This article is part of our The Armband series.
As expected, when players are playing on little rest, some new names find their way onto the scoresheet. Gameweek 19 highlighted that more than any prior ones as Burnley, a side scoring fewer than one goal per match, put four in the back of the net in a win over Sunderland. I mentioned the Clarets in my preview, but never envisioned Andre Gray to lead the week with a hat-trick and Ashley Barnes with a goal and assist.
Others like Georginio Wijnaldum, Peter Crouch and Hal Robson-Kanu were at the top of lists, but maybe more importantly for fantasy bosses, the usual studs also produced, albeit at a small rate. Zlatan Ibrahimovic found an assist and Diego Costa scored, both in the waning minutes. Those two were undoubtedly the top two captained players for the gameweek. As for Harry Kane, well, no one can predict what he'll do. Spurs were dominant Sunday, winning 4-1 at Watford with help from Kane and Dele Alli.
Now with only one or two days of rest for Gameweek 20, it's a wonder if these fixtures will give us more unpopular players atop the scoring charts. There are some obvious matchups to consider from Manchester City hosting Burnley to Liverpool at Sunderland or even Arsenal traveling to Bournemouth. But who can we trust?
Sergio Aguero should be rested after missing four matches, but he didn't do much in his return against Liverpool and hasn't scored since November. However, the last time he scored was against Burnley and it was a brace. In this case, I'll trust opponent over form as City should rebound just fine. Choosing between Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling is also up for debate.
The most consistent player for the Reds in December was surprisingly Adam Lallana with four goals and two assists in five matches. He continues to create chances for the Reds and may be the only Liverpool player to trust above Sadio Mane.
Anyone that has Ibrahimovic will likely be captaining him given his recent form, but it took a while for United to come around last match and West Ham have only allowed two goals in their last four. Olivier Giroud has been on fire and is probably a better choice than Alexis Sanchez right now. It wouldn't be surprising if Alexis was rested at Bournemouth, either.
Chelsea have a tougher matchup, traveling to White Hart Lane, so Costa and Eden Hazard won't be counted on to find the back of the net. But just when you think Costa won't score, he usually does, hence his 14 goals in 18 starts this campaign.
As for the rest, Crystal Palace host a struggling Swansea side that can't seem to do anything right no matter who is the manager. Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke are some of the top contrarian plays with both likely to be around at least one goal. The last time these teams played it was 5-4. The same can be said for Stoke against Watford, but the Potters have even fewer players to trust unless you think captaining Crouch is a good idea as he scored and assisted last time out.
Maybe the best matchup to focus on for smaller clubs is West Brom against Hull. I personally captained Chris Brunt a couple weeks ago and he's in the conversation again as Hull have just five road goals this season. If you're not a fan, Matt Phillips continues to produce the most in the midfield while Salomon Rondon should return to the starting lineup after coming off the bench last match.
And as usual this time of year, the hope is that your choice for the armband doesn't get rested.
