Captaincy Picks 2019/20: FPL Gameweek 15

Picking the right captain in FPL can make or break your season and has a massive impact on your final overall rank come the end of the season. We attempt to ease the burden of any potential captaincy stress by offering a host of worthy selections ahead of each Gameweek - an Essential that is voted by the FPL Community, an alternative of our choosing, a Dark Horse who might spring a surprise, and a lowly selected Differential - to cover the bases. All aboard.

Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 15 Deadline

For the 2019/20 Premier League season, the FPL deadline will be one hour before the commencement of the week's first game. Our website provides a real-world countdown timer for the the upcoming Gameweek, whilst you can read our latest Fantasy articles from the season on our 2019/20 FPL weekly hype sub-section.

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 15: Essential Captain

Player: Jamie Vardy (LEI)

Position: Forward

Fixture: Watford (H)

Player Price: £9.9 million +

Player Selection %: 46.0%

Captaincy poll results:

Reason for victory:

Gameweek 15 is proudly brought to you by common sense and form this week, with our essential captaincy poll winner, Jamie Vardy, cruising to an 80% majority victory after goals in 6 consecutive Premier League games this past weekend. The Englishman brushed aside competition from Raheem Sterling, Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with the trio of FPL heavyweights struggling to get on board with Vardy's levels of consistency this season that has finally (after 3 polls with minority wins) engulfed the attention of the masses that play this Fantasy game.

Numbers do the talking talking for Vardy, and in truth, there hasn't been a lot of change from last week, with the same 'top' FPL prospects virtually the same, with Liverpool, City, Leicester and Chelsea all in "favourable" fixtures, and yes, we feel the need to air quote the work favourable as City and Chelsea failed to win against lacklustre Newcastle and West Ham outfits, with Liverpool and Leicester drawing blood from stones in hard fought 2-1 home wins against Brighton and Everton.

Vardy has scored the most goals (13) this season, has obtained more FPL points (110) and more bonus (19) than any other player, whilst the Forward is in the rare territory of being only one of two Forward's in the game to have played all available 1260 minutes of league action of football - the other being Arsenal's Aubameyang.

Leicester, whose Manager Brendan Rodgers, has dismissed links with the Arsenal job, come up against another side from London looking for a new boss, with Watford sacking Quique Sánchez Flores for the second time in three years after a 2-1 loss at Southampton in Saturday's late game.

This all equates to the perfect storm for Vardy's captaincy suitors this week, and as an author who has banked on the Premier League winner in a trio of successive Gameweek's, there is only one consideration that I'll be making for the first round of midweek games this season.

CAPTAINCY HYPE: THE ALTERNATIVE PICK

Our Alternative selection for captain typically commands a smaller FPL ownership percentage than our Essential poll winner, though this pick is usually reserved for The Hype Train's own gut instincts on who could be captaincy inspiration for the upcoming Gameweek.

Gameweek 15: Alternative Captain

Player: Raul Jimenez (WOL)

Position: Forward

Fixture: West Ham (H)

Player Price: £7.7 million +

Player Selection %: 22.9%

Reason for selection:

We welcome you to the second carriages of this captaincy train, powered on the fuel of common sense and logical thinking ahead of Gameweek 15. Vardy is the popular pick this week, though there are a good 54% of FPL players that don't own the Leicester man (a large chunk of that void will be inactive player for certain).

Vardy is the first pillar of consistency this season and you only have to stay in the same region of the country for the second pillar holding up Fantasy teams across the lands, with Raul Jimenez proving to be more than a one season wonder.

The Mexican international has only failed to provide an assist or a goal in just one of his last seven Premier League outings, with Jimenez failing to provide the points in a 1-1 away draw at Newcastle during Gameweek 10. Besides a trip to the North East, Raul has a spotless record, with 4 goals and 3 assists in 6 league encounters.

West Ham visit Wolves on Wednesday evening fresh off a 1-0 success at a young Chelsea side last weekend, with Wolves unbeaten in 9 league games, with Chelsea last beating Nuno's side 5-2 during Gameweek 5, the week that truly announced Tammy Abraham to the FPL masses with a hat-trick.

