Captaincy Analysis – FPL Gameweek 1 Tips – Fantasy Premier League Tips

After a long summer, welcome back to the weekly Fantasy Premier League Captaincy Analysis. Just a quick note for you to consider, gameweek 1 is always what I would consider the hardest week in FPL, because it involves a lot more uncertainty due to the World Cup. Some players, such as Salah, have missed out on half of the pre-season, so it’s difficult to say whether Klopp will determine him fit enough to start. Others, like French, Belgium or English players, missed even more of pre-season, (Lloris only retuned on Monday!) and it’s likely that they won’t start for the first week. Just bare that in mind!

Without further ado, here’s the gameweek 1 Captaincy Analysis…

1. Mohamed Salah (WHU)

New season, new teams, same old story of Mo Salah being the Number One choice for captaincy. If you lived under a cave for the entirety of last season, you’d have missed Salah banging in brace’s and hat-tricks left right and centre. 32 goals in total he scored last season, also assisting 12 times, which is unbelievable! He bagged 303 FPL points last season and is still (luckily) regarded as a midfielder, meaning he gets more points for goals and assists than he would do if he was listed as a forward. He returned to pre-season a bit later than his team mates due to his involvement in the World Cup, meaning that he has only played 3 games but has still scored twice in that time. Liverpool take on West Ham for the first game, who have strengthened their side this transfer window, making new additions in defence and in goal, meaning that it could be a tough task for Salah to start of the season with a goal. However, as every man and his dog owns Salah, it’s better to stay safe and go with the crowd on this one. Out of the 2.5m players, 1.4m own Salah, it’s a huge gamble if you choose not to select him!

2. Sergio Aguero (ARS)

I’ve never actually realised how good Aguero’s record actually is in the League. He’s scored 20 goals or more in the last 4 seasons in a row, impressive considering the amount of minutes he plays is actually a lot lower than rival strikers. He initially wasn’t going to be in the article, as Pep came out and said that the players that were involved in the World Cup would not be starting the season, but he then threw a spanner in the works by starting World Cup players in the Community Shield. Just to add to the confusion, they won because of two goals, from Aguero, who played in the World Cup, cheers Pep! I’d like to think that if he started the Community Shield, a week before the season, then surely he’ll be fit enough to start against Arsenal. Man City looked absolutely brilliant against Chelsea and if they take that form into the Arsenal match, then they’ll walk the match, even without De Bruyne, Jesus and co.

3. Christian Eriksen (NEW)

The third spot was tricky, as I’ve been largely disappointed with how some teams and players have done in pre-season. Man United have been woeful, particularly against Bayern Munich, Chelsea’s forwards have, as usual, not played well enough to consider, Kane in August is another story, leaving Eriksen the only suitable player left for captaincy. Kane may not be starting due to his involvement in the World Cup, which could actually lead to Eriksen playing in a more advanced role than usual. For 3 seasons in a row, he’s managed to score and assist 20 or more for Spurs, a phenomenal record for a midfielder, and with this in mind, and the fact that Kane is usually a slow starter, Eriksen may be the player to choose if you’re thinking of a Spurs attacker.

Differential – Richarlison (WOL)

It was a tough call between the Brazilian or Cenk Tosun for the differential pick, but in the end, it was Richarlison purely because of how impressed I’ve been when watching Everton’s pre-season matches. He’s been by far the standout player from Everton’s games, creating several chances and injecting pace on the wigs, something that Everton have desperately needed for a while now. Everton clearly chose the left side to strengthen with the addition of Digne too, and those two could have a good relationship when playing together. With talks of Bolasie leaving, it would leave Richarlison as their only left sided winger at Everton, almost certainly cementing his place in the starting lineup. Everton have a tough game in the opening weekend against Wolves, who were fantastic last season and will be eager to get their first season in the Premier League in a few years off to a flying start, but, if Richarlison can play like he has done in the past few games, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t get on the scoresheet. He hasn’t scored or assisting this year, but his relationship with Marco Silva was absolutely fantastic when they were together at Watford, which may be ignited again, but for Everton this time.

Gamble – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (MCI)

Aubameyang has done very well in the pre-season, and seems to have adapted to Emery’s side very well, however the first game they have is against Man City, the defending champions and look like they are continuing the form from last season after a convincing 2-0 win against Chelsea. That being said, Aubameyang has proven that even when Arsenal are playing badly, he can still get a goal from nowhere, which may be the case for the opening fixture. He scored 10 goals and assisted 4 times last season after only 1,000 minutes for Arsenal, a great record for someone new to the Premier League. Considering how good City are, it may be too big of a gamble to captain Aubameyang for this week, and to choose a more safer option.

Written by Bonus FPL (@BonusFPL)

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