Captain Poll – Gameweek 34

Players from the three double Gameweek 34 teams – Manchester United, Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough – are expected to dominate our latest Captain Poll despite the threat of rotation and tough fixtures looming large for some notable assets.

This is particularly the case for Manchester United, whose two fixtures, away trips to Burnley and Manchester City, arrive amid a frantic April schedule that sees them play four times in just ten days.

Against Chelsea yesterday we saw that even the likely front-runner, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (11.4), is not immune to rotation as he was handed just an eight-minute cameo from the bench in which he received a yellow card.

Nevertheless, with a 52.4% goal involvement for Jose Mourinho’s troops and a pair of goals, an assist and four bonus points in his last two league starts, the big Swede is a player that can never be discounted. The transfer market agrees, with 31,000+ FPL managers securing his services since Saturday.

Alternative armband options from among Zlatan’s team-mates include Marcus Rashford (6.5), who has started four of the Manchester side’s last five league matches and has two goals in as many matches, including a strike in United’s 2-0 home victory over Chelsea at the weekend.

His absence from the starting line-up when United take on Anderlecht in the Europa League this Thursday could see a late surge in interest for the 5%-owned England striker.

However, the Clarets are unlikely to offer up a raft of chances, conceding a mere 14 times and keeping six clean sheets at home. On both counts that’s a record only Spurs, Chelsea, Everton and Manchester United themselves can better.

With only 15 goals shipped in front of their own fans, rivals Manchester City may also prove resilient opponents.

While key captaincy candidates among Crystal Palace’s ranks have a greater security of starts, they have the toughest pair of fixtures among the trio of double Gameweek sides.

The Eagles’ Sunday trip to Liverpool is followed three days later by a visit to Selhurst Park of a title-challenging Spurs side.

But with three successful strikes in his last four and involvement in half of all the south London side’s goals this season, Christian Benteke (7.2) is expected to garner interest, particularly as the 8.8%-owned Belgian is not cowed by tough opponents – he scored away against league leaders Chelsea in Gameweek 30.

Wilfried Zaha (6.0) is also set to be another popular option who shows no respect for top sides. He provided two assists against Arsenal in Gameweek 32 and was also on the scoresheet in that Stamford Bride encounter. His 14.6% ownership is expected to swell ahead of this week’s deadline.

Another intriguing Eagle is Andros Townsend (5.8), who has three assists and a goal in his last four and is beloved by FPL’s bonus point system, attracting maximum extra points on five occasions. Just 2.2% of FPL managers own this differential captaincy candidate.

A solitary clean sheet in their last six for Liverpool further strengthens this trio’s armband credentials, although with three shut-outs over the same time frame, Spurs could provide a sterner test.

Middlesbrough certainly have the fixtures to warrant attention, with a visit to Bournemouth before they host Sunderland four days later. However, with just three goals in their last six, Boro attacking players such as Alvaro Negredo (6.2) are unlikely to challenge for the summit.

Instead, it may be their defenders that offer the best chance of captaincy returns, particularly for the Black Cats visit. At home, Steve Agnew’s charges have racked up six clean sheets, while prior to their two goals against West Ham at the weekend, the visitors had not scored since Gameweek 24.

Ben Gibson (5.0) looks a prime option, having started every league match this season and earned bonus on six occasions. Another is stopper Victor Valdes (4.6), who has three double-digit FPL points hauls this campaign and has earned bonuses on four occasions.

We should not forget that, in the last set of double fixtures in Gameweek 27, popular players with just one match scored handsomely to punish managers who had ushered them from their squads.

Could the same happen this time around?

The stage is certainly set for Romelu Lukaku (10.5) – who scored against Spurs in Gameweek 27  – to once again get on the scoresheet, when Everton drop by the London Stadium.

The Golden Boot leader with 24 goals faces a West Ham side that has conceded 13 times in their last six. FPL’s most popular player, with a 47% ownership, also has a strong record against the Hammers, scoring in all of his last seven league matches against them.

Harry Kane (11.5), who scored twice in that last double Gameweek, could emerge as a single fixture star again, particularly as hosts Crystal Palace shipped twice at home to Leicester City at the weekend. With seven goals in his last seven appearances he certainly has form on his side, however, it is worth noting all of these were scored at home. Since his strike against Bournemouth on Saturday, another 30,000+ FPL managers have transferred swooped for his services.

Chelsea assets could also prove popular single Gameweek options, despite their Premier League lead being cut to just four points after yesterday’s Old Trafford defeat. Both Diego Costa (10.3) and Eden Hazard (10.4) got on the scoresheet back in Gameweek 27, when many instead backed double Gameweek Manchester City stars with the armband.

Southampton’s visit offers them the chance to do it again, given that the visitors have conceded eight times and kept just one clean sheet in their last six road trips.

Of this Blues pair, the 30.6%-owned Belgian schemer looks set to be the more popular, with his 10 goals at home a leading figure among midfielders.

A final mention goes to Alexis Sanchez (11.6), who will be closely monitored tonight when he visits Boro in Gameweek 33’s final fixture.

Without a goal since Gameweek 29, he may well be sacrificed by many to make way for double Gameweek stars. But a good score from the 24.8%-owned Chilean at the Riverside could see him join the single fixture armband options when he hosts a Leicester City outfit that has shipped eight goals in their last four away matches.

The Captain Poll is now live in the middle column on your homepage or desktop, or via the slide-in menu on mobile and tablet under Recent Comments.

We’ll be back to check in on progress in the poll later ahead of the Gameweek 34 deadline when we deliver our “Captain Sensible” article, offering an analysis of the results and the statistics behind the leading contenders.