This article is part of our The Armband series.
There's no other way to start this than by discussing the Man of Mystery, Harry Kane. We thought we had him figured out during the holidays, but then he blanked at White Hart Lane against both Hull and Burnley. He turned things around and tallied five goals in matches at Watford and against West Brom, but then a couple weeks later he went on a stretch of one goal in four matches. And ahead of his most recent hat trick, Spurs were struggling as a whole, scoring once in three matches and that lone goal came at home against Middlesbrough. So did anyone expect Kane to be involved in four goals against a Stoke side that hadn't allowed more than one goal in their previous six matches?
Maybe we haven't completely figured things out, but it's evident that captaining Kane against teams in the bottom half of the table is a good idea. While he's extremely inconsistent, in the 10 matches that Kane has scored in, five of them he scored at least a brace (12 goals in five matches). My favorite captaining strategy is looking at consistency and the guys who are getting the most opportunities, but it appears that Kane is in a different category. His ability to score in bunches is what helps fantasy bosses forget about the times he comes up with nothing.
As it stands, my new rule is that Kane should only be started in home matches against teams not in the top seven of the table. Conveniently, Spurs host seventh-placed Everton this weekend, which puts Kane right on the border of captain-ability. But considering how the Toffees have looked over the past couple months, Kane isn't my top choice for the armband this week.
That's mainly because there are multiple intriguing matchups and not all of them involve the top clubs. Manchester United (vs. Bournemouth), Swansea (vs. Burnley) and West Brom (vs. Crystal Palace) should all find the back of the net at least twice. Leicester may even deserve to be in the conversation as well, home against Hull. Chelsea traveling to West Ham can be considered a favorable spot, but Diego Costa hasn't scored in his last three away from Stamford Bridge. If you only back the giants, the popular picks will be on Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling as City travel to Sunderland and then host Stoke in midweek after Wednesday's FA Cup win. And while Peter Crouch has gone three straight without a goal, he'll deserve consideration on a double gameweek as Stoke host Middlesbrough in their first match.
As for those not on a double gameweek, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the smart option at Old Trafford against a Bournemouth side that has lost four straight and allowed at least two goals in each. Ibra isn't playing amazingly well (one goal, one assist in last four league matches), but this is a perfect opportunity for him to change that. If you want to mix things up, Gylfi Sigurdsson remains a great differential, despite his ownership doubling in the past three gameweeks at the official Fantasy Premier League game. Swansea look improved and that starts with Sigurdsson, who has three goals and three assists in the last five matches. And in case you haven't heard, Burnley are having a ridiculously bad season away from home, scoring just six goals and allowing 25 in 12 matches. Fernando Llorente could be in for one of his patented braces, but I'm not willing to bet on that.
West Brom are the next team to focus on, though Salomon Rondon has been in the freezer in the New Year, failing to score in the last 10 matches. That's not going to cut it, which leaves us at James Morrison and Nacer Chadli, but mostly Chris Brunt and Gareth McAuley due to clean sheet possibilities. Brunt should've had an assist last weekend on McAuley's goal, and the only score the Baggies allowed was on a penalty in the fifth minute. I'll give them a pass for that one.
Elsewhere, it's almost hard to argue what Manolo Gabbiadini is doing for Southampton with five goals in three matches in all competitions. Even at Watford, Gabbiadini wouldn't be a bad choice, hoping to bank on his form. And the same could be said about Leicester after what they did to Liverpool on Monday. Jamie Vardy is once again in the conversation, though that doesn't mean to Triple Captain him right away. Last but not least, Troy Deeney has scored in four of his last five matches and gets a Southampton back line that has been gashed lately by everyone but Sunderland.
