With the new season just hours away, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers face a captaincy dilemma for Gameweek 1.
Assets from Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle United – as well as one familiar name from Manchester City – are doing battle for armband supremacy this week.
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 Friday’s 18:30 BST deadline.
THE CAPTAIN POLL
Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) has divided opinions about team selection but receives firm backing from just over 28% of our users ahead of Liverpool’s visit to the newly promoted Ipswich Town on Saturday lunchtime.
Afforded a summer of rest, Liverpool’s Egyptian has been ever present in pre-season, playing the joint-most minutes (334) for the Reds.
Despite last term being hampered by a troublesome hamstring injury sustained during the African Cup of Nations, Salah registered 30 attacking returns – scoring 18 times and providing 12 assists.
Ominously, ahead of Gameweek 1, the Egyptian struck just five times on the road last season.
Meanwhile, Alexander Isak (£8.5m) approaches Gameweek 1 as the most-owned asset in Fantasy Premier League, selected by more than 57% of managers.
The Sweden international enjoyed a breakout season last term, plundering 21 goals and supplying four assists for Eddie Howe’s men. Isak’s performances, and the injury record of Callum Wilson (£7.0m), promoted the former to leading marksman for the Magpies.
An astonishing home record – with 14 of his 21 goals arriving at St. James Park – brings Isak firmly into the captaincy conversation ahead of Southampton’s visit, with the forward narrowing Salah’s lead by the hour.
Erling Haaland (£15.0m) occupies third place with 13.6% of the vote, followed by Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) and Diogo Jota (£7.5m).
THE PLAYER STATISTICS – LAST SEASON DATA
A stand-out option for the Magpies, Isak’s 21 Premier League goals arrived in just 27 starts for Newcastle. Furthermore, strong underlying numbers marked him out as one of the leading forwards in Fantasy. The Swede’s 40 big chances and expected goals (xG) tally of 23.06 both rank second among forwards, just behind a certain Erling Haaland.
Meanwhile, Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) places bottom in this player selection for shots on target (30) and non-penalty expected goal involvement (193.3 minutes). However, no player registered more attacking returns (22) at home than the former Everton winger.
Despite being limited to just 28 starts due to AFCON and injury, Salah recorded upwards of 200 points for his seventh consecutive Premier League season. Furthermore, the Egyptian led all midfielders in 2023/24 for shots on target (54), big chances (33) and non-penalty involvement (NPxGI, 23.19).
Arsenal’s Saka sits top in this assessment for expected assists, with no other player here registering double-digits for non-penalty xG (10.77) and xA (11.00).
Furthermore, Saka placed second among midfielders for non-penalty expected goal involvement (NPxGI) last season, even underperforming his NPxGI by a delta of -2.77.
Saka gifted responsibility for three penalties which could have seen the Arsenal talisman finish as FPL’s top scorer.
Elsewhere, Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) was a creative influence last season, topping the division for key passes (114). The Portugal international fired 40 shots on target – joint fourth-best in our assessment – and a more advanced role is possible given Man United’s forward-line injuries.
Man City’s Erling Haaland, understandably, was his usual dominant self. The Norwegian topped the division for shots on target (57), big chances received (55) and expected goals (xG, 29.32) – a tally that’s eight xG better than nearest rival Salah (21.21).
Son Heung-min (£10.0m) scored 17 goals and provided 10 assists in 34 appearances last season although, arguably, the South Korean’s data is skewed by periods deployed as an out-of-position number nine. Among the main captaincy considerations, Son ranks in the bottom three for big chances received (19) and non-penalty xG (10.44), instead ranking third best for big chances supplied (20).
Notably, new signing Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) ranks second best in this sample for efforts in the box (97) and non-penalty xG (17.27). The assumption is that Solanke ‘loses’ spot-kick duties following his transfer to Spurs – but he beat his teammate Son for both xG and expected goal involvement (xGI) last season.
Solanke was Bournemouth’s top scorer with 19 goals from an xG of 19.63. He was on penalties and central to the Cherries’ attack. If he takes spot-kicks away from Son, the £2.5m saved on his services looks even more tempting.
TEAM ATTACKING STATISTICS – LAST SEASON DATA
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