Best captain for Gameweek 2

We take a look at some of the top candidates and pick out the best captain for Gameweek 2. Using the Fantasy Football Scout members area we can access its underlying stats and fixture ticker to come to a conclusion.

The player you select as your captain will earn you double points in any given round. Captaincy is one of the biggest contributors to your overall score and rank. Because of this, finding out the best captain for Gameweek 2 could be key.

Gameweek 2 fixtures

Below we can see the fixture ticker – it has ordered the matches in difficulty order. According to the ticker the teams at the top have the easiest fixtures and the teams at the bottom have the toughest fixtures.

The fixture ticker can be very useful when trying to pick out a captain but other factors should also be considered.

Mohamed Salah

Liverpool sit second on the fixture ticker for the round ahead. The Reds got off to a fair start in their 1-1 draw against Chelsea and looked very dangerous for the first 35 minutes. Reflecting on their 22/23 stats, amongst all teams in the league Liverpool ranked third for goals (75), second for attempts on goal (605) and first for shots in the box (432).

Bournemouth lay ahead for Liverpool in Gameweek 2. The Cherries also got off to a fair start after their 1-1 draw against West Ham. However, they sustained some of the worst defensive data in the league last season. In fact, they ranked the third worst for goals conceded (71), the worst for shots in the box conceded (402) and the worst for shots on target conceded (204).

The standout option at Liverpool is of course Mohamed Salah (£12.5m). Not only did the Egyptian manage 19 goals and 12 assists last season but he also maintained great attacking data. In fact, when compared to all midfielders in the game the Liverpool penalty taker ranked first for goals, first for goal attempts (125) and first for shots in the box (104).

Erling Haaland

There’s no surprise that a certain Manchester City attacker makes the list this week. The Premier League holders were convincing in their Gameweek 1 match as they breezed past Burnley 3-0. They also maintained some of the best attacking data in the league last season as well which reinforces confidence when it comes to captaining one of their players.

Manchester City have an interesting matchup this week against Newcastle who kept some of the best defensive data in the league last season. However, they showed towards the latter parts of the 22/23 campaign that they can concede goals – they kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 matches.

Erling Haaland (£14m) is the focal point to the Manchester City attack and also takes his sides penalties. The Norwegian proved his effectiveness in front of goal after scoring a brace with less touches of the ball than most in Gameweek 1. Haaland proved to be the most consistent assets in the game last season which has led to him becoming the highest owned player in the game.

Ollie Watkins

It was a very difficult opening round for Aston Villa as they were swept aside by Newcastle 5-1. Although that was the case Unai Emery improved their overall game hugely towards the latter stages of their 22/23 campaign.

Aston Villa will be hoping to get back on track with a game against Everton this week. Last season ‘The Toffees’ conceded some poor underlying defensive data – amongst all teams they ranked the second worst for shots in the box (394), the second worst for attempts on goal conceded (576) and second worst for headed attempts on goal (106).

One player who could take full advantage of Everton’ worrying stats from last season is Ollie Watkins (£8m). Watkins still managed to return in Gameweek 1 after an overall poor team performance but he also takes his sides penalties giving him an additional route to points. It is also worth mentioning that Watkins ranked amongst the four best strikers in the league last season for shots in the box (81) and big chances total (32).

Bukayo Saka

Arsenal also started their new campaign with a win. ‘The Gooners’ looked exciting offensively in Gameweek 1 as they put two goals past Nottingham Forest. They also achieved some very good offensive last season. Amongst all teams in 22/23 they ranked second best for goals scored (88) and second best for goals scored in the box (75).

Arsenal face Crystal Palace in Gameweek 2 who have made clear improvements under Roy Hodgson. That may be the case but they still only kept three clean sheets in their last 10 matches of the 22/23 Premier League campaign.

The standout Arsenal attacker remains to be Bukayo Saka (£8.6m). The winger was back to his best after scoring a wonderful goal in Gameweek 1. Not only does he take his teams penalties but he also hit double figures for both goals and assists last season which shows multiple routes to points.

Who is the best captain for Gameweek 2?

Ollie Watkins could have big potential this week but as a captain you would want a player/team to be more consistent.

Bukayo Saka could also be an option playing for a great team with fantastic offensive data. However, Crystal Palace were amongst the best four teams in the league for expected goals conceded last campaign.

Manchester City and Erling Haaland are relentlessly consistent. That may be the case but Newcastle have proven to be one of the best defensive units in the league which could limit the Norwegian’ output.

Mohamed Salah is the best captaincy option for Gameweek 2. The Egyptian faces one of the worst defensive sides in the league from last season. The Cherries’ new attacking set up could play directly into the hand of Salah.

For those that do not own Mohamed Salah then Haaland is the next best captaincy option.