Our captain picks for Gameweek 21 each proved to be a success. Once again, Kieran Trippier (£6.1m) came through with a clean sheet in Newcastle’s goalless draw with Crystal Palace, picking up 8 FPL points. Man Utd’s Marcus Rashford (£7.2m) continued his excellent form with a goal against Arsenal, gaining 7 fantasy points. The biggest haul though, was reserved for Erling Haaland (£12.2m), who netted his fourth Premier League hat-trick against Wolves, leading to a monster score of 17 points.
Double Gameweek 22 brings a brace of fixtures for both Man Utd and Leeds, which is reflected in a number of our captain picks. As usual, we’ve selected three premium options alongside a differential selection ahead of Friday’s 18:30 deadline.
PREMIUM OPTIONS
Marcus Rashford (£7.2m) vs CRY (H), LEE (H)
Nowadays, it would only take something hugely enticing to prevent the majority of FPL managers not naming Erling Haaland as their skipper, but two attractive fixtures on paper for Marcus Rashford in Double Gameweek 22 will give them something to serious think about. Since the Premier League’s resumption, Rashford has scored in all but one of Man Utd’s six league matches. At Old Trafford in particular, the England international is shining brightly with 32 FPL points across United’s last three home fixtures.
Both Crystal Palace and Leeds visit the Theatre of Dreams in Double Gameweek 22 and when taking into account Rashford’s tally of seven goals in Man Utd’s last six home games in all competitions, the expectation is that he could rack up a huge FPL score should the 25-year-old maintain such potency across these next two encounters. With that in mind, handing Rashford the armband may prove worth its weight in gold.
Erling Haaland (£12.2m) vs TOT (a)
The Man City maestro took home the match-ball for a fourth league fixture this season back in Gameweek 21 and after the tiniest of droughts, Haaland is back doing what he does best having scored four in his last two Premier League games. It’s now 25 top flight goals and three assists for the Norwegian forward and a mammoth 169 fantasy points.
Haaland has just one fixture to contend with in Double Gameweek 22, that being Spurs away. With Arsenal refusing to slip up, the pressure remains on Man City to continue winning if they wish to keep alive their title hopes, so the onus is on them to take the game to their opponents after coming back from 0-2 down in the reverse fixture, to win 4-2.
Bruno Fernandes (£9.9m) vs CRY (H), LEE (H)
An FPL darling of the past, Man Utd’s Bruno Fernandes (£9.9m) should be firmly back not on the radar of all fantasy managers, not just in general but also from a captaincy perspective. Over the course of the last four gameweeks, Fernandes has accumulated 36 FPL points, a return to the sort of returns he was accruing in his fantasy hay-days under Ole Gunner Solskjaer, gaining three assists and two goals in his last five Premier League games.
Man Utd’s reverse fixture against Crystal Palace saw Fernandes find the net, accruing ten points overall and he’ll be hoping for more success when the two sides meet again at Old Trafford in Double Gameweek 22. Combine that with a further home match against Leeds, the same fixture which saw the Fernandes score a hat-trick in last season and it makes captaining the attacking midfielder worthy of serious consideration.
DIFFERENTIAL OPTION
Rodrigo (£6.4m) vs NFO (a), MUN (a)
Whilst Rodrigo (£6.4m) has scored just one in his last five Premier League games, he has proven his ability to go on goalscoring runs in the past and when it comes to Leeds Utd FPL assets for Double Gameweek 22, he feels by far the best option available. Despite being listed as a midfielder, the Spaniard is often deployed as a striker and has scored ten league goals already this season, an impressive return.
Two away fixtures for Rodrigo makes handing him the armband a big gamble, especially with the likes of Rashford and Haaland available. But with 92 FPL points to his name, Rodrigo shouldn’t be underestimated and the whole point of a differential pick is to select someone who brings with him an element of risk.
