This article is part of our The Armband series.
Let's pour one out for Seamus Coleman, who suffered a brutal broken leg over the international break. I'll take part of the blame for captaining him the last couple gameweeks and for that I apologize. Others like Diego Costa and Kevin De Bruyne also picked up injuries, though they appear ready for league action. The question is whether some of the players that saw action in both international matches will be asked to start this weekend for their clubs. For this article, we'll assume everyone is good to go.
But before we get to the upcoming weekend, let's look back at Gameweek 29. Everton continued their dominance at Goodison Park through a Romelu Lukaku brace. Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen stepped up in the absence of Harry Kane, and Joshua King remains the hottest player in the Premier League. And while Bournemouth are at Southampton for Gameweek 30, King deserves some recognition for eight goals and one assist in his last eight matches. Putting that into perspective, he had just three goals and one assist prior to this run.
Of course, there will only be one fantasy boss bold enough to take that route at the official Fantasy Premier League game. While that may be the case, there aren't many big names with favorable matches this weekend, as Liverpool host Everton and Arsenal welcome Manchester City. In addition, Spurs are at Burnley, a side that's surprisingly good at home, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still suspended for Man United's home match against West Brom. Costa would probably be the top option on a normal week, but his ankle injury deserves monitoring. Eden Hazard is also dealing with a calf issue so Chelsea's best options against Crystal Palace may end up being Pedro or Willian, and for the defensive-minded, Marcos Alonso.
At the least, one of the favorite captain options on my list remains Gylfi Sigurdsson, as Swansea have a nice home match against Middlesbrough. Sigurdsson ended his seven-match score-sheet streak last time out, but Boro have done nothing positive of late and haven't scored in their last four matches away from home. Fernando Llorente has become a legitimate option for the armband as well, though he is much less trustworthy than his teammate. Troy Deeney is in that same vein as Sigurdsson after an own goal at Crystal Palace last match. Deeney had scored (for his team) in five of six matches prior to that performance, and he's in a great spot for another goal against Sunderland.
On the other end of Joshua King, Manolo Gabbiadini will hopefully return from a groin injury. If not, Dusan Tadic may be Southampton's best choice for production, though without Gabbiadini, no one will be there to pounce on his crosses. With Leicester's return to relevance, Jamie Vardy is back in the spotlight and could be a popular captain as he has three goals and two assists in the last three league matches. Home against Stoke could easily add to that total.
As for the Red Devils (v. West Brom), it's been hard to trust anyone but Ibrahimovic this season. Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial are the best options, but I'm staying away. And I'll say the same about Lukaku, even though he has scored five goals in the last four matches. It's important to note that 10 of Lukaku's last 11 goals have come at home.
Last and best is Alexis Sanchez, who continues to thrive no matter what the Gunners are doing as a team. The problem is that he's been playing in South America for the past week, so Arsene Wenger may not be keen on giving him the start or full 90 minutes.
