The Armband: FPL Gameweek 29 Captain Rankings

The Armband: FPL Gameweek 29 Captain Rankings

This article is part of our The Armband series.

Despite there only being four matches in Gameweek 28, it ended quite well in terms of fantasy, with the average at the official Fantasy Premier League game coming in at 52 points. That's slightly ridiculous considering only eight teams played. Surprisingly, that number could've been higher, but Liverpool did not have a great match, with favorites Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho failing to do anything while Roberto Firmino absent because of a groin injury.

The reason the average score was up was because the suddenly most in-form player in the league, Joshua King, bagged a hat trick. After being added by 140,000 fantasy bosses, he didn't disappoint and now has eight goals in his last seven matches. Of course, Romelu Lukaku also scored and assisted as the Toffees secured an easy win and clean sheet. The other talking point from the weekend was Oumar Niasse after scoring a brace for Hull. Unfortunately, he can't play against parent club Everton in Gameweek 29.

Speaking of the next gameweek, we might as well start with Bournemouth and King because the Cherries host Swansea. King has a decent chance to add to his goal total after lowly Hull beat the Swans last weekend. Harry Kane was set to be the favorite for the armband, but he picked up an ankle injury over the weekend in non-league play and will be out for some time. That still leaves Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen as top options at White Hart Lane against Southampton. The Saints aren't a bad side, but Spurs are just really good at home (33 goals scored, seven allowed).

From the outside, it looks like Manchester City have a tough match against Liverpool, but the Reds have been hit-or-miss on the road this season, losing their last two with one of those coming at Hull. Of course, Sergio Aguero will be on the tip of tongues, with Raheem Sterling maybe the easiest to trust of the midfielders as long as he returns to the starting XI. Everton will also be a popular team to back at home against Hull. Lukaku has scored in every home match in 2017, while Seamus Coleman will be the easiest to trust for a clean sheet after Leighton Baines left early last match.

Table toppers Chelsea won't have an easy go at Stoke. The Blues continue to find ways to win, but it'll be hard to back any of them in this road match as the Potters have allowed just 15 goals at home in 14 contests. Diego Costa has scored in the last two and Pedro has found the score sheet in the last three.

As for the players no one is talking about, West Ham could be a side to look at. Leicester are coming off an incredible Champions League win and will surely be in let-down mode. To go with that, the Foxes have scored eight goals and given up 27 on the road this season. Andy Carroll would be a deep play, but the midfield is where to look. Andre Ayew has made the score sheet in the last three matches, all off the bench, and he'll be looking to make the starting squad (but probably won't). Otherwise, Manuel Lanzini has been great in recent home matches and Michail Antonio has scored and assisted in his last two starts (let's ignore the red card).

On the other end of Bournemouth, Gylfi Sigurdsson is on the list again, as he's on a run of seven straight matches with a goal or assist. The Cherries have one of the worst defenses in the league and aren't much better at home. Unfortunately, Fernando Llorente may not feature due to injury. Jermain Defoe hasn't scored in his last three, but gets to face Burnley, while Christian Benteke will try and do something against Watford. For any Crystal Palace lovers, Wilfried Zaha, Yohan Cabaye and Andros Townsend are all probably better options.

And technically this isn't a captain article unless Alexis Sanchez gets mentioned, so here he is. Alexis is always in the conversation, so it goes without saying, especially with West Brom really struggling as of late.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Zdroik
Adam, a multiple-time finalist for FSWA's Soccer Writer of the Year, is RotoWire's soccer editor. He runs RotoWire's Bracketology and partakes in various NFL content. He previously worked at ESPN and Sporting Kansas City, and he is a former Streak for the Cash winner and Michigan State graduate.
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