Our sixth members’ article of the international break sees us turn our attentions to the main captaincy contenders for the weekend ahead. We take a three-part approach that includes the weekly poll standings, the Opta statistics and our Rate My Team projections to help steer your thoughts on the armband conundrum.

The Captain Poll

With a 34% share of the vote, Romelu Lukaku is the stand-out captaincy pick ahead of Everton’s home tie against Aston Villa. Profiting from their agreeable schedule, the 8.6-priced Belgian notched two goals and as many assists in the last two Gameweeks, elevating him to joint-second (seven goals) in the league-wide scoring charts. The fact that Villa shipped 13 goals in their previous five road clashes provides further incentive to hand Lukaku the armband.

Jamie Vardy (14%) can equal a Premier League record when Leicester City make the trip to Newcastle, as he attempts to net for the tenth successive start. Whilst there’s no disputing Vardy’s points potential, there are still major doubts over his availability, with Claudio Ranieri remaining uncertain over his star striker’s fitness in yesterday’s press conference. Staying within the Leicester camp, Riyad Mahrez claims a surprisingly low 3% backing for the St James’ Park clash.

Dispelling his slow start to the campaign, Harry Kane (9%) boasts five goals in his last three starts. Spurs’ premier frontman has developed a knack for scoring in derbies, so he’ll fancy his chances at home to a West Ham United rearguard that’s failed to register a shut-out in their previous seven match-ups.

Alexis Sanchez lies just outside the top three with a 6% backing. The Fantasy Premier League’s most expensive (11.6) midfielder has drawn three consecutive blanks but will be encouraged by the fact that West Bromwich Albion rank top for goals conceded at home (12). Mesut Ozil (4%) scoops a more modest share of the vote, despite chalking up eight assists in his previous six starts.

Despite doubts over his minutes, Sergio Aguero has been backed by 4% of voters for City’s clash with Liverpool tomorrow evening. With just one assist to his name in three outings, Kevin De Bruyne (2%) narrowly sneaks into the top 10.

Eden Hazard and Odion Ighalo (2%) matched each other stride for stride in our Captain Poll. The former has no form to speak of (one goal and two assists across 11 starts) but could punish a Norwich City defence that’s failed to keep a clean sheet on their travels. Meanwhile, the latter has been directly involved (five goals and two assists) in all of Watford’s last seven goals, underlining his value as a budget forward.