In the likely scenario that Vardy is your captain, if like us, Raul is the automatic and trusty captaincy sidekick this weekend. Wolves are a stable squad that are providing Jimenez with chances on a weekly basis. The goals and assists will keep flowing (unless your name is Callum Wilson, who after the first 7 Gameweek's of the season, has now blanked in his last 7 outings), so there's little room to doubt the capabilities or eventuality of a Jimenez attacking return.

CAPTAINCY HYPE: THE DARK HORSE PICK

A new captaincy selection this season sees us introduce a Dark Horse pick, which will be a player who typically has a good scoring record against an opposing team, or a player in good form that is being overlooked due to other popular captaincy picks.

Gameweek 15: Dark Horse Captain

Player: Wilfried Zaha (CRY)

Position: Midfielder

Fixture: Bournemouth (H)

Player Price: £6.6 million

Player Selection %: 9.3%

Reason for selection:

In the far reaches of captaincy consideration this week, the combined variables of Wilfried Zaha coming into goal-scoring form over the last 2 games and Palace hosting Bournemouth in a mid-table Premier League clash, make the Ivorian international a perfect dark horse for a captaincy punt this week.

Palace begun a run of enticing fixtures last weekend with a 2-0 win at Burnley, with Zaha scoring and earning bonus points for the first time in 15 attempts. The continued delight of Palace's fixtures continue, with the Midfielder a set-and-forget option until a Gameweek 21 trip to Norwich on New Years Day.

Crystal Palace's Festive Fixtures:

GW15: Bournemouth (H)

GW16: Watford (A)

GW17: Brighton (H)

GW18: Newcastle (A)

GW19: West Ham (H)

GW20: Southampton (A)

GW21: Norwich (A)

Zaha, who has been a popular transfer in for Chelsea's misfiring Mason Mount in recent days, has scored in back-to-back Premier League, and though he has only managed 4 attacking returns this season, the tricky winger has been showing good signs of form on the pitch and was an absolute menace at defensively sound Burnley.

Visitors Bournemouth have lost their last 3 games against Newcastle (GW12), Wolves (GW13) and most recently away at Spurs (GW14) in Jose Mourinho's first home game of the season, whilst Palace responded to a trio of consecutive defeats with the comfortable win against Sean Dyche's side.

This could prove to be a watershed Gameweek for Zaha and that's why he is considered for the armband - snowballs in FPL have worked this season, with Abraham, Vardy, Jimenez and others all finding consistency. Another FPL haul will see the midfielder become the hot topic for next weekend's games.

CAPTAINCY HYPE: THE DIFFERENTIAL PICK

Our Wildcard selection is one of the ten differential picks that is featured in our Weekly Wildcard Differentials article. This captaincy selection has a very small percentage of owners in the FPL, and is our left-field option.

Gameweek 15: Differential Captain

Player: Lys Mousset (SHU)

Position: Forward

Fixture: Newcastle (H)

Player Price: £5.1 million

Player Selection %: 5.7%

Reason for selection:

The Blades have been a welcome surprise to the Premier League. Chris Wilder has developed a team that started out in League One, and now it is currently in seventh place, and already on nineteen points which is halfway to securing another year in the topflight. The plan Wilder has put in motion involves extremely brave recruitment. Lys Mousset, a French player who only amassed three goals and an assist in three seasons, most of the time as a cameo player from the bench. Wilder and his scouting department deserve praise for bringing Mousset to the league, and prior to this season there wasn’t much acclaim to many of the players. They were undesirables, a group of footballers that had to make their own luck.

We’re not even in the second half of the season and the numbers being produced by the Blades collective are staggering. The whole team is pulling its weight, and it is making FPL heroes to many players from out of nowhere. Nobody knew what Sheffield United were going to do in the Premier League, especially because of how quick ascent up the football leagues was. After fourteen games the Blades have only lost three games which couldn’t be predicted. Sheffield United have been massive underdogs in the worlds most competitive league…making them huge differentials. John Lundstram isn’t the only player who is in exceptional form, Mousset has made himself invaluable to this Blades team, and to illustrate this contribution to the team, here is a timely breakdown of Sheffield United since Mousset has worked his way into the team.

