FPL Bois Best Captains: Gameweek 5

A big week for a lot of the popular heavy-hitters led to the first gameweek with an average score of above 60 which also brought a lot of green arrows for the community. And now with a tricky set of fixtures awaiting us, it’s time to look at three candidates for this gameweek who could help us climb the ladder again:

Salah – EVE (H)

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, Mo Salah is inevitable! Yet again in a game where it looked like Liverpool may have to settle for a draw, the king came in clutch with a 95th minute penalty to secure the win for his team and the points for his managers. He’s now set to face local rivals Everton who have conceded three goals in two away games against relatively weaker sides (Leeds and Wolves). Liverpool on the other hand have scored nine goals in four games (5 in 2 at home against Bournemouth and Arsenal).

Despite “not being heavily involved in attack” Salah manages to rank 5th for G+A (Goals Scored and Assists combined) and has delivered returns in three out of the four matches, only missing out against Arsenal. He also has been getting into attacking positions quite often and is ranked 8th for nPxG and 3rd for Big Chances Created. With Isak transitioning into the setup it’d be interesting to see how well the two link up and it could boost his output from his creativity further up (Salah was ranked 2nd for xA and 1st for Big Chances created in the 2024/25 season). Liverpool’s attack has had to face some tricky defences but is still ranked 1st for goals scored, 8th for xG, and 8th for Big Chances Created. Everton on the other hand, despite facing weaker attacks rank 15th for xGC and have looked quite shaky in moments.

Salah cherishes a Merseyside derby and has a formidable record against The Toffees with eight goals and two assists from thirteen games. With his creativity, sublime finishing, and penalty duties, Salah looks set once again to have a high ceiling fixture against his neighbors making him a prime contender for this Gameweek’s captaincy.

Semenyo – NEW (H)

One of the most exciting players in the league so far, Antoine Semenyo, makes his debut on the shortlist as he looks to carry the momentum of his strong start of the season into the fixture against Newcastle United, who have had both their away fixtures end in goalless draws. Bournemouth have looked very good in attack scoring six goals in four games (three of which came against Liverpool and Spurs) and