Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers brace themselves for the biggest Double Gameweek of the season with the armband decision far from a formality.
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford (£7.3m) and Bruno Fernandes (£9.6m) are cast in the roles of leading men, but face strong competition from a trio of Brighton & Hove Albion assets, with options from Leicester City, Liverpool and Chelsea representing the differential selection.
As 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 captain poll, before then analysing the best options, Rate My Team (RMT) and the Premier Fantasy Tools ratings ahead of Saturday’s 11:00 BST deadline.
THE CAPTAIN POLL
The biggest Double Gameweek of the season has thrown out a wide range of armband options but Marcus Rashford fights off stiff competition to top the charts, backed by just under four-tenths of the total votes cast by users at the time of writing.
The main captain poll rivalry comes from Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma (£5.5m), who currently sits in second place with the support of 16.24% of our users.
Mohamed Salah (£12.8m) occupies third place with 7.2% of the vote, closely followed by Erling Haaland (£12.0m) and James Maddison (£8.2m) further back.
A reminder that those FPL managers polled are voting as if the players in the question are going to be fit, which may not be the case with Haaland.
THE MAIN CANDIDATES
MARCUS RASHFORD/BRUNO FERNANDES
Manchester United assets are firmly on the menu ahead of Double Gameweek 29 with Erik ten Hag’s side facing Newcastle United and Brentford.
Marcus Rashford has been revitalised since the Dutch manager’s arrival and is in scintillating form, ranking joint-top for both goals (10) and FPL points (94) since Premier League action resumed in Gameweek 17.
Above: Marcus Rashford ranks joint-top for both goals (10) and FPL points (94) since Premier League action resumed in Gameweek 17
A cursory glance at Rashford’s underlying numbers highlights his importance to ten Hag’s attack, ranking best in the division for shots in the box (17) over the last six matches.
The England international’s seven big chances, nine shots on target and non-penalty expected goals (NPxG, 3.12) tally all place in the division’s top four over that same period.
Furthermore, no player has registered more double-digit returns (four) than the Manchester United attacker, underlining Rashford’s high ceiling.
However, Rashford returned to Manchester United after sustaining a knock while on international duty with England, but the star attacker has since featured in training pictures for the Red Devils.
Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes has demonstrated a return to his attacking best with the midfield maestro habitually delivering big in Double Gameweeks – scoring a combined 31 points in Manchester United’s last two.
The Portugal international boasts strong creative underlying numbers in the last half-dozen matches, supplying the division’s most chances (21). Furthermore, his tally of five big chances created is bettered by only Solly March (six) over that period.
Above: Bruno Fernandes has created the most chances (21) in the division over the last six matches – and supplied five big chances
While Fernandes places third-best in the division for expected assists (xA, 1.81) over that same timeframe, the playmaker can shoot – the Portuguese has registered 29 shots, 10 shots on target and three goals post-World Cup.
Under Erik ten Hag’s stewardship Manchester United have quickly re-established themselves as a top-tier attacking side, ranking sixth-best for expected goals (xG, 41.57) this season.
Firstly, the Red Devils travel to Newcastle United with Eddie Howe’s charges in poor form defensively, failing to register a clean sheet in their last six Premier League matches.
However, it won’t be a stroll in St. James Park for Manchester United’s high-flying attackers, with the Magpies’ backline placing second-best in the division for expected goals conceded (xGC, 11.65) across all home games this season.
Erik ten Hag welcomes Thomas Frank’s Brentford side for the second fixture of Double Gameweek 29, with Manchester United keen to capitalise on the Bees’ recent defensive woes.
While Brentford have failed to record a clean sheet in five of their last six Premier League matches, Frank’s side rank fifth-best for expected goals conceded (xGC, 16.92) in away matches this season.
Zonal weakness could be the key to swatting the Bees, with Brentford placing in the bottom two for crosses conceded from their right flank (293) and chances conceded centrally (132) across all games this season.
KAORU MITOMA/ALEXIS MAC ALLISTER/SOLLY MARCH
