This article is part of our The Armband series.
Is it wrong to say that the hardest thing I do every week is setting my fantasy Premier League captain? Because no matter how much time is put into deciding the man to hold the armband, it doesn't matter in the end. There is no control over what happens.
It was impossible predict that Romelu Lukaku wouldn't do anything against a defense that had allowed six goals in its last two matches or that Sergio Aguero would do the same against an even more out-of-form back line. The same goes for Eden Hazard, though Diego Costa again found one for the Blues.
Only one player in my top five actually found the back of the net last week and no, it was not Joe Allen. Jermain Defoe tallied for the third straight match, but it wasn't even him that made headlines in that game as Victor Anichebe secured a brace.
As a positive, Matt Phillips and Etienne Capoue capitalized in favorable matchups and that's about all we can ask from them.
The highest scoring player of Gameweek 12 with two goals and full bonus points was Manchester City's best player, Yaya Toure. Wait…
Yeah, time to move on.
There are a few matchups in Gameweek 13 that scream goals for the home side and that's where we'll start for our armband options.
Arsenal are host to Bournemouth, which should help the Gunners get back on the winning side. Bournemouth aren't a pushover by any means, but one thing they lack is consistency, having not won back-to-back games all season (they won at Stoke last match). I'd like to recommend Olivier Giroud, but there's no guarantee that he'll be in the starting XI. Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott lead the choices, despite not being in their best form. If you are a non-conformist, there's always Mesut Ozil and the recently returned Aaron Ramsey.
Manchester United are a hard team to predict, so I won't personally back them, but it's hard to ignore a home match with West Ham. After a decent run, the Hammers are back to losing and have allowed six goals in their last three matches. As for the Red Devils, they have scored just twice in their last three at Old Trafford. Still, that won't stop anyone from backing Zlatan Ibrahimovic in his return from suspension. Juan Mata could be considered as well, but he has three goals this season and all of them have come a month or more apart.
One team almost guaranteed to score is Liverpool, who have already totaled 17 goals in five home matches, the best rate of any side. The Reds get a Sunderland team coming off back-to-back wins, but Liverpool are not Bournemouth or Hull. Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho have arguably been the most consistent Liverpool players over the last month, so they are logical choices.
Manchester City are at Burnley, but I'm taking the week off from backing Sergio Aguero and I don't have it in me to back Toure just yet. And if you plan on captaining a Man City player, keep in mind Burnley have allowed just two goals in three home matches to Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton this season.
Costa and Hazard have seemed like good bets of late, but Spurs have the best and most consistent back line in the league. Sure, Chelsea could continue their dominant run at Stamford Bridge (12 goals in three matches), but there are better options.
For the contrarian players, any opponent of Crystal Palace seems like a good route. Swansea are home and still looking for Bob Bradley's first win as manager. Backing Gylfi Sigurdsson may be one of the safest plays of the weekend, as he has a goal or assist in the last three matches.
Watford are back in business and have only dropped two points in their last four at Vicarage Road. I'll take Troy Deeney over Capoue in a match that should be lower scoring against Stoke City.
And finally, there are the Champions of Leicester. Jamie Vardy has… oh. He only has two goals. Vardy can be considered, but Riyad Mahrez seems like the play for now against Middlesbrough. Don't go over board though, Boro have played super defensive on the road this season (six goals allowed in six matches).
And no, I am not backing Lukaku.
As usual, keep an eye on Champions League matches for any injuries that come about.
