The Captain Poll – Gameweek 1

This afternoon we launch the first captain poll of the season, listing the very best armband prospects for Gameweek 1.

You can find the pool in the middle column of the homepage or at the bottom of the homepage on mobile. Remember, we are looking for your vote for the player you think will be most effective, regardless of whether you own them or not.

With a home tie against Sunderland it would be no surprise to see Sergio Aguero dominate Fantasy managers’ thinking.

Those handing the armband to the striker, who with 39% ownership is the Fantasy Premier League’s most popular player, will be buoyed by Sunderland’s disastrous away record at Manchester City in recent years. The Black Cats have conceded 15 goals in their last four Premier League away fixtures to City, including last season’s 4-1 hammering.

However, under new boss David Moyes the Sunderland backline may present Aguero with a sterner test. In his last four seasons at Everton Moyes was only beaten once away to City in the league.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic could offer a viable captaincy alternative away to Bournemouth, particularly after scoring against Leicester City on his competitive debut for Manchester United in Sunday’s Community Shield. Those expecting the big Swede, who is owned by 35.7% of FPL managers, to use his height to full effect again may be disappointed: last season the Cherries conceded the fewest headed goal attempts in home matches.

Among the promoted side’s strikers Burnley’s Andre Gray (11.2% FPL ownership) could be the pick of the bunch. He certainly has form on his side, after netting nine goals in six pre-season outings. In addition, he faces a Swansea side that has had to cope with late returns of many of their Euro 16 stars, including skipper Ashley Williams who is far from certain to be on the Swans’ teamsheet.

Despite missing pre-season, Gylfi Sigurdsson could factor into Fantasy managers’ thinking for Swansea. With Andre Ayew’s departure seemingly imminent, the Icelandic international, who has a 9.3% ownership, looks to be the outright pick of the Swans assets this season.

For Southampton’s home game against Watford Dusan Tadic has done enough in pre-season to impress. Under new manager Claude Puel he has been fielded in friendlies in an advanced central attacking role at the tip of a midfield diamond. This has gone largely unnoticed by FPL managers, with just 4.6% owning the Serb. New recruit from Norwich, Nathan Redmond, is another possibility for those looking to take a captaincy punt on a Saints player, but with pitch time not guaranteed he just failed to make our shortlist.

With just 26 minutes of pre-season action for West Ham, Dimitri Payet is not certain to start away to Chelsea, making him a risky pick for the armband. Nevertheless, once he gets into his stride we are expecting him to be a strong candidate to challenge Aguero for the captaincy in the Gameweeks to come. With 31% ownership he is also one of the most popular players in FPL.

Our final mention goes to Liverpool pair Sadio Mane and Robert Firmino, who are owned by 10.9% and 8.4% of FPL managers respectively. The midfield duo have four goals between them in pre-season and face an Arsenal defence decimated by injury and international tournament fatigue.

We will revisit the poll standings at the end of the week in the Gameweek 1 Captain Sensible article.