With doubts surrounding the availability of Mohamed Salah (£12.7m) in light of his Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) involvement, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers face another tough captaincy decision for Gameweek 24, with several viable options for the armband.
First, we will assess the fallout of the Gameweek 24 captain poll, before then analysing the best options, Rate My Team (RMT) and the Premier Fantasy Tools ratings ahead of Tuesday’s 18:15 GMT deadline.
THE CAPTAIN POLL
Kevin De Bruyne (£12.2m) is the leader of the captain poll in Gameweek 24, with just under 30% of total votes from our users at the time of writing.
No other player has garnered more than 20% of votes at this stage, with Jarrod Bowen (£6.9m) in second backed by 16.23%.
Salah occupies third place with 13.67%, having been heavily backed at the start of the winter break, followed by Manchester United duo Bruno Fernandes (£11.7m) and Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.5m), with 7.66% and 6.25% respectively.
KEVIN DE BRUYNE
Kevin De Bruyne has started just 12 Premier League games so far this season, but since returning to Pep Guardiola’s starting XI in Gameweek 17, has produced four goals and two assists in seven appearances, averaging 7.85 points per match.
As a result, the playmaker bagged Manchester City’s player of the month award for January.
Despite his slow start to the season, only two players – Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.5m) and Bruno Fernandes – have created more chances than him, and in his current run of seven straight Premier League starts, is averaging nearly four shots per match.
KEVIN DE BRUYNE’S UNDERLYING NUMBERS – LAST SEVEN MATCHES:
| GAMEWEEK | OPPONENT | SHOTS | SHOTS IN THE BOX | CHANCES CREATED |
| 23 | Southampton (a) | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 22 | Chelsea (h) | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 21 | Arsenal (a) | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 20 | Brentford (a) | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 19 | Leicester City (h) | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 18 | Newcastle United (a) | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 17 | Leeds United (h) | 9 | 3 | 4 |
Now, following his withdrawal after 68 minutes on Saturday, when he contributed a further two assists, he is surely in line for another start against Brentford in Gameweek 24.
As for Thomas Frank’s side, after their 4-1 defeat to Everton in the FA Cup fourth round, they have now conceded a whopping 23 goals in their last eight away matches against Premier League opposition. After being difficult to beat at the start of the season, their defensive structure suddenly looks vulnerable, whilst issues defending set pieces also increases the potential for a De Bruyne haul, given that he is City’s dead-ball specialist.
Elsewhere, Riyad Mahrez (£8.6m) was in excellent form prior to joining up with Algeria for AFCON, and scored twice upon his return on Saturday. For the more maverick managers amongst us, he could be worth a look, though the rotation risk has to be acknowledged, whilst Phil Foden (£8.0m) and Joao Cancelo (£7.1m) are alternatives options in the City camp.
FURTHER READING: In-form Mahrez an appealing FPL differential for Gameweek 24
JARROD BOWEN
