet last time out by Newcastle's injury-time equaliser. Southampton haven’t scored a goal at Anfield in the league since 25th October 2015, while Leicester’s attacking full-back Timothy Castagne (£5.8m) - another potential option - recently grabbed himself an assist and clean sheet in an 11-point haul against West Brom.

Kelechi Iheanacho (£6.3m) vs NEW (H), MUN (a)

Another gameweek brought yet another goal involvement for Kelechi Iheanacho. The Nigerian international is quite simply in the form of his life with nine goals, two assists, 73 points and just one blank over his last eight league matches. That blank came against Champions-elect Man City. Taking a look over those eight fixtures, if any of those matches had been combined into a double gameweek, the least he would of scored in that gameweek would have been 15 points. Captain. Material. The fixtures look good on paper as well. Pretty much safe from relegation, Newcastle were non-existent last weekend during their 0-2 defeat to Arsenal. Only West Brom have conceded more shots on their goal than Newcastle this season, who average 14.9 against them per match. Meanwhile, Leicester are in the top five for shots taken per match (12.9). This would appear to be a recipe for Leicester goals on Friday evening.

The Foxes' second match comes against second-placed Man Utd, who could be tired following a busy schedule. Even if not, the Old Trafford outfit will hold no fear for Iheanacho owners given he scored twice against them and registered an assist just over a month ago in their 3-1 FA Cup quarter-final victory.

Mason Greenwood (£7.1m) or Edison Cavani (£7.9m) vs AVL (a), LEI (H)

A pick that is down to two things. First is our refusal to put Bruno Fernandes (£11.5m) in one of these articles again. The second is the line-up Utd put out away to Roma on Thursday evening. Dependant on which of Mason Greenwood (£7.1m) or Edinson Cavani (£7.9m) starts in Rome, then please consider the one sat on the bench as the suggestion for DGW35. On the rare chance that both or neither start than Greenwood would be our pick. While Aston Villa have been excellent defensively for most of their season, picking up 14 clean sheets so far, their has been no shut-out in their last seven league matches. When it comes to Man Utd, you have to go all the way back to the 12th December 2009 to find the last time they failed to score against the Midlands club. This type of record is even more impressive against their second opponents. The Red Devils last failed to score in the league against Leicester on 31st January 1998 – a run of 23 league games.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.5m) vs WHU (a), AVL (a)

A goal and two bonus points at the weekend, Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.5m) would appear to be back up to speed following his recent spell on the sidelines. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, with Everton set to face both West Ham and Aston Villa in a matter of days. While the Toffees' 1-2 defeat to Villa just a few days ago have damaged their European aspirations, a victory over fifth-placed West Ham on Sunday will propel the side right back into the mixer. Calvert-Lewin has form against the Hammers also, having bagged a hat-trick against them earlier in the season during their fourth round Carabao Cup tie. Furthermore, it’s now been seven matches since the Hammers last kept a clean sheet, conceding 13 goals over that time period. As mentioned previously, Aston Villa’s recent record is just as poor, as they also have no clean sheets in their last seven. Having scored against them last weekend, Everton’s main man will be in the mood to atone for their side’s recent defeat.

DIFFERENTIAL OPTION

James Ward-Prowse (£5.8m) vs LIV (a), CRY (H)

Owned by 9.3% of all FPL managers, James Ward-Prowse (£5.8m) is very much a flyer for our differential captain pick for the weekend. While Wilfred Zaha (£7.1m) was strongly considered for this spot, his potential injury pushed Ward-Prowse to the forefront. On all corners, free-kicks and penalties, in order for this pick to come off, we’re essentially relying on both Liverpool and Crystal Palace to give away penalties and/or free-kicks in and around the box. No player has scored more than Ward-Prowse’s four free-kicks this campaign and Palace give away just under 11 fouls per match on average. The referee for the Palace match, Andy Madley, has given the second most free-kicks amongst Premier League referees so far this season. Surely Ward-Prowse will get at least one chance on goal from them. When it comes to penalties, only West Brom and Leeds have given away more than Liverpool’s nine penalties this season. Sure it’s a long-shot, but at least we've finally managed to get a referee stat into this article.

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