Is Haaland a permanent captain in FPL?

The international break continues and a large section within the community are drawing up plans and getting ready for the return of fantasy football. Some of those are even asking themselves, is Haaland a permanent captain in FPL? Or are there better options? We take a look at that right here.

Is Haaland a permanent captain in FPL? We utilise the Fantasy Football Scout members area to access their fixture ticker and underlying data to come to a conclusion. Captaincy is absolutely vital for FPL managers and can make a huge impact on rank in any given Gameweek.

Fixtures

Below we can see the Fantasy Football Scout fixture ticker. It has ordered the teams at the top with the easiest fixtures all of the way down to the teams with the toughest fixtures.

As we can see, over the next five Gameweeks Manchester City rank second from bottom. This indicates that they have some of the toughest matches in the league.

The fixtures are tough but what kind of form are Manchester City in and are they fixture proof?

It should come as no surprise to many that Manchester City started the campaign very well. They also maintained some of the best offensive stats in the league in their early matches. However, to highlight their recent form, in terms of attacking data in the last four Gameweeks they rank:

Joint sixth for goals (six)
Seventh for attempts on goal (63)
Joint sixth for shots in the box (37)
Fifth for big chances total (12)
Ninth for expected goals (6.31)

Manchester City are clearly struggling to maintain their usual high standards in terms of offensive data. With tough fixtures approaching we could see that drop even more.

Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland (£14m) became the best asset in the game last season. The Norwegian accumulated a huge 272 points due to his 36 goals, nine assists and 40 bonus. His excellent campaign meant he also became a permanent captain for many managers.

Although starting the season in relentless fashion scoring eight goals and one assist, he does seem to be dropping off in terms of form. In the last four Gameweeks he ranks:

Joint third for goals (two)
Joint fifth for total attempts (12)
Outside the top 40 players for FPL points (16)

Other captaincy options

Before ruling out Haaland it could be worth looking at other captaincy options moving forward. Liverpool could be a great place to start. The Reds rank highly on the fixture ticker above and face matches against the likes of Everton, Nottingham Forest, Luton and Brentford in the next four rounds.

In terms of the Liverpool form its also very good. More recently, in the last four Gameweeks the Reds rank:

Joint third for goals scored (nine)
Joint fifth for shots in the box (44)
Joint second for big chances total (15)
Second best for expected goals scored (9.21)

Liverpool’s recent attacking data is improving when compared to the early part of their campaign. One player who has been benefitting from that is Mohamed Salah (£12.6m). In the same period amongst all players in the game he ranks:

Joint second for goals scored (three)
Joint fifth for total attempts (12)
Joint fifth for shots in the box (10)
Joint first for big chances created (five)

Son Heung-min

Another team in great form is Tottenham who currently sit at the top of the table in first place. Their overall form is evident in their league position but their underlying offensive data is worth highlighting. They currently sit:

First for total attempts on goal (153).
First for shots in the box (96).
First for shots on target (56).

A huge factor to their form this season is the resurgence of midfielder Son Heung-min (£9.5m). Son is currently playing out of position in a forwards role which boosts his appeal. To highlight his recent form, in the last four Gameweeks when compared to all players in the league Son ranks:

Joint second for goals scored (three).
Fourth best for attmepts on goal (13).
Joint third for big chances total (four).

Is Haaland a permanent captain in FPL?

No. Haaland may have been a relentless asset last season and has even started the new campaign well but his and his sides recent form, their upcoming fixtures and other very strong alternative captaincy options with better fixtures becoming available suggest that he is no longer a permanent captain for FPL managers.