Who are the best FPL captain candidates for Gameweek 17?

The Gameweek 17 captaincy is set to ask Fantasy Premier League managers to choose between form and fixture.

It’s an age-old debate for us but no-less easy to solve going into the latest round of matches.

Therefore, the Captain Sensible article is back once again to help Fantasy managers make the right decision.

As this uses data from the Fantasy Football Scout Members Area, only those signed up either on monthly or season-long packages will be able to access it in full.

Captain Poll

Once again, it’s Jamie Vardy (£10.1m) at the top of the captain poll for another round of FPL action.

After a 13-point haul at Aston Villa, the Leicester City forward is now preparing to host Norwich City in Gameweek 17.

The Canaries have conceded 34 goals this season, only Southampton shipping more so far, while Vardy himself is in absolutely incredible form.

His last blank was the Gameweek 8 defeat at Liverpool and he has scored in every single match since then. That’s a run of eight Premier League outings which have seen Vardy find the back of the net, the former title-winner scoring 11 goals in that run, adding three assists.

Therefore, it is no surprise to see Vardy command 51.8% of the captain poll for Gameweek 17, displaying a commanding majority over the other candidates.

Coming up in second and third place respectively are Liverpool’s dangerous duo of Sadio Mané (£12.3m) and Mohamed Salah (£12.2m).

It is the Senegalese international with the superior backing (22.1%) which is perhaps no surprise considering how many teams he is in worldwide (42.7%).

A rest against Bournemouth should see Mané come into Gameweek 17 fully refreshed for a tasty meeting with Watford.

The Hornets have lost each of their last three visits to Anfield by a 5-0 scoreline or worse, which bodes well for both Mané and Salah.

Each of them has been involved in seven goals at home this season, Mané scoring five and assisting two while Salah has found the net six times and assisted once.

The Egyptian looks like he could be an interesting differential option across the board, both for owners and captainers. Sat in just 21.6% of teams worldwide, only 8.8% of our voters have backed him for the Gameweek 17 armband.

There is a smattering of interest in Tammy Abraham (£7.9m) as Chelsea host a Bournemouth with defensive problems of late.

The Cherries could be without both Nathan Aké (£5.0m) and Steve Cook (£5.0m) on Saturday afternoon, arguably their two best central defenders.

Chelsea have now lost each of their last two Premier League matches and Frank Lampard will be under pressure to get a positive result. 3.3% of the voters believe that this will make Abraham a viable candidate for the captaincy this weekend, as he comes into Gameweek 17 with six attacking returns in his last seven matches.

A small number of managers are planning a brave defender captaincy for Liverpool’s meeting with Watford, 2.3% voting for Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.3m).

The right-back has three attacking returns in as many Premier League matches and faces a Hornets outfit that often struggles to defend set-pieces.

Furthermore, Nigel Pearson’s new side have not scored in any of their last three trips to Anfield and have blanked in three of their last four matches this season.

Marcus Rashford (£8.9m) is the only other option backed by more than 1.4% as Manchester United host Everton.

Player statistics – Last four matches