Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers are mainly looking to Manchester City and Liverpool for the Gameweek 5 captaincy, and as per 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 Gameweek 5 captain poll, before then analysing the best options, Rate My Team (RMT) and the Premier Fantasy Tools ratings ahead of Tuesday’s 18:00 GMT deadline.
The stats and images in this article are all available to subscribers in the Fantasy Football Scout Premium Members Area.
THE CAPTAIN POLL
Erling Haaland (£11.8m) is the leader of the captain poll in Gameweek 5, with just over 48% of total votes from our users at the time of writing.
Mohamed Salah (£13.0m) is forced to play second fiddle for the first time this season, backed by 22% of those polled.
Gabriel Jesus (£8.2m) occupies third place with 6.7%, followed by Kevin De Bruyne (£12.2m) and Reece James (£6.1m), with just over 4% each.
THE MAIN GAMEWEEK 5 CAPTAINCY CANDIDATES
ERLING HAALAND / KEVIN DE BRUYNE
Erling Haaland scored a scintillating 20-minute hat-trick in the second half as Manchester City fought back from two down to seal a superb 4-2 victory over Crystal Palace.
The Norwegian’s first goals at the Etihad Stadium dispelled the narrative of Haaland as a counter-attacking forward as the jubilant home crowd welcomed Sergio Aguero’s long-awaited natural successor.
Haaland’s first two goals showed the instincts of a penalty box striker and for his third, the Norwegian had an extra string to his bow – pace, power and the finish of a sniper rifle.
Haaland demonstrates an economy of touches per game similar to Jamie Vardy (£9.4m) but the Norwegian produces the decisive action – and ranks top goal scorer in the Premier League with six goals in four matches.
READ MORE: How Erling Haaland got more points than touches of the ball in Gameweek 4
The Nordic marksman’s underlying goal threat data after four Gameweeks is division leading, ranking first for shots inside the box (17), big chances (10), and non-penalty expected goal involvement (3.90).
Haaland seemingly has all the required captaincy elements – form, strong underlying numbers, and the best fixture on paper in Gameweek 5 as Manchester City host Nottingham Forest.
But caveat emptor applies, especially with Haaland’s excepted minutes during the imminent fixture crunch with Pep Guardiola saying:
“Now he has one game a week. I tell you now when we have games every three days that Erling will not play, I will play Julian.”
Above: Erling Haaland’s goal attempts (18) after four Gameweeks
Kevin De Bruyne has been a stand-out performer this season for Manchester City but registered his first blank of 2022/23 against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The playmaker has produced division-leading creative numbers ranking best for big chances created (five) and expected assists (xA 1.88) across the four opening rounds.
De Bruyne sits second-best in the division for successful crosses (12) and chances created (14), producing a joint-best three assists over the period.
The Belgian has scope within Manchester City’s system to support Erling Haaland in attack, and De Bruyne sits fourth among midfielders for goal attempts (12) after four Gameweeks.
Defensively, Nottingham Forest are struggling to adapt to the required level and rank worst for shots on target conceded (27) and expected goals conceded (xGC, 7.92) across the four opening rounds.
Zonally, Forest show weakness on their right flank, ranking worst for chances conceded (24) and third-worst for crosses conceded (39) from that area this season.
Above: Nottingham Forest rank worst for goal attempts conceded (79) across the four opening rounds
MOHAMED SALAH/TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD
