This article is part of our The Armband series.
The party is over. The Gameweek 1 jitters are gone… or maybe not. The average at the official fantasy Premier League game was just 44 points for the first week. Not great.
That said, the most popular captain selection – Sergio Aguero – lived up to the title, scoring a quick penalty and recording full bonus points. The same could be said for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who finished with the same point total.
But for the most part, that was it for popular options producing. Alexis Sanchez didn't do much in Arsenal's home loss while Santi Cazorla made most of the noise for the Gunners with two assists off the bench. On the other end of that match, Philippe Coutinho led the way with two goals for Liverpool, while Adam Lallana had a goal and an assist. But even then, you'd be hard-pressed to find owners that captained either one.
On Monday, Eden Hazard put in a nice match, scoring a PK to go with full bonus points. Diego Costa showed his goal-scoring prowess, but of course also picked up a yellow card.
As for the rest, Alvaro Negredo, Jermaine Defoe and
Gameweek 2 should be a similar story, and that could easily be the case for most of the campaign with Aguero and Ibra getting most of the attention. Personally, I'm holding off on Aguero this week on the road at Stoke, though he'll still be a favorite of many. Man City were great in possession against Sunderland, but I need to see more before backing Aguero on the road. Keep in mind, Stoke-on-Trent has never been an easy place to play.
Ibra is more deserving of the armband, especially with another match at Old Trafford. While Southampton looked great in their first match, United were just as good and their attack looked better than anything we've seen in the last few years. Backing Anthony Martial, who had two assists in the first game, could be a wise contrarian play.
Coutinho will likely be a top option at Burnley after his first performance, while Dimitri Payet is in prime position to make some noise after coming off the bench Monday, as West Ham are home against Bournemouth. But while the big names take precedence, there are plenty of favorable matchups to take note of for the rest.
Swansea are home to Hull, who surely won't start the campaign with two wins, right? That only means Fernando Llorente, Leroy Fer and the return of Gylfi Sigurdsson will be in focus. Llorente didn't score in the opener, but finished with six shots and won eight aerials. Not many will consider him after going goalless, but he shouldn't be forgotten.
The same can be said for Salomon Rondon, who doesn't get much respect playing for West Brom. But a home match against Everton could result in another solid performance for the forward.
As for Defoe, he can't be discredited with his scoring rate over the last year. With minimal chances at Man City, he still found the back of the net. This weekend, he's home against Middlesbrough. On the other end of Defoe is Negredo, who is one of the most-added players this week. Can the Spaniard score in back-to-back matches to start the campaign?
And of course we can't forget (or can we?) our old Norwich friend Robert Snodgrass, who scored in Hull's opener. In his few seasons in the Premier League, Snodgrass always seemed to make a nuisance for the opposition. Not that you should captain him…
And oh yeah, that Harry Kane guy, he'll get a chance to bounce back against Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane.
