Captaincy & Booster options for Gameweek 21 – Liverpool forward or Manchester City ace?

THOSE who followed our advice in terms of captaincy for the Gameweek just past would have been handsomely rewarded.

We tipped Cole Palmer (£3.9m) and Darwin Nunez (£4.2m) as strong options and both finished as the top two performers of Gameweek 20.

While our rogue differential punt of Matheus Cunha (£3.6m) delivered 15 points (doubled to 30 with the armband).

But that’s enough trumpet blowing, let’s analyse the best captains for Gameweek 21.

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Dream Team

Haaland’s not ready?[/caption]

Julian Alvarez (£4.3m)

We were reluctant to big up the World Cup winner earlier in the week as pictures of an energetic Erling Haaland (£7.9m) in training somewhat muddied the waters.

However, Pep Guardiola’s Thursday press conference, in which he declared that the Norwegian poacher would not play against Tottenham but may get “some minutes” against Burnley, acted as a green light for those keen on Alvarez.

With the Argentina international’s minutes seemingly assured for one more Gameweek at least, Manchester City’s double header looks inviting and who better to capitalise than their centre forward?

Granted, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been a place of frustration and defeat for the treble winners in recent years but a home fixture against the Clarets in midweek should yield healthy returns.

Phil Foden (£5.3m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£6.4m) are appealing for similar reasons with the latter “ready to start” according to his manager, although Guardiola said the same prior to Gameweek 20 when the Belgian was benched – he pocketed ten points as an impact substitute.

Reuters

A man in form[/caption]

Diogo Jota (£3.9m)/Darwin Nunez (£4.2m)

The Liverpool pair banked 19 points each in Gameweek 20 via two goals a piece against Bournemouth.

And there’s every reason to strap the armband to either of them again this time around with the Reds set for back-to-back home games – their record at Anfield this season is immense.

Jurgen Klopp’s side welcome Norwich to Merseyside in the FA Cup fourth round and while the Canaries are one of the better Championship outfits, their defence has leaked plenty of goals on the road this season.

In-form Chelsea will provide a sterner test in midweek but top-of-the-table Liverpool are the team to be feared right now.

Jota played just over 20 minutes as a substitute against Fulham last time out which suggests he’s in line to start against Norwich – it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Nunez was given at least a partial rest on Sunday.

AP

A popular recruit ahead of Gameweek 21[/caption]

Joao Pedro (£3.8m)

Betting against the favourites from Man City and Liverpool is fraught with risk but Brighton’s top scorer is expected to continue his impressive campaign in Gameweek 21.

The Seagulls play Sheffield United and Luton in what is a friendly double header on paper and given Haaland and Mohamed Salah (£6.4m) are the only players to have scored more goals than Pedro in 2023/24, this option ticks a lot of boxes.

The Brazilian has been helped by a stream of penalties but his mighty points total of 176 is all that really matters.

Pedro averages 8.3 points-per-game across his last three outings.

Booster Strategies

Gaffers with two or three Man City players, a Liverpool forward and a Brighton differential in their XI should consider activating Max Captain if they still have the Booster in hand.

With Haaland close to a return, the captaincy conversation is likely to be simplified soon – Max Captain would ensure the optimum selection this Gameweek amid a relatively open field.

Elsewhere, Dream Team bosses without Jota or Pedro in their XI might adjudge either forward a decent 12th Man for some short-term gains.

Lock in your strategy before today’s 6:45pm deadline.

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