FPL Bois Best Captains: Gameweek 4

After a mixed bag of results and a long international break, it’s time to jump on to some green arrows again! Here are three picks for this Gameweek who could reap the maximum benefits of the fixtures and their form:

Salah – BUR (A):

Among all the concerns of him playing too wide, not being involved enough in the buildup, etc. the bottom line remains that the king is inevitable! With two returns from the opening three fixtures, Salah returns to the shortlist with a juicy fixture against Burnley this Gameweek. The Burnley defence have faced two decent attacks, in Spurs and United, so far and conceded six goals against them, three a piece, and we all know just how much better the Liverpool attack is compared to those two. Expecting another goal-fest should be the norm heading into this fixture, and with each occurrence of it, a Salah haul becomes the natural by-product.

Salah was sublime last season, setting the record for the most FPL points ever and stood out as the front-runner across all attacking stats ranking 1st for goals scored, 1st for xG, 3rd for nPxG, 1st for assists, 2nd for xA, 1st for Big Chances Created, 1st for shots taken, 1st for shots on target, and 1st for Penalty Area Touches! The Liverpool attack also carried this dominance ranking supreme across goals scored, xG, and Big Chances Created. This momentum has carried into this season too for them as after three Gameweeks, they are ranked top for goals scored even though the xG is relatively less, which is likely not gonna be the case after this fixture.

Salah has been formidable against the promoted teams historically and last season too had 7 goals from 6 games against them. The new look Liverpool attack is finding its rhythm and Salah’s linkup and finishing would allow him to contribute through multiple channels against a weak opposition. Pairing this with his spot kick duties make an excellent match for him this Gameweek that supports his popularity and candidacy for the captain’s armband.

Haaland – MUN (H):

The big ‘ol Manchester Derby is set for this Gameweek, and with both teams having a shaky start to the season they would be looking to pounce on this opportunity and produce a statement win over local rivals. And this fixture couldn’t have come at a better time for Erling Haaland who delivered a 5-star performance in the international break scoring FIVE goals and providing an assist in one match, which would’ve done a world of good for his as well as Pep’s confidence.

United have been very vulnerable in defence despite the improvement in their attacking play, ranking 13th for xGC, and are yet to keep a clean sheet this season (not to forget they conceded twice to a fourth division team too). While still early days, Haaland leads the pack for xG with the players ranked 2nd being at half of his current xG. As the new midfield looks to gel into Pep’s style, the return of Rodri will also provide them with more freedom to create attacking plays, and thereby leading to more chances for Haaland. We can again expect to see similar stats from last season where he ranked 3rd for goals scored, 2nd for xG, 1st for nPxG, 2nd for shots taken, 2nd for shots on target, and 4th for Penalty Area Touches. City as an attack are already looking good, ranking 4th for goals scored, 4th for xG, and 2nd for Big Chances Created, and as mentioned above this is only going to get better as the season progresses.

Haaland has an exceptional record against his neighbors with six goals and three assists in eight games! With United’s goalkeeping department being a major pain point, Haaland might be a tough welcome gift for the new arrival, Lammens. A hungry City against a weak defence and a raging beast up top who’s also on penalties is the recipe for a trademark Erling Haaland performance, making him a very strong candidate for this week’s captaincy.

 

Differential Captain Pick:

Mateta – SUN (H):

Here’s a big differential amongst the two evergreen picks, Jean-Phillipe Mateta who kick-started his campaign with a goal against Villa in the previous Gameweek. Now he leads the line for Palace against a Sunderland defence that could look very shaky against Glasner’s system that ranked 7th for xG (just 0.3 less than Arsenal’s) and 9th for Big Chances Created last season. Palace have had a good start to the season coming out unbeaten in a run of fixtures against Chelsea, Forest, and Villa, and have looked better with each game.

This fixture comes at a good time for them as these are the type of games Palace would be looking to target and put on a strong display in efforts to break into the top half of the table this season. Brushing up on Mateta’s stats from last season, he ranked 10th for goals scored, 7th for xG, and 9th for nPxG – with Eze now gone we could see these numbers rise along with his contribution in the build up of the Palace attack by combining with the likes of Sarr and their attacking fullbacks.

Sunderland have shown signs of vulnerability in defence and have conceded 26 shots in three games which would be on the radar of the Palace attack who would aim to get into better positions and work their goalkeeper. With some favorable fixtures for the big name players, Mateta could be the one who comes out as the dark horse with his presence in front of goal and penalty duties, making him a strong contender for the armband for the managers who are feeling adventurous.

 

Thank you for reading our article! Some big names, and some juicy fixtures this Gameweek! Who are you picking to lead your team to the green arrows after the international break?

 

Check out our Premier League Predicted Lineups every single Gameweek with data, injury news, manager quotes and tactical insights!

The FPL Bois also chose the best fixtures period for all 20 Premier League teams – this is something all managers will want to know about to plan for a successful FPL season!