Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers are looking to Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City for the Gameweek 16 captaincy, and as per usual, the Captain Sensible article is here to highlight which assets have the best chance of hauling.
First, we will assess the fallout of the Gameweek 16 captain poll, before then analysing the best options, Rate My Team (RMT) and the Premier Fantasy Tools ratings ahead of Friday’s 18:30 GMT deadline.
THE CAPTAIN POLL
For the ninth Gameweek in a row, Mohamed Salah (£13.1m) tops the captain poll, with 54.56% of total votes from our users at the time of writing.
Second-placed Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.4m) has received 17.37% of votes ahead of his team’s trip to Norwich City.
Man City duo Bernardo Silva (£7.6m) and Joao Cancelo (£6.8m) occupy third and fourth place respectively with 6.42% and 3.81%, followed by Jamie Vardy (£10.7m), who has garnered just over 3% of total votes.
MOHAMED SALAH
Mohamed Salah continued his excellent campaign earlier this week, as he grabbed the equalising goal for Liverpool against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League. As a result, the Egyptian took his tally to 20 for the season, which has included 13 from 15 outings in the Premier League. For Fantasy managers, it perhaps seemed like the perfect opportunity for the Reds’ no. 11 to be handed a rest, given that Jurgen Klopp’s side had already qualified as group winners, but the German had other ideas as Salah completed 64 minutes of action.
As for Aston Villa, Sunday’s win over Leicester City was Steven Gerrard’s third in his four matches in charge, with the only defeat coming in narrow fashion against Manchester City. During that time, his team have looked more organised, notably keeping Pep Guardiola’s side to their lowest expected goals (xG) value of the season.
ASTON VILLA’S DEFENSIVE RECORD UNDER STEVEN GERRARD:
| Gameweek | Opponent | Goals conceded | xGC |
| 15 | Leicester City (h) | 1 | 0.88 |
| 14 | Manchester City (h) | 2 | 1.04 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace (a) | 1 | 0.88 |
| 12 | Brighton and Hove Albion (h) | 0 | 0.52 |
However, we’ve seen good defences arrive at Anfield before, and ultimately leave unsuccessful in their attempts to keep Salah quiet, who is operating at a whole different level this season.
Of Liverpool’s other options, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.1m) stands out, given that Villa have conceded more crosses from their left flank than any other side since Gerrard’s appointment.
Aston Villa’s chances created conceded heatmap under Steven Gerrard
That leaves Diogo Jota (£8.0m) and Sadio Mane (£11.9m) as alternatives, though it’s hard to put either ahead of Salah right now, given the Egyptian’s attacking output, plus penalties of course.
CRISTIANO RONALDO
HOW HAS CAPTAIN SENSIBLE PERFORMED SO FAR THIS SEASON?
| Gameweek | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| 1 | Salah (17) | Fernandes (20) | Mane (3) |
| 2 | Salah (3) | Fernandes (1) | Mane (8) |
| 3 | Son (10) | Antonio (11) | Fernandes (2) |
| 4 | Ronaldo (13) | Salah (8) | Lukaku (13) |
| 5 | Salah (12) | Mane (8) | Ronaldo (6) |
| 6 | Ronaldo (2) | Salah (7) | Antonio (8) |
| 7 | Lukaku (2) | Ronaldo (1) | Antonio (2) |
| 8 | Salah (13) | De Bruyne (11) | Mane (8) |
| 9 | Salah (24) | Havertz (3) | Kane (2) |
| 10 | Salah (5) | Foden (2) | Antonio (2) |
| 11 | Salah (5) | Aubameyang (-1) | Vardy (2) |
| 12 | Salah (8) | Kane (2) | Ronaldo (5) |
| 13 | Salah (6) | Aubameyang (1) | Alexander-Arnold (9) |
| 14 | Salah (15) | Kane (2) | Jota (8) |
| 15 | Salah (6) | Kane (2) | Son (13) |
