CAPTAINCY HYPE 2018/19: FPL Gameweek 37
Picking a Captain to double down on in the Fantasy Premier League is the most important question asked ahead of each of the 38 Gameweek's in the Premier League season. There's a lot of self-help out there for FPL enthusiasts, with our Hype Team providing three major considerations for the armband for each and every Gameweek. We'll be detailing the Essential choice for captain, a popular alternative that's pushing the consensus, and a Wildcard pick to add to the chaos. Captaincy can make of break a Gameweek so strap in tightly, it's time to lose your marbles. All aboard.
Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 37 Deadline
For the 2016/17 Premier League season, the FPL deadline will be one hour before the commencement of the week's first game. The Premier League website lists each FPL deadline, you can always ask on social media, and you can also view a real time countdown on our Weekly Hype page
CAPTAINCY HYPE: THE ESSENTIAL PICK
Our Essential picks for captain are selected each and every week on our main Twitter account, @RealHypeTrain, with four highly selected FPL options battling it out for alpha status amongst fellow FPL players.
Gameweek 37: Essential Captain
Player: Sergio Aguero (MCI)
Position: Forward
GW37 Fixture: Leicester (H)
Player Price: £11.9 million
Player Selection %: 40.8%
The penultimate round of fixtures of the Premier League season provides the first opportunity for half of the teams in the league to play their final home matches of the season, with this week's poll winner benefiting from this courtesy.
Man City hosting Leicester on Monday night has had enough pull to have a majority of our poll voters usher in Sergio Aguero, potentially for the last time this season, as our essential captain - and in a season dominated by the Argentine and the King of Egpyt, Mohamed Salah, it is no surprise to see the marquee City attacker in the frame as the current champions look to lock down the retention of their Premier League trophy.
It's been in incredible season at the top of the Premier League. Liverpool have 91 points. City 92. Both have more than the Invincible Arsenal team that managed 90 points. Based on our selections, which we believe have been dictated by Liverpool's crushing 3-0 loss at the Nou Camp against Barcelona, Aguero and Man City's sole league focus has pulled rank.
Aguero scored 4 goals against Leicester in this fixture last season, though don't read too much in to Aguero treading on familiar habits as his minutes can be managed and his attacking returns have been spread out since a hat-trick in the 6-0 home win against Chelsea during Gameweek 27.
By a matter of inches, Aguero scored the only goal of the game at Burnley, the Forward's first league strike in 5 matches, with an away goal at Fulham during Gameweek 32 his last.
In his last 9 matches, Aguero has 3 goals and 3 assist, with a goal and assist against an already relegated Fulham side in GW32 the highlight of recent weeks. A concern for Aguero wiould be Man City's temperate right now.
Pep Guardiola's side look very happy settling for low-scoring victories, with City only scoring 3 or more goals on 2 occasions in their last 9 matches - a 3-1 home win against Watford during Gameweek 30, and Gameweek 34's 3-1 win at Crystal Palace.
The mass populace are backing Aguero, however, despite our gut instinct that Leicester will provide an incredibly tough test to City's title credentials. That said, both teams look primed for goals, so this Monday evening fixture, depending on what happens with Liverpool at Newcastle, could seal the title for City, for put enough pressure on them to perform that they allow themselves to be opened up for the likes of Vardy to crash the party.
Logic would have the latter thought win this race, though the unpredictable nature of the Premier League means we could be in for one final twist yet - making Aguero an enticing choice as FPL players wrap their seasons up with one final City haul potentially on the cards.
CAPTAINCY HYPE: THE ALTERNATIVE PICK
Our Alternative selection for captain typically commands a smaller FPL ownership percentage, but can be reserved for The Hype Train's own gut instincts on who could be captaincy inspiration.
Gameweek 37: Alternative Captain
Player: Jamie Vardy (LEI)
Position: Forward
GW37 Fixture: Man City (A)
Player Price: £9.0 million
Player Selection %: 9.8%
Are you a romantic who believes that anything can happen and that destiny can be just around the corner? Like us, do you stay up all night dreaming about what could be, and about your favourite club lifting the mother of all domestic league titles... We do, we have (unless you're a Newcastle fan such as this author is), and for Liverpool fans in the coming days, we're in to the final hours of their dreaming as reality comes crashing around them.
A 3-0 loss to Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final first-leg has left the red half of Merseyside having to potentially settle for dreams of domestic dominance as Lionel Messi's magic has crafted an unlikely final appearance in Spain against Ajax or Spurs.
