FPL Gameweek 17 – Captain Picks
The majority of FPL managers will have been satisfied with the outcome of Gameweek 16 from a captaincy perspective after both Mo Salah (£13.1m) and Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.5m) found the net for Liverpool and Man Utd respectively. For those who read our Gameweek 16 captain picks article and opted for a skipper selected by us, the likelihood is that you will have been happy with how things panned out. The only bad news being a late injury to Diogo Jota (£8.0m), who was benched as a result, picking up just a point after coming on as a substitute.
Once again, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.2m) proved that captaining a defender is no bad move, after securing his third nine-point haul in four gameweeks in Liverpool’s 1-0 victory against Aston Villa. Elsewhere, Mason Mount (£7.6m) found the net for the third successive gameweek as Chelsea secured a dramatic 3-2 win over Leeds, Mount gaining six FPL points from the fixture, whilst our differential pick in Raheem Sterling (£10.6m) scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in Man City’s victory over ten-men Wolves, which was enough to see him bag 11 FPL points.
In what is certainly the most frantic month of the FPL season, we now ready ourselves for Gameweek 17, the second midweek round of Premier League fixtures in 2021-22 and pick out three premium options for FPL managers to ponder over, alongside a differential pick ahead of Tuesday’s 18:00 deadline.
PREMIUM OPTIONS
Mo Salah (£13.1m) vs NEW (H)
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak within the Man Utd camp forcing the postponement of their Gameweek 17 fixture away at Brentford, Cristiano Ronaldo won't be included in this particular captain picks article. For Mo Salah however, it’s a different story. The Egyptian international’s goal against Aston Villa was his 14th in the 2021-22 Premier League and the highest scoring FPL player this season will be looking to add to his tally against Newcastle in Gameweek 17.
Salah extended his run of having accrued at least one attacking return in each Premier League match to a whopping 14 gameweeks in a row, having not ‘blanked’ since all the way back in Gameweek 2. Newcastle are coming off the back of a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Leicester and Eddie Howe’s men could be in for a long evening at Anfield. No doubt, Salah will prove as popular a skipper as ever and understandably so.
Conor Gallagher (£6.2m) vs SOU (H)
Although Conor Gallagher (£6.2m) may not command a premium FPL price, the Chelsea loanee certainly does command a premium ownership with over a quarter of FPL managers currently owning Crystal Palace’s star midfielder. Gallagher made it six Premier League goals for the season with an excellent brace in the Eagles’ 3-1 victory over Everton in Gameweek 16, enough to see him rack up 15 FPL points. Although not all FPL bosses were happy...
Now the third highest scoring FPL midfielder within the FPL player-base, Gallagher is given plenty of license to attack by Crystal Palace boss Patrick Viera and it would be no surprise if he was to accrue more attacking returns in Gameweek 17 at home against a struggling Southampton. The visitors have conceded nine goals across their last three away league games and are winless in their most recent five. With a significant ownership percentage, captaining Gallagher may prove a smart play here.
Bernardo Silva (£7.7m) vs LEE (H)
FPL managers will fondly remember Ilkay Gundogan’s golden run of attacking returns last season for Man City from midfield and it appears that Bernardo Silva (£7.7m) has taken up that mantle in this campaign. The Portuguese international has accumulated 90 FPL points so far in 2021-22, including five goals and an assist over the course of the last six gameweeks, acquiring 49 points across that period alone.
Leeds Utd travel to the Etihad Stadium in Gameweek 17, whose 3-2 defeat away at Chelsea this past weekend means that they remain with just one clean sheet to their name away from home so far this season. Marcelo Bielsa’s side are not known for their defensive stability and Man City will be confident of finding the net at least once in this fixture. With that in mind, the in-form Bernardo Silva has to be considered a strong candidate for the armband and whilst rotation is always a huge worry with Man City, the 27-year-old has started in every Premier League match this season apart from Gameweek 1.
DIFFERENTIAL OPTION
Andrew Robertson (£7.1m) vs NEW (H)
It’ll be no surprise to anyone that Trent Alexander-Arnold is the second most popular FPL asset in all positions ahead of Gameweek 16. However, his fellow full-back Andrew Robertson (£7.1m) has quietly been piling up a large number of FPL points himself despite a miserly ownership of less than 4%. In fact, Robertson has picked up more points than Alexander-Arnold across the last four gameweeks, the left-back gaining 32 points compared to the right-back’s 29.
With three clean sheets and two assists to his name since Gameweek 13, Robertson will be confident of another shutout as part of a strong Liverpool defence against a Newcastle side yet to find the net away from home under the stewardship of Eddie Howe. When also taking into account his remit to get forward at every opportunity and his occasional taking of corners, Robertson could emerge as a golden differential captain in Gameweek 17.
