Bruno Fernandes dominates captain selection for top 10k FPL managers

Bruno Fernandes (£11.3m) is the overwhelming captain choice for Gameweek 20, especially for managers inside the top 10,000.

More than 88% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers at that level have stuck the captaincy on the Portuguese number 10, with few differential backers.

Second in the captaincy ranking is Raheem Sterling (£11.5m), with only 4.7% of players choosing him for their armband.

Way down in third is Mohamed Salah (£12.5m), with 1.43% of the picks, ahead of Spurs facing an out-of-form Liverpool side.

Reflecting what a popular captain choice Bruno is, the vice-captaincy picks are evenly spread among five picks.

Despite blanking in his last five games, more than 20% of managers are backing Salah to play back-up to their skipper.

Looking for a direct replacement for Kevin De Bruyne (£11.9m), Ilkay Gundogan (£5.6m) was chosen as vice-captain by 9.91% of managers in the top 10k.

The 8.33% who went with Patrick Bamford (£6.7m) as their vice-captain will have been disappointed to see the Leeds forward blank for a third game in a row.

Following on from Double Gameweek 19, around 3% of the top 10k used their Wildcard chip.

Unsurprisingly, there weren’t many takers for any of the other chips, with 0.76% of managers combined opting to their other chips.

With no KDB available, FPL managers deploying their wildcard went big in midfield.

Son Heung-min (£9.7m) was the second-most-popular wildcard choice after top captain pick Fernandes, backed by 69.74%.

Wildcard players also stuck with Mo Salah, with 57.54% choosing the Egyptian.

Gundogan was a popular pick to replace his City team-mate, being backed by nearly 50% of players. Jack Grealish (£7.7m) rounds out the top wildcard picks with 48.31% of the top 10k bringing him in.

Wildcard players, interestingly, did not go for West Ham’s Tomas Soucek (£5.3m).

The big Czech, who is the fifth most popular midfielder among top 10k players, scored two goals and picked up maximum bonus points.

Manchester City’s defence was also a key part of Wildcard squads, with John Stones (£5.1m) and Ruben Dias (£5.9m) the most popular pairing.

Michail Antonio’s (£6.4m) growing popularity is reflected by more than half of top 10k managers using their wildcard picking him.

And the forward proved just as popular with top 10k players not using any chips, seeing his ownership double from 30% to 60%.

The most notable absence from last week’s most popular players is KDB, and it seems like the funds raised from selling him have been pumped into attack.

Harry Kane (£11.2m), the most expensive forward, has been selected by 53.72% of top 10k players, at the expense of the injured Jamie Vardy (£10.1m).

Top 36.21% of players who picked Gundogan will have been celebrating after the West Brom game, with the midfielder scoring two goals.

Son was also a popular choice to replace KDB, who sees his ownership go from 35.88% to 58.8%.

With no Liverpool defenders in the top 10k teams and the Spurs attacking duo both seeing their numbers increase, it would appear players in that bracket are targeting the Liverpool game for returns.

Fresh off a 27 point haul in Gameweek 19, John Stones is now the most popular defender for the top 10k, seeing his ownership rise to 63.18%.

Team-mate and centre-back partner Ruben Dias has now joined him, with 37.63% of the top 10k convinced by City’s recent defensive performance.

Previously the most owned defender by the top 10k, Tyrick Mitchell (£3.9m) dropped out of the top five altogether.

Newcastle’s lack of goals convinced 40.2% of managers in the top 10k to select Stuart Dallas (£4.8m) in their teams.