Fantasy Premier League

GW31 Lessons: Fernandes armband appeal in decline

By The Scout 12 Apr 2021

The Scout looks at captain alternatives to Man Utd star, who has four blanks in his last six matches

Owners of Bruno Fernandes (£11.6m) in Fantasy Premier League were again left frustrated after his blank against Tottenham Hotspur in Gameweek 31.

The Manchester United playmaker remains the top-scoring player in Fantasy on 216 points.

But he is struggling for form, blanking in four of his last six appearances.

Fernandes has produced just one goal, an assist and 26 points over that run, one point fewer than his team-mate Mason Greenwood (£7.0m).

Yet the Portuguese's huge 57.7 per cent ownership continue to entrust him with the armband.

Indeed, hehas been among the two most-popular captains in each of the five Gameweeks during that period.

Fernandes captaincy ranks

GW	Captain rank	Captained by	Points
26	1st	1.40m	6
27	2nd	875k	10
28	1st	1.47m	3
30	2nd	1.68m	5
31	2nd	1.17m	2

The underlying numbers highlight a definite downturn in Fernandes’ goal threat.

His shots in the box and goal conversion percentage have more than halved, while his minutes per shot have also dropped considerably.

Fernandes comparison

	GW1-25	GW26-31
Mins per shot	25.4	44.8
Shots in box per match	1.3	0.5
Goal conversion	18.1%	8.3%

Spurs' Double Gameweek 32 means many Fernandes owners are likely to give the armband to Harry Kane (£11.7m) or Son Heung-min (£9.4m) for their matches against Everton and Southampton.

And with a Gameweek 34 contest against Liverpool also to follow, Fernandes may no longer be the automatic choice for the captaincy.

Jesse Lingard (£6.4m) boasts the best form of any player in Fantasy, with 58 points in his last six appearances for West Ham United.

And Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) has a very kind run-in as he battles with Kane for the Golden Boot.

Five of Liverpool's remaining seven matches score only two in the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR).

Liverpool's final fixtures

GW	Opp.	FDR	GW	Opp.	FDR
32	LEE (A)	3	36	WBA (A)	2
33	NEW (H)	2	37	BUR (A)	2
34	MUN (A)	4	38	CRY (H)	2
35	SOU (H)	2

Leicester City and Arsenal also have strong upcoming schedules, handing Kelechi Iheanacho (£5.9m) and Alexandre Lacazette (£8.3m) the chance to extend their prolific form.

Leicester forward Iheanacho has seven goals and 50 points in his last five appearances, while Lacazette has four goals, an assist and 34 points in his last four for the Gunners.