Fantasy Premier League – GW35 Captaincy
Written by: FPLijah
Captaincy is the single most important aspect of Fantasy Premier League. A captaincy fail will more often than not, ruin your gameweek, to the point of a red arrow. A good captaincy return can improve an average week, into one that is amazing, or change your gameweek from bad to somewhat decent, as we’ve seen throughout this 2021/22 FPL Season.
The captaincy decision for Gameweek 35 isn’t as straightforward as we would’ve hoped for. Sure, it does not have to be tricky, and you don’t need to overthink it, by just going for Mohamed Salah who has found his attacking returns form again, or you could go for 1 of the more exciting options below, which I, FPLijah, will in fact be going for.
First up, let’s talk about The King himself, Mohamed Salah and why he is yet again a standout GW35 Captaincy option.
Salah is undoubtedly the most consistent FPL player in Fantasy Premier League history. He is just 49 points away from breaking his own record, as the highest FPL Points Scorer in a Season (Current Record: 303 points in the 2017/18 FPL Season). He is back in form as expected by those of us who will never ever doubt how essential he actually is. Salah has 30 points in the last 3 gameweeks, scoring 2 goals and grabbing 3 assists as well. Let’s not forget his sensational performance in the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final, getting himself 1 of the assists of the season for Sadio Mane’s goal (he could have had another assist had the first goal been awarded to Jordan Henderson, instead of an own goal). Salah ranks first for both goals and assists this season in the Premier League, 1 assist ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The slight doubt that arises this gameweek is his expected minutes, after playing every single minute in the Champions League, whilst the rest of attack were all given reduced minutes. Some say that he will be benched in Gameweek 35 and come on against Newcastle, but I disagree. Yes, we’re all guessing, but Klopp has repeatedly come out and said how fit Salah is. My prediction is that Salah will start, and once the game is buried or Klopp feels relatively comfortable that the game is won, he will then substitute Salah off (very likely after Mo gets an attacking return). The King thrives off play-time and confidence, which is why he plays the majority of minutes amongst the Liverpool attack. Liverpool play an in-form Newcastle team, who has been in decent defensive form of late. It won’t be easy, but I foresee a win for Liverpool regardless. Salah’s record against Newcastle, sees him play 10 games, scoring 6 goals and 1 assist. I back Salah to get at least 1 attacking return this gameweek.
Up next, is my likely captain, Harry Kane
Despite Mohamed Salah being my favourite player, as well as being a Liverpool fan, I just cannot look past Harry Kane as my captain for GW35. He is one of the sold players ahead of the Gameweek 35 deadline (likely being most sold by FPL managers using their Wildcard), but I say sell with extreme caution. Let me tell you why. Prior to the last 2 gameweeks, which saw Harry Kane blank, he has scored 5 goals and 7 assists in 7 gameweeks. If Spurs are to challenge at all for a Top 4 spot, the reliance will fall onto Kane and Son, but most importantly Kane, as he is involved in all their attack. Spurs face Leicester in GW35 and with Leicester’s focus being on their Europa Conference League fixture (which could mean rotation and a slightly weaker side against Spurs in the Premier League), I foresee goals for Tottenham. Leicester have just a 3-day rest period before their European fixture. Kane has played 13 games against Leicester in the Premier League, scoring 16 goals and 3 assists. If you are on a Wildcard, I do understand selling him to spread funds and invest into your defender and midfield spots, but I’d still be afraid not owning him this gameweek. An alternative to Kane for captaincy (assuming you don’t own Kane of course), is Son Heung-Min, who will always be involved in attack.
If you want to go completely against the crowd for captaincy, forgetting about Salah, Kane, and Son, I absolutely back Raheem Sterling against Leeds in Gameweek 35.
Rested in Manchester City’s UEFA Champion’s League Semi-Final against Real Madrid, Raheem Sterling is predicted to start this gameweek. This fixture promises to be a good 1, that could either result in Manchester City scoring a ridiculous amount of goals, or 1 where Leeds manage to nick a result. Leeds have been dragged into the relegation battle, and will likely attack, leaving loads of space in behind for the likes of Sterling to attack. If you’ve got Bruno Fernandes in your squad, and fancy taking a 1-week punt that could see you possibly fly the ranks, I’d be willing to punt on Sterling as a Gameweek 35 captain.
Lastly, a decent captaincy shout that is also fairly differential, is Phillipe Coutinho.
Coutinho’s home form is incredible, averaging 8.56 points per game. Norwich at home is arguably the best fixture to target in the Premier League at present. Differential captaincy option in GW35 at just 11.8% ownership. He is predicted to start for Aston Villa and is instrumental to their attack. The only con to captaining Coutinho is that Aston Villa haven’t scored a goal from open play in excess of 400 minutes. At this stage of the season, anything can happen though and Steven Gerrard will want his Villa side to finish the season on a high. Coutinho will also want to end his spell on loan as successfully as possible. I still back Kane, Salah, Son and Sterling ahead of Coutinho, but you just never know with sport, as especially Premier League football.
Other GW35 Articles by FPLijah:
- GW35 Transfer Activity (should we buy/sell?)
- GW35 Wildcard
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