Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers face another tough captaincy decision for Gameweek 3, and for the first time this season, there are multiple viable options for the armband.
Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) was the top pick in each of the first two Gameweeks but surely won’t have it all his own way this time with Chelsea in town. Could it perhaps be a week for a captaincy differential, then?
First, we will assess the fallout of the Gameweek 3 captain poll, before then analysing the leading candidates, Rate My Team (RMT) and the Premier Fantasy Tools ratings ahead of Saturday’s 11:00 BST deadline.
THE CAPTAIN POLL
Michail Antonio (£7.8m) has emerged as the leader in this week’s captain poll, gaining just over 30% of votes so far.
Bruno Fernandes (£12.1m) currently sits in second, backed by 15.8%.
Son Heung-min (£10.1m) occupies third place with 13.35% of votes, with the top-five list completed by Danny Ings (£8.1m) and Salah, with 6.72% and 4.66% respectively.
MICHAIL ANTONIO
“Last year I was disappointed with my 10 goals, I wanted 15. Three in two now — who knows, I could even get 20.”
Michail Antonio became West Ham United’s all-time leading Premier League goalscorer on Monday night, as his second-half brace helped the Hammers dispatch 10-man Leicester City 4-1.
Now, the question is: can he be relied upon for captaincy in Gameweek 3?
When zoning in on his 2020/21 performances, Antonio produced at least one attacking return in 11 of his 20 appearances in which he featured for over 60 minutes.
However, during that time, he registered just one double-digit haul against Burnley back in Gameweek 34.
That lack of explosive returns is a viable concern, but the fact he produced either eight or nine FPL points on five further occasions, and has started the new season strongly with 13 and 16-point hauls, does suggest that he can step up.
His attacking numbers catch the eye, too.
Across the entire 2020/21 season, Antonio had an expected goals (xG) per 90 minutes rate of 0.60 – a total, amongst all forwards, that only Jamie Vardy (£10.5m) could improve upon:
You can see why that total is so high via his xG shot map, which highlights his ability to get into good shooting locations close to goal:
He’s continued impressing this term, too, as he leads the goal attempts chart after the two opening rounds of 2021/22:
As for his opponents, Crystal Palace, there have been positives from their opening two games. For example, they have conceded just one big chance against Chelsea and Brentford combined, which is perhaps surprising.
However, in Gameweek 2, despite having a shade more of the ball than Thomas Frank’s side, they still gave up 14 shots and offered very little going forward, which could invite pressure if a similar theme were to persist on Saturday.
Crosses into the box, a key part of the Hammers’ approach under David Moyes, could also be a route to points, given that Ivan Toney (£6.5m) was handed two chances from set-pieces last time out. While Tomas Soucek (£6.0m) and Craig Dawson (£5.0m) are often the intended targets from these types of situations, Antonio’s 11 headed goal attempts in 2020/21 indicate that he could perhaps be one to benefit, too.
Another impressive performer worth mentioning here is Antonio’s team-mate, Said Benrahma (£6.3m). The Algerian seems to have earned the trust of Moyes in recent weeks and is looking sharp in the final third.
It’s also worth noting that Joel Ward (£4.5m) had some difficult moments dealing with Brentford’s overlap last weekend. That suggests that we might see Benrahma deployed on the left again in an attempt to get in behind Palace’s right-back, having featured in a more central role against Newcastle in Gameweek 1.