Lys Mousset: Fantasy Factfile

Lys Mousset has started five games for the Blades, with his first start coming against Arsenal in GW9 in which he scored to win his team the game.
The Frenchman was then dropped in GW10 against West Ham, and Mousset was summoned from the bench to score the equaliser at the London Stadium.
Mousset has since played over sixty minutes in every game since then and has only blanked in one game which was away at Spurs in GW12 where VAR had robbed Sheffield United the chance to win the game. Mousset had an amazing hattrick of assists against Burnley in GW11, and a single goal against Man United during GW13, and Wolves in the most recent GW14.
Mousset has scored five goals across five games and has three assists. When the Frenchman has provided an FPL return the Blades have not lost the game.
Over the last six games Mousset has seven fantasy returns and registering nine bonus points. Mousset has registered bonus points in five of these fixtures, with exception of the draw away to Spurs during GW12.
Sheffield United are unbeaten in their last seven games, with their last loss inflicted by the currently unbeaten Liverpool in GW7 when Gini Wijnaldum was fortunate that a Henderson mistake enabled the Reds win. Mousset has featured in every of these seven games since that loss.
The opposition that Sheffield United are facing appears irrelevant to their form. They have results against Watford, Arsenal, West Ham, Burnley Spurs, Man United, and Wolves in the last seven games, and barring Wolves who are in their second season, are established Premier League teams. There isn’t even an issue with being home nor away.
Mousset currently has forty-four points and is averaging over six fantasy points a game from his last six fixtures.
Sheffield United have scored three goals in their last two home games, first with Burnley in GW11 and then Man United in GW13. Mousset registered a combined twenty points in these two fixtures alone.

Mousset hasn’t just come into the team, but he has raised the level of performance by the Blades. The team is creating lots of chances, scoring goals, and keeping clean sheets whilst they at it. There is currently nothing that associates them as being a promoted club. The Blades aren’t playing a fixture-to-fixture gamble for their safety and based on their trajectory and performance they are going to surpass the fabled forty points that guarantees safety. Wilder’s team aren’t sitting back and wholly defending or going all-out in attack which compromises clean sheets for goals.

Much like the Wolves team last year Sheffield United have found that perfect balance which makes them an incredibly stubborn team to play. Even though Newcastle are visiting on Thursday evening, the opposition isn’t even relevant. You know what you are going to get with Sheffield United, a hallmark of a good team, and Newcastle are going to struggle in this fixture without question. The Toon’s form has been erratic under Steve Bruce, and what FPL managers want are players who are ‘sure things’, players that you can easily bank on for an easy return. Right now, Lys Mousset doesn’t feel like a differential option.

The Frenchman has sustained his form and has been a huge contributing factor to Sheffield United’s form and consistency. The acquisition of Mousset from Bournemouth has been one of the best shrewd transfer decisions made by promoted clubs in recent years, and it hasn’t been a flashy player with a reputation. Mousset has earned that right and has shown Bournemouth he can be a leading man in a competitive team.

Want to know more about The Hype Train?

The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in Fantasy sports reporting, starting with Fantasy Premier League (FPL), before expanding to MLS Fantasy coverage in 2018.

We pride ourselves in providing beautiful graphics, statistics, in-depth analytical reporting and free weekly insight for hopeful players attempting to climb rankings tables. We are also occasional media reviewers, with a keen interest to review games, live sport, and professional wrestling.

In 2019, Hype Train Football Club was formed, becoming the first Fantasy Football website to take to the field. HTFC is a socially active team across social and web channels, providing regular match highlights, match reports, comprehensive player statistics and unique player profiles.

The Hype Train were nominated and shortlisted for the 'Best Football Blog' in 2016 by the Football Bloggers Association at their annual Football Blogging Awards (The FBA's), and were again shortlisted as a finalist in 2019 in the 'Best Fantasy Football Blog' category.

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