Captaincy & Booster options for Gameweek 25: Pedro Neto as 12th Man and other tempting tactics

DREAM TEAM managers have until 2pm on Saturday to decide upon their strategy for Gameweek 25.

The first thing to note is that Tottenham have zero fixtures so owners of James Maddison (£4.1m), Son Heung-min (£4.8m) and company need to find replacements as a matter of urgency.

Nine teams will play twice this coming Gameweek with the FA Cup fifth round to follow the weekend’s action, which includes Sunday’s Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea.

With that in mind, let’s mull over some potential Booster strategies.

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The 12th Man Booster is a helpful way of recruiting an in-form player ahead of a juicy double Gameweek without committing to them long-term.

Take Rasmus Hojlund (£3.8m) for example.

Manchester United’s No11 has scored in six consecutive fixtures and may well prove to be smart selection for the remainder of the season but a quick glance at the schedule reveals a stark contrast between Gameweeks 25 and 26.

Erik ten Hag’s side have the luxury of a favourable double header up next in the form of Fulham and Nottingham Forest but their lone fixture in Gameweek 26 is Manchester City at the Etihad.

It’s also worth noting that the Red Devils will have fewer fixtures in the coming weeks compared to the teams still active in Europe.

Backing Hojlund as 12th Man in Gameweek 25 would allow gaffers to target his friendly double header without worrying about his comparatively worse schedule up until the international break.

The same logic applies to Pedro Neto (£3.4m)

Wolves are set to host Sheffield United this weekend and the thought of their electric winger running at the league’s worst defence should have the Molineux faithful salivating.

Brighton are expected to provide stiffer opposition in the cup but the Seagulls certainly aren’t shy of an open, end-to-end contest.

Neto has registered 16 goal involvements in 19 outings this season and he averages 6.2 points-per-game.

This suggests even a pair of run-of-the-mill performances would yield a double-digit haul but the Portugal international has the ability to take the beleaguered Blades for 10+ points before moving onto Roberto De Zerbi’s side in midweek.

Gary O’Neil’s troops look well placed to bank plentiful points in Gameweek 25 but, like Man United, their schedule dampens in comparison to the likes of Liverpool and Brighton from Gameweek 26 onwards.

Pascal Gross (£4.4m) is another nominee given his impressive form of late but the German midfielder may actually be worthy of a transfer looking at his upcoming fixtures.

We recommend keeping Park the Bus and Max Captain holstered this Gameweek – there will be better opportunities these Boosters later in the season.

In terms of captaincy options, Erling Haaland (£7.3m) is once again the leading candidate.

Manchester City’s No9 banked 15 points in Gameweek 24 (mostly because of his winner against Brentford) although it should have been so much more as he missed some gilt-edged chances against Chelsea last Saturday.

We suggested Bukayo Saka (£5.7m) as the best alternative to the Norwegian poacher last week and those who opted to stick the armband on Arsenal’s No7 were rewarded with some extra points.

The England international pocketed 18 across his two fixtures, with 14 of them coming at Turf Moor.

This option isn’t all that viable for Gameweek 25 though as the Gunners have just one fixture (Newcastle) compared to Man City’s double (Bournemouth and Luton).

Mohamed Salah’s (£6.7m) return to action means he deserves a mention in the captaincy debate but his minutes are far from certain having been forced to skip Liverpool’s midweek game against Luton.

The Egyptian superstar scored and assisted against Brentford in just over 45 minutes of playing time for a ten-point return but he’s said to be battling fatigue after his recent spell on the sidelines.

He will surely play a prominent role at Wembley with a trophy on the line but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he skipped the Reds’ FA Cup meeting with Southampton in midweek.

Pep Guardiola could just as easily rest Haaland in the cup but even if it boils down to just the weekend fixtures, City’s poacher against out-of-form Bournemouth looks a better shout than Salah against Chelsea in a final.

The aforementioned Hojlund and Neto are tempting captaincy options for those who own either/both outright.

However, gaffers who are relatively content with their ranking and therefore don’t feel the need to go against grain should simply captain Haaland – it’s not exactly a head-scratcher this week.

UPDATE: Rasmus Hojlund is expected to be sidelined for two or three weeks and is therefore not a suitable 12th Man option

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk