Best Captain for Gameweek 7

The new round of Fantasy Premier League is approaching with haste. So, here, in this article we take a look at the best captain for Gameweek 6.

After his blank and two-point return at Newcastle United, Erling Haaland (£15.3m) might have lost some of that air of invincibility. But, he once again assumes the role of most-popular captain pick ahead the new round.

Arsenal’s match-up against bottom-of-the-table Southampton, however, brings Mikel Arteta’s attacking assets into contention for the second successive week. A plethora of other clubs, including Chelsea, Liverpool, and Brentford, provide the supporting cast.

As usual, Captain Sensible highlights which assets have the best chance of hauling.

First, we will assess the fallout of the captain poll, before then analysing the best options.

THE CAPTAIN POLL

Erling Haaland failed to score in the Premier League for the first time this season as Man City were held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle United in Saturday’s early kick-off.

The Norwegian cut a slightly peripheral figure at St. James Park compared to the opening Gameweeks. Only one player, however, bettered his tally of five shots in the box in Gameweek 6.

The former Dortmund sharpshooter is backed by just under half of our users to rediscover his goalscoring touch against Fulham.

Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka (£10.1m) was certainly ‘in the mood’ as Arsenal won 4-2 against Leicester City.

Initially scooping full bonus before the now customary late-Gameweek recalculation, Saka’s seven-goal attempts and four big chances created topped the division in Gameweek 6.

Arsenal’s plum home tie against Southampton offers managers undeterred by Haaland’s gargantuan effective ownership an opportunity to roll the dice on Saka – he’s backed by just under one in six of the electorate.

Cole Palmer (£10.7m) occupies third place with 11.7% of the vote, closely followed by Mohamed Salah (£12.7m). Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.1m) is a long way further back in fifth.

THE PLAYER STATISTICS

The appeal of Haaland is clear from our player data. He’s ranked top, by some distance, for shots (31), efforts in the box (29) and attempts on target (21). Furthermore, a visit to the expected goals (xG) data reaffirms his dominance: the Norwegian leads the division for non-penalty xG (5.47) over the last six matches.

Meanwhile, Saka’s modus operandi has been largely creative. The Colney graduate leads this assessment for key passes (20) and big chances created (nine). Despite ranking in the top four in this assessment for shots in the box (14) and efforts on target (nine), Saka sits second-bottom for non-penalty xG (1.74).

Among the remaining Arsenal contingent, Kai Havertz (£8.2m) dominates Leandro Trossard (£6.9m). The German international betters his Belgian teammate for big chances (eight to two), shots in the box (16 to eight) and non-penalty xG, by 3.60 to 1.46.

Elsewhere, Cole Palmer’s streaky form continued with his four-goal salvo against Fabian Hurzeler’s defensively naïve and threadbare Brighton and Hove Albion side. Palmer’s creativity is undoubtedly top-class and second only to Salah, with Chelsea’s talisman boasting considerable goal threat – he’s joint-third here for shots on target (nine). Palmer, notably, could have scored heavier so far: the England starlet spurned four of his seven big chances this term.

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