Game Week 23: FPL Bois Best Captains

With 2 scoring machines facing promoted teams this week, the potential for a big captaincy swing is huge. Luckily, The FPL Bois have done a dive into the data to help guide your decision.

Game Week 23: FPL Bois Best Captains
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CAPTAINCY THREAD

Gameweek 22 was a mixed bag with plenty of high scoring games but most of the popular FPL assets getting no or minimal returns. With this week’s captaincy candidates we aim to offset the misses from last week and hop back on to the green arrows trajectory:

 

Salah – IPS (H)

Two consecutive blanks for the King is a first this season and has left managers rather disappointed. However he got back on the scoresheet in the mid-week UCL fixture against Lille and is now set to take on a defensively vulnerable Ipswich Town side who rank 19th for xGC and have conceded 15 goals against the ‘Top 6’ in 7 games, including 6 from Man City last weekend. With 1 win in the last 3 games in the league at Anfield, this fixture also comes at a great time for Slot’s team to improve their home record as they look to continue accelerating towards the league title.

Despite the minor blip in form, Salah’s record is beyond impressive this season as he ranks 1st for goals scored, 2nd for xG, 2nd for nPxG, 1st for assists, 4th for xA, 3rd for Big Chances Created, and 1st for Penalty Area Touches. He has wonderfully spearheaded the Liverpool attack which continues to dominate and is ranked 1st for goals scored, 1st for xG, and 1st for Big Chances Created.

Salah’s record this season against the newly promoted teams is delightful with 4 goals and 1 assist (leading to 36 points) in 3 games including the goal against Ipswich in the reverse fixture in their season opener. Salah would be looking to capitalize on this fixture and extend his lead for the golden boot while also using his creativity to help the entire attack flourish once again, making him a very strong candidate for this week’s captaincy.

 

Isak – SOU (A)

Another man in form who hit a roadblock in GW22 after 8 consecutive weeks of returns, Alexander Isak is the next name on the shortlist as he gears up to face the worst defence in the league, Southampton who rank 20th for xGC and have conceded 11 goals in the last 3 league games. Newcastle have been enjoying a great run of form on the road with an aggregate scoreline of 8-1 in 3 games, of which two were against Spurs and Man United.

Isak has been instrumental for the Newcastle attack and one of the main forces behind their recent streak of wins, this sees him rank 3rd for goals scored, 3rd for xG, 3rd for nPxG, 12th for assists, 14th for Big Chances Created, and 6th for Penalty Area Touches driving Newcastle to rank 7th for goals scored, 6th for xG, and 9th for Big Chances Created. The fixture against Southampton could help them get back on track and prove to their rivals that the result against Bournemouth was just a one-off.

Isak too has had his share of great performances against the newly promoted teams this season and has a record of 4 goals and 3 assists (leading to 33 points) in 3 games, and would now be looking to make his presence felt with another scintillating display and pushing Newcastle into the top 4, making him an excellent contender for the armband this week.

 

Watkins – WHU (H)

30 points from the last 4 fixtures see Ollie Watkins make his return to the shortlist as he takes on West Ham United who have looked wobbly in defence and rank 17th for xGC and have conceded 13 goals in their last 4 games resulting in 3 losses and just one win. On the other hand, Villa are on the up as they’ve looked impressive and have 7 points in their last 3 with an aggregate scoreline of 5-3.

Watkins has his tail up as he’s finding form and his stats reflect this upturn as he now ranks 8th for goals scored, 5th for xG, 6th for nPxG, 20th for assists, and 10th for Penalty Area Touches. With favorable fixtures coming up for Unai Emery’s men, they’ll be looking to take advantage of this run and starting with a strong triumph over their jersey lookalikes. Villa currently rank 11th for goals scored, 9th for xG, and 5th for Big Chances Created – we could see an improvement in these numbers considering how weak West Ham can be defensively.

Watkins’ record against West Ham is 4 goals and 2 assists in 10 games which also features a goal and an assist in this fixture previous season. For managers looking to spice things up for their teams instead of going for the most popular picks, Watkins promises a huge potential upside and can be an excellent choice for captaincy this gameweek!

Thank you for reading our article! Who are you backing to deliver the returns and a heap of green arrows this week?

 

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By: FPL Bois

Last Updated: 23/01