This article is part of our The Armband series.
Maybe we put too much pressure on Harry Kane or maybe we should've never trusted him in the first place. Whatever the case, he failed most of the Fantasy Premier League world with zero goals and one shot on target in back-to-back home matches against Hull and Burnley. In fact, the only Tottenham players that scored or assisted in both matches were Danny Rose and Kyle Walker. Not even Christian Eriksen found the score sheet against Burnley.
As for the rest of Gameweek 17, Patrick van Aanholt and Jay Rodriguez led all players in fantasy points in the official game. Luckily, I recommended both as my top captain options… I think, I can't remember, though.
But while a lot of unexpected names were at the top of lists, top players outside of Kane and Eriksen still produced. That includes Sadio Mane, who came through again, this time in stoppage time in the Merseyside derby. Diego Costa scored again, but he picked up his fifth yellow card in the process and will miss out next match. The man of the moment remains Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who now has seven goals in his last six matches. I take full blame for not considering him as captain as I didn't trust him on the road. That is no longer the case, obviously.
At the least, I did suggest Alvaro Negredo and he actually produced. As a bonus, his schedule over the next month is friendly.
With fixtures about to pick up immensely, Gameweek 18 kicks off on the day after Christmas with eight matches in all. Arsenal are reeling after losing two straight, though Arsene Wenger still thinks his side deserves a point. The Gunners host West Brom, which has turned into a secretly sneaky match, even though the Baggies just fell to Man United. Alexis Sanchez remains one of the best and has scored or assisted in the last five matches. He's one of the few players who has been fairly trustworthy this season.
Chelsea are also in action on Monday and have one of the best matchups of the week home against Bournemouth, who have allowed six goals in their last two on the road. Costa may be out, but Eden Hazard is still around and for anyone with Michy Batshuayi rostered, he could draw the start up front. And at this point, it wouldn't be a terrible strategy to back Chelsea defenders as the Blues have allowed only one goal in their last five at Stamford Bridge.
The aforementioned Ibrahimovic will undoubtedly be a captain favorite at home against lowly Sunderland. However, there isn't really anyone else on United who produces at a consistent rate.
All signs point to the Swansea-West Ham meeting providing at least three goals. There have been a combined 56 goals in 16 Swansea home and West Ham road matches. The Swans have at least showed life at home, which means Gylfi Sigurdsson should be back in business for the armband. He has two goals and three assists in his last three at Liberty Stadium. Fernando Llorente will probably be considered by some, but he is miles away from having my trust.
The only tilt that has more than the 56 goals between the sides is the matchup between Watford and Crystal Palace. In Watford home matches and Crystal Palace road matches (16 total), there have been a combined 60 goals. Needless to say, but this could be another high-scoring matchup between clubs near the bottom of the table. Unfortunately, there aren't many that deserve recognition for captain. Etienne Capoue and Troy Deeney can be considered, only because they've produced at one point this season. Easier to trust are Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke on the other side of the ball. Both have cooled off against tougher competition, but they were rolling in the month prior to playing Chelsea and Man United.
Man City should be set for a couple goals at Hull and any one of their midfielders will do. Kevin De Bruyne seems to get an assist every match, while David Silva and Raheem Sterling have both done well lately. Yet another popular match will be Liverpool hosting Stoke City, which means Mane should be in owner's minds for yet another captaincy.
