Fantasy Premier League: Captain Picks for Matchweek 2
If you are going to win your leagues on the Premier League's official fantasy website, it's imperative to pick the right captain.
That's why we'll be detailing the top captain choices for your teams each and every matchweek.
You'll need to roster 15 players with a £100 million salary -- two keepers, five defenders, five midfielders, and three forwards -- and choose a starting XI each week.
A key part of the process is selecting your captain and vice captain, as your captain will have his points doubled for the week and your vice captain's points will double in case your captain doesn't play.
Last week saw two of our three choices do well, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sergio Agüero both scoring, as well as bring home the three bonus points for being the top player in the match. Unfortunately, Jamie Vardy only finished with two points, and as a result, Leicester didn't have a great outing at Hull.
As a reminder, this week begins with a Friday night matchup between Manchester United and Southampton, so make sure to get your transfers and captain choices in on time! Here are the captains to target for Matchweek 2.
Sergio Agüero, Manchester City
If Agüero can stay healthy, he is going to be making a lot of appearances in this series. He finished Saturday's match against Sunderland with six shots, two of which were on target. Over two-thirds of City's shots came from either Agüero or Kevin De Bruyne. Agüero scored his goal from the penalty spot, and while I'd love to have him scoring from open play as well, a goal is a goal. Man City had a mid-week Champions League match against Romanian side, Steaua București. They comfortably won that five goals to nil. Sergio bagged a hat trick, but he did also miss two penalties. Luckily, his manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Agüero will remain his penalty taker.
City only have a neutral matchup this weekend, where they will be playing at Stoke City. Stoke are historically one of the more defensively sound teams in the league; however, they struggled against newly promoted Middlesbrough away from home in Matchweek 1. It's still up in the air if Stoke's starting keeper, Jack Butland, will be able to return from injury in time for the game. If he were to miss Saturday's match, we should be even more confident in captaining Agüero.
The only concern to have with Agüero is that he played a full 90 minutes against Sunderland on Saturday and then another full match on Tuesday. It's possible we see him substituted around the hour mark if Manchester City are comfortably ahead. That's certainly a possibility, as City are -154 favorites to win, the second-best odds for an away win this Matchweek, but Agüero (-125) is more likely than not to score a goal, per bet365.
Agüero is currently owned by 46.8% of teams now, an uptick from the 40.9% last week. He is certainly going to be one of the most popular choices for captain this week, along with our next player.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Manchester United
This is Zlatan's world. We are all just living in it. With goals in back-to-back games now, Zlatan is quickly showing that he can adapt to the Premier League. He didn't have many chances last week, but he converted the one that mattered, scoring the third goal of the game and killing Bournemouth's confidence.
There is a lot to like about Friday night's match. Southampton really had problems against Watford and only managed a draw despite Watford being reduced to 10 men for the final 15 minutes. Now, they have to travel to Old Trafford. Paul Pogba has finished serving his one-game suspension due to yellow cards he earned in the Serie A. His debut is going to be a boost to the entire United team, and I can't wait to see how it affects Ibrahimovic.
One point against Zlatan is that Bournemouth was largely able to shut down the United assault for the first half, up until Simon Francis gifted Mata with an easy goal. Once the draw was broken, United took hold of the game and didn't let go. Hopefully the addition of Pogba and gaining more familiarity with Mourinho's system will allow United to break down defensive sides. Per bet365, Zlatan is favored to score (-110) in the match.
Like Agüero, Zlatan saw a bump in ownership this week, as he has risen to 44.8% owned, up from 39.5%. At that ownership level, it's always a risk not captaining a player.
Eden Hazard, Chelsea
Our captain pivot this week is none other than Eden Hazard. 2014-15’s PFA Player of the Year had a very disappointing campaign last season, though he did finish the season strong with four goals in the final five games. Hazard followed that up with one goal and four assists in five EURO matches this summer. It’s a promising sign that Eden led off the new Premier League season by converting a penalty.
One reason for the improvement in Hazard’s play is his willingness to take on players. He had 9 dribbles last Monday, which is a big improvement from the 2.9 per game he averaged last season. For comparison, Hazard averaged 4.8 dribbles per game during the EUROs and the 2014-15 season.
Facing a Watford side that allowed 24 shots against Southampton, Chelsea should have the opportunity for goals. Hazard is still relatively highly owned, at 20.5%, but if you are looking for a differentiator at captain this week, Hazard is probably the best choice.
