Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers are again chiefly looking to Erling Haaland (£12.2m) for the Gameweek 11 captaincy but with Manchester City away at Liverpool this weekend, the decision over who to hand the armband to perhaps isn’t as clear-cut as it usually is.
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 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
Erling Haaland (£12.2m) is the clear winner of the captain poll, with just under 58% of total votes from users at the time of writing.
Harry Kane (£11.4m) is currently in second place, backed by a mite under 13% of our users.
No other player has garnered more than 4% of votes at this stage: Ivan Toney (£7.3m) occupies third place, followed closely by Son Heung-min (£11.7m) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.8m).
THE MAIN CANDIDATES
ERLING HAALAND/KEVIN DE BRUYNE
Erling Haaland continued his excellent run of form, notching his 15th Premier League goal as Manchester City steamrolled Southampton 4-0 in Gameweek 10.
The Norwegian became the first player to reach 100 points in Fantasy Premier League in 2022/23, averaging just 7.3 minutes per FPL point this term.
Haaland is simply unstoppable, and having struck the inside of the post early in the first half, powered home a neat side-foot finish beyond the helpless Gavin Bazunu (£4.5m) to make it 4-0.
Nothing is certain except death, taxes and an Erling Haaland goal – and the Norwegian’s underlying numbers mark him out as the best in the division.
The 22-year-old has produced division-leading goal threat numbers over the last six matches, placing top for shots inside the box (25), big chances (10), and shots on target (15).
The expected goal data reaffirms Haaland’s dominance over the period, placing top for expected goals (xG) and expected goal involvement (xGI), with 5.85 and 7.01 respectively.
Above: Erling Haaland tops the division for shots (27), shots inside the box (25) and big chances (10) over the last six matches
Kevin De Bruyne (£12.4m) registered his 10th attacking return of the Premier League season against Southampton, supplying the assists for Phil Foden’s (£8.2m) delightful wedge finish.
The Belgian created two big chances against the Saints and continues to set the gold standard for creativity in the division – with unerring consistency.
Over the last six matches, playmaker De Bruyne places top for big chances created (six), total assists (six), and expected assists (xA), with 2.30.
While Manchester City visiting Liverpool would historically rank as the toughest fixture on paper, the high-flying Citizens’ attack is the polar opposite of Liverpool’s defence with confidence at an all-time low.
Analysing at a team level, Manchester City place top over the last six matches for big chances (25) and expected goals (xG), with 14.67.
Meanwhile, the Reds have conceded three goals in consecutive Premier League matches, against Brighton and Arsenal, and placed bottom for expected goals conceded (xGC) against the Gunners in Gameweek 10, with an eye-watering 3.09.
Injuries to Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.3m) and Joel Matip (£5.9m) further compound defensive woes for Liverpool who rank eight-worst over the last six matches for expected goals conceded (xGC), with 9.02.