Captain Poll

Manchester City options expected to battle for Gameweek 5 captaincy

Manchester City options look set to dominate the captaincy once again this week.

The defending champions go up against Norwich City in Gameweek 5, the team that has conceded more goals than any other side so far this season.

In both of their meetings with top-six outfits in 2019/20, the Canaries have conceded at least three times.

Liverpool scored four times at Anfield in Gameweek 1 while Frank Lampard’s Chelsea netted three goals at Carrow Road two weeks later.

With Manchester City visiting East Anglia as the Premier League’s top scorers after the first four matches (14), it looks likely that the goals will continue to flow in Gameweek 5.

Currently top of the Golden Boot race is striker Sergio Aguero (£12.1m) with six goals in his first four appearances of the season.

That should see him feature heavily in the captaincy debate, after massively outscoring Raheem Sterling (£12.3m) in Gameweek 4.

Aguero has averaged 10 points per game this season, and that’s before facing the worst defence in the league.

Sergio Aguero has scored six goals in the first four matches

Fantasy managers might want to consider the fitness of Gabriel Jesus (£9.5m) this week though as Pep Guardiola predicted he would be fit following a hamstring injury after the international break.

We will have to wait until the next Manchester City press conference to get a proper update but if Jesus is given the all-clear to be involved we could see him compete for minutes with Aguero like we saw in Gameweeks 1 and 2.

Against West Ham, the Brazilian was started ahead of Aguero despite a greater involvement at the Copa America than the Argentinian, and he replaced him after 65 minutes against Spurs in Gameweek 2.

Meanwhile, Sterling, despite his unexpected blank at home to Brighton in Gameweek 4, remains the most nailed-on starter in Guardiola’s attack.

Sterling blanked against Brighton but should still feature in the Gameweek 5 captaincy debate

Before that 4-0 win over Brighton, the England international had scored in every match of the season and was also displaying excellent underlying statistics.

With Norwich’s defence looking so shakey, Gameweek 5 does look like a strong opportunity for Sterling to get back to scoring big points.

Kevin de Bruyne (£9.8m) is also likely to be in the frame for such an appealing fixture.

He has been both an ever-present starter for Manchester City this season but also a reliable source of points.

In the first four matches of the campaign, the Belgian international has five assists and one goal, making for a total of 36 points.

That’s an average of nine per game, a fantastic return on a relatively cheap investment compared to some of the other Manchester City options.

Salah has 27 points at Anfield so far this season

However, there may also be interest in Liverpool’s Saturday lunch-time meeting with Newcastle.

The Magpies may have frustrated Spurs in Gameweek 3 but Jurgen Klopp’s men most recently managed to put three past a stubborn Burnley side.

Scoring six points in that encounter, Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) reamins behind only Aguero, Sterling and Teemu Pukki (£7.0m) for total score after the first four Gameweeks.

More importantly, Anfield has been a happy hunting ground for him so far this season, having registered three goals and one assist there in Gameweeks 1 and 3.

In two home matches in 2019/20, Salah has scored a total of 27 points, averaging 13.5 per game.

Interestingly, Sadio Mané (£11.5m) is yet to record an attacking return at Anfield this season, despite proving so prolific there in 2018/19.

From a total of 92 minutes across two matches, he has blanked in both of his home outings so far, although has two goals and an assist on the road.

Meanwhile, Roberto Firmino (£9.5m) has had 17 shots in the first four matches of the campaign, more than any other player.

There may actually be some interest in the Liverpool defence again for Gameweek 5 after they kept their first clean sheet of 2019/20 in the 3-0 win over Burnley last time out.

Newcastle come to Anfield as the second-lowest scorers in the Premier League having scored just three goals so far.

Vardy could be considered as a differential captain for Gameweek 5

Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) has assists in three matches so far, making him the top-scoring Liverpool defender. Andrew Robertson (£6.9m) and Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) have combined for just one attacking return after four matches.

Differential hunters might turn to Leicester this week, given the form of Jamie Vardy (£8.9m).

He has scored three goals and registered one assist in his last two outings and faces a Manchester United defence in Gameweek 5 that remains questionable.

Vardy also tends to do well against the top six and, owned by just 8.7%, he presents a potentially effective nishe option this weekend.

Also among the left-field options for the armband include Arsenal players as they prepare to face a Watford side that has started the campaign poorly.

The Hornets have shipped an average of two goals per game this season, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.0m) is yet to register a blank.

His total of 26 points, made up of three goals and one assist, account for 6.5 points per game.

You can now vote in the latest Fantasy Football Scout captain poll either below or on the side-bar of our website.

Also, Joe and Neale will be discussing the captaincy on our YouTube channel on Monday lunch-time at 12:30pm.

Lessons learned from Gameweek 4

606 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Shatner's Bassoon
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Can this international break hurry up and finish so I can get big KevDB in for a hit.

  2. Pep Roulette
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Who do you think will score more points against Norwich? From highest to lowest!

    A. Kun
    B. Sterling
    C. KDB
    D. Silva

    1. Point-one short
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      BCAD

    2. The Albatross
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      ABCD

    3. Kane Toads
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      ACBD

    4. FPL Forward Thinker
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      CBAD

  3. SharkyT
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    ABCD

    1. SharkyT
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      and now I know my abc’s! Meant for the above post obviously

  4. DaisyDaisyDaisyDaisy
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Anyone rate Maitland-Niles as a 3rd defender, so playing week in week out?

    Seems nailed, good fixtures, attack threat OK not a Bellerin but as good as I can find under 5.5. If Kola didn't have competition I could stretch to him....

    1. FPL Forward Thinker
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Great fixtures: must be due CS’s soon

      1. DaisyDaisyDaisyDaisy
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Yeah I always like that 2 way chance on defenders and we all know Arsenal struggle a bit at the back...

  5. Old and Slow
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Martial+AWB -> James+TAA? It would cost me 4 points... Torn between Martial's potential (unrealized over last few years due to injury) vs TAA without Allison helping keep clean sheets...

    Other option to do neither and wait a week, but I'll miss TAA at home vs Newcastle, and still waiting to see if Martial will play... Any reason to trust James' phenomenal shots and SoT can maintain?

  6. jayzico
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    So how many more games until Aurier gets dropped. Piece of string I kiw, talking ball-park