Captaincy options & Booster strategies for Gameweek 17: Perfect time to activate Max Captain?

MANCHESTER CITY, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Brentford are the only teams that won’t fulfil two fixtures in Gameweek 18.

With the vast majority of teams set to pull double duty, Dream Team managers should be hopeful of a massive score.

Erling Haaland (£7.9m) may well start against Everton on December 27th but it’s almost certainly a better idea to captain a player with two bites at the cherry this coming Gameweek.

Let’s run through the best options…

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CAPTAINCY OPTIONS

Son Heung-min (£4.6m) has scored ten goals in 17 league appearances this season at a rate of one every 142.9 minutes.

Tottenham host Everton on Saturday before a trip to Brighton next Thursday and while those two opponents don’t necessarily make for the most favourable match-ups, the attacking verve of Ange Postecoglou’s side is the prevailing factor.

Spurs have scored in every game this season and their captain has either scored or assisted 40% of their league goals.

Son averages nine points-per-game across his last three outings.

Alternatively, Ollie Watkins (£4.6m) may fit the bill.

Any Dream Team gaffer worth their salt is aware of Aston Villa’s imperious home record this year and their top scorer is expected to could feast against Sheffield United at Villa Park on Friday night.

The England international has raced to 20 goal involvements this season and a meeting with the Blades is the most favourable top-flight fixture an asset could ask for right now.

Unai Emery’s side will then travel to Old Trafford on Boxing Day hopeful of a statement win on the road against a Manchester United outfit blighted by injuries and other issues.

Given Villa are four places and ten points ahead of the Red Devils in the table, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Watkins came to the fore again.

Mohamed Salah (£6.6m) will be most Dream Team bosses’ default captain when Haaland is not viable and with good reason.

Liverpool’s No11 is joint-second in the rankings having plundered 13 points in Gameweek 16 – he now has 15 goals and eight assists to his name this campaign.

However, while the Reds’ trip to Turf Moor on Boxing Day appears ripe for plentiful points, this Saturday’s meeting with Arsenal is a tough match-up on paper.

The Gunners have conceded just 15 league goals so far and their xGA (expected goals allowed) of 12.7 is comfortably the best in the top flight.

Jurgen Klopp’s men usually run riot at Anfield but last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Man United will have given Arsenal hope of a rearguard that may limit Salah’s returns.

The Egyptian superstar remains a strong option, of course, he’s amassed 181 points in total.

Elsewhere, Newcastle have excellent fixtures on paper in the form of Luton (a) and Nottingham Forest (h) in Gameweek 17.

In theory, there must be a smart captaincy choice among their squad somewhere but there are a few factors confusing the matter.

Kieran Trippier (£5.2m) would have been a no-brainer a few weeks ago but his form has fallen off a cliff this month.

Anthony Gordon (£4m) is Dream Team’s fourth-best midfielder but he’s an availability doubt having taken what Eddie Howe described as a “nasty knock” in midweek.

More broadly, the Magpies are in the midst of an elongated injury crisis with a number of key players sidelined or uncertain ahead of the festive period.

Strangely, Bruno Guimaraes (£3.7m) may be the Toon’s best captaincy candidate as he hoards bonus points like nobody else in the game but it would be a bold move given he’s scored just one goal this season.

BOOSTER STRATEGIES

The captaincy dilemma could be solved in an instant by activating the Max Captain Booster.

This will ensure whichever one of your players scores the most points in Gameweek 17 will have their score doubled.

With Haaland among the very few players with just one fixture at his disposal (not to mention an injury concern) and Salah facing a tough fixture this weekend, Max Captain is very much on the cards for those who still have access.

Many gaffers will be tempted to play Park the Bus.

The most-powerful Booster in the game doubles the points of all your defenders so you’re best of switching to a formation with five at the back, at least for one Gameweek only.

Combining Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.7m), Ezri Konsa (£3.3m) and Pedro Porro (£3.4m) with a couple of Newcastle defenders would look good on paper but again, the form and availability question marks over some of the Magpies’ main men has the potential to scupper the best-laid plans.

There’s certainly an effective Park the Bus team to be found in Gameweek 17 but it’s not all that easy to see at this stage.

If your team is chock full of Man City stars then Gameweek 17 is a good time to activate the 12th Man Booster so you can temporarily recruit a player with two fixtures, compensating for the quirk in the schedule created by the Club World Cup.

Make sure you’ve confirmed all the crucial decisions before Friday’s 7pm deadline.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk