Were it not for a midweek injury update, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers would no doubt be again looking towards Erling Haaland (£12.2m) for the Gameweek 14 captaincy.
But with the Norwegian withdrawn at half-time against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, the armband decision perhaps isn’t so clear-cut.
Friday’s press conference will hopefully tell us more (or not – this is Pep Guardiola we’re talking about) but we’ll need to at least think very carefully about our vice-captain this week, on the offchance that Haaland misses out.
So Captain Sensible is perhaps more Vice-Captain Sensible this week, at least until we hear more about the limping striker closer to Saturday’s 11:00 BST deadline.
As usual, we will assess the fallout of the on-site captain poll before then analysing the best options, Rate My Team (RMT) and the Premier Fantasy Tools ratings.
Haaland’s own credentials will be examined, too, not that they need much introduction…
THE CAPTAIN POLL
Erling Haaland dominates the captain poll, with just under 60% of the total votes cast by users at the time of writing.
A caveat here is that the poll was launched a day before Haaland picked up his knock, so the Norwegian’s advantage over others has dwindled since then. We’ll reset the results of the poll after Pep Guardiola’s presser on Friday and we have the latest – as ambiguous as it might be from the City boss – on FPL’s runaway points scorer.
Mohamed Salah (£12.8m) is currently in second place, backed by just over 15% of our users and rising.
Harry Kane (£11.5m) occupies third place with a little over 6% of the vote, followed by a cluster of five players who each have between 2% and 3% backing.
THE MAIN CANDIDATES
ERLING HAALAND/KEVIN DE BRUYNE
Erling Haaland rewarded droves of managers who backed him with the armband in Gameweek 13 by scoring twice in Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Brighton – taking his tally for the season to 17 goals.
Haaland’s brace and fifth double-digit haul of the season continued an incredible start to life at Manchester City.
Notably, City’s Norwegian continues to produce a division-leading goal threat, ranking best over the last six matches for shots (25), shots inside the box (23), and shots on target (15).
Above: Erling Haaland leads the division over the last six matches for shots (25), shots inside the box (23), and shots on target (15)
Haaland’s division-leading dominance extends to expected goals (xG) and expected goal involvement (xGI), with 4.38 and 5.65 respectively.
Haaland’s half-time replacement in Manchester City’s goalless draw at Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday throws potential doubt on the Norwegian’s expected minutes ahead of the champion’s visit to Leicester City.
Pep Guardiola explained Haaland’s half-time removal in his post-match press conference:
“Three things: I saw him so tired, second one, he had a little bit of influenza in his body. Like Joao – Joao had a fever. Then the third, he had a knock in his foot. That’s why he was not able to play the second half.”
Kevin De Bruyne climbed to the summit of FPL’s midfielder rankings with a sublime right-foot strike from outside the box against Brighton – the Belgian’s 11th attacking return of the season.
De Bruyne was instrumental against the Seagulls, registering two shots and creating three chances in Gameweek 13, in a performance which deserved more than a nine-point haul.
The playmaker continues to deliver division-leading creativity over the last six matches, ranking best for big chances created (eight) and expected assists (xA), with 3.14.
Manchester City travel to Leicester City in Gameweek 14 with the Foxes enjoying something of a renaissance following a seven-game winless start to their Premier League season.
Defensively, Brendan Rodgers’ side are much improved and rank best in the division for clean sheets (four) in their last six matches.
However, Leicester City rank eight-worst for expected goals conceded (xGC), with 8.33, during a favourable run of fixtures which has included Bournemouth, Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Notably, the Foxes conceded the second-highest expected goals conceded tally in Gameweek 13 (xGC, 2.12) against a Wolves side that rank worst for goals scored (five) this season.
MOHAMED SALAH