Part of that dream? Hearing the Monday Night Football team lose their grip as Jamie Vardy unleashes almighty hell on a Man City side whose winning run in the league comes to a sudden and devastating halt.
One singular moment of Vardy magic, or the assistant of Tielemans or Maddison, could immortalise The Foxes as Premier League legends in another right altogether - of course this would imply that Liverpool were on the side of good on this occasion.
Selecting the Englishman as our alternative captaincy selection though is a risk, isn't it? Man City haven't conceded n 3 league matches and look like they're playing it afe in their pursuit to do what Leicester and others over the last 9 years couldn't, retain the Premier League trophy.
Stats alone, however, provide that the path to success for City is going to littered with a Vardy shaped problems.
Vardy's 2019 Premier League Season:
Goals: 18 (5th best)
Assists: 5 (11th best)
FPL Points: 170 (12th best overall)
FPL Bonus Points: 31 (2nd best)
Last 11 Appearances: 11 goals (in 9 games, braces in 2)
FPL Points in 11 Games: 84
Vardy's stats all points to an elite player in top level form as Leicester's trickiest fixture of the season is on the horizon, and why can't they send The Kop into hysteria? Leicester got a well deserved point in a 1-1 draw at Anfield during Gameweek 24.
Last week, Leicester brushed aside potential Europa League finalists, Arsenal, 3-0 during Gameweek 36. Vardy also scored the winner at Chelsea in a 1-0 win during Week 18. Top top this off, Leicester even beat Man City 2-1 the following week during Gameweek 19's 2-1 home win, with Ricardo Pereira scoring an incredible winner.
Leicester's pedigree in big matches is perhaps misunderstood this season, with City win by no means a formality. Vardy will have the biggest part to play if this is in fact the case, and are about to throw a last-minute curve-ball in the title race.
CAPTAINCY HYPE: THE WILDCARD PICK
Our Wildcard selection is one of the ten differential picks that is featured in our Weekly Wildcards article. This captaincy selection has a very small percentage of owners in the FPL, and is our left field option.
Gameweek 37: Wildcard Captain
Player: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (EVE)
Position: Forward
GW37 Fixture: Burnley (H)
Player Price: £5.4 million
Player Selection %: 2.2%
Flash back to the beginning of the season and there was a big debate as to who was leading the Toffees attack. Everton wanted to sign a flashy forward after a summer of heavy spending, and they were left with their remaining options. Eventually, Marco Silva opted for Richarlison to be the main starting striker, and for the first half of the season the Brazilian was a reliable option, not electric, but good enough for a while. Richarlison though started to show his best position was on the left after a disappointing run of form, and Tosun stepped in for a while to spearhead the attack, to give a different option after their season derailed when Divock Origi scored in extra time at Anfield in dramatic fashion to win the Merseyside Derby.
Calvert-Lewin wasn’t part of the picture, one of the main players in England’s youth setup, the forward had only started four games up until gameweek sixteen. The youngster only two goals, one as a substitute, the other as a starter against Huddersfield (which should be expected). Prior to this season he was a regular starter under Allardyce and David Unsworth. The European style of Marco Silva made Toffee supporters believe of a high-profile name leading their line-up, and as a result Calvert-Lewin was just a hot prospect. One for the future. Not a starter. Not what Everton needed. In our minds, that translated to one label: differential.
The second half of the season has been kinder to Calvert-Lewin, finally given his shot he has seventeen starts and looks to end the campaign as Everton’s leading man. Nine consecutive starts, two goals and two assists in that period, and now he is a regular under Marco Silva after being pushed to the bench. Calvert-Lewin is the perfect example of a differential, a player who has been massively overlooked due to superior options. There is also the factor of a huge upturn in fortune at Goodison Park.
Recent performances from the Toffees at Goodison have defied expectation. Seeing away Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United without conceding has made the Everton faithful they are on the right track. Calvert-Lewin has played his part, and for rising out of obscurity we entrust the differential captaincy on him when the lights are shining on the blue half of Merseyside.
Want to know more about The Hype Train?
The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in the Fantasy Premier League (#FPL), providing beautiful graphics and weekly insight for hopeful players attempting to climb ranking tables. We are also occasional media reviewers, with a keen interest to review movies, live sport, and professional wrestling.
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The Hype Train were nominated and shortlisted for the 'Best Football Blog 2016' by the Football Bloggers Association at their annual Football Blogging Awards (The FBA's), with the final presentation held at Old Trafford in Manchester.
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All aboard.
