With just five days remaining until domestic action resumes, we’re launching our Captain Poll to canvass your views on the best armband options for Gameweek 4.
Poor form or tricky fixtures for many of this season’s previous front-runners make this potentially the most open Captain Poll of the season so far.
That’s certainly the case for Liverpool’s front three Roberto Firmino (8.6), Mo Salah (9.0) and Sadio Mane (9.6).
With seven goals and three assists between them, the trio have served up at least 22 points apiece in Fantasy Premier League ahead of their trip to the Etihad. And more than 519,000 FPL managers have swooped for one of three during the international break.
Weekend hosts, Manchester City, have allowed the least shots in the box and crosses of any side over the opening three rounds of fixtures. But Liverpool’s record against top six sides under Jurgen Klopp makes for encouraging reading – they won five and drew five of their 10 matches last season and put four past Arsenal last time out.
This could see interest wane in City forwards Gabriel Jesus (10.4) and Sergio Aguero (11.5), particularly the latter after he dropped to the bench for the win at Bournemouth in Gameweek 3.
Yet Aguero’s exemplary scored record against the Merseysiders may persuade his manager to hand him a recall – he has played at home to Liverpool on five times in the league and scored in all of them.
Voting for Spurs’ own star trio, Harry Kane (12.5), Dele Alli (9.5) and Christian Eriksen (9.6) could also take a knock as they travel to an Everton side that has yet to concede at home in all competitions this season.
In 2016/17, the Toffees had the third best home defensive record, behind Spurs and Manchester United.
At least Eriksen, who has accrued three assists, and the two-goal Ali have Fantasy form on their side.
The same cannot be said of last Gameweek’s poll leader Kane, who once again failed to break his August curse despite leading all players for shots and efforts in the box over the first three matches.
Kane’s more superstitious supporters will take heart in a productive September so far on international duty, with a brace against Malta. Should he score again against Slovakia tonight, he may well punish the 118,000+ managers who have already ditched him ahead of Gameweek 4.
The holy grail of strong form and fixtures combines well for Manchester United this week and could ensure that Romelu Lukaku (11.7) takes top spot. The 58.1%-owned forward – who has scored four times on international duty – collides with a Stoke City defence at the Bet365 that was the fifth-worst side in terms of shipping shots in the box at home.
The Belgian has failed to score in seven of his ten league appearances against the Potters, though, while a midfield supporting cast of Paul Pogba (8.2) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (8.3) present further armband options. The duo sit joint-top in the FPL standings on 26 points apiece, seven clear of Lukaku.
Arsenal have one of the best fixtures of the week, at home to a Bournemouth defence that have conceded five times and handed opponents more penalty area attempts than any other side.
But the Gunners have their own form to worry about following that chastening loss to Liverpool.
This is likely to temper interest in Alexandre Lacazette (10.4), who dropped to the bench at Anfield, although the summer signing did score in his only home fixture of the season, against Leicester City in Gameweek 1.
An unimpressive showing against the Reds in Gameweek 3 could harm Alexis Sanchez’s (11.9) chances of captaincy poll success. His failure to secure a move away from Arsenal in the transfer window and reports of an ankle injury in training while on international duty with Chile this week are set to dampen his captaincy appeal.
Nonetheless, it’s worth noting that Sanchez scored twice in a 3-1 win at the Emirates during the corresponding fixture last season.
Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata (10.1) should garner interest after scoring for Spain at the weekend and impressing since joining the London side this season. With two goals and as many assists, he has already been brought in by 203,000+ FPL managers ahead of his trip to a Leicester City side that has shipped six goals this season.
His team-mate Eden Hazard (10.5) makes his debut in our poll after recovering from a long-term injury. A goal against minnows Gibraltar for Belgian last week and a 26-minute run out against Greece last night indicates that he’s stepping up his match sharpness ahead of that visit to the King Power stadium.
Javier Hernandez (7.1) is among the intriguing differential options this week for West Ham’s first home fixture of the season.
He scored a brace against Southampton in Gameweek 2, but the Mexican international – who has been jettisoned by 99,442 managers this week – will not have it easy against newly-promoted Huddersfield Town on Monday.
The Terriers have yet to concede in the league this season, while the Hammers are rooted to the bottom of the table and are still in search of their first win.
The poll is now live in the middle column on your homepage on desktop, or via the slide-in menu on mobile and tablet under recent comments.
Remember, we are looking for your vote for the player you think will be most effective, regardless of whether you own them or not.
We will be back to check in on progress in the poll later ahead of the Gameweek 4 deadline when we deliver our “Captain Sensible” article, offering an analysis of the results and the statistics behind the leading contenders.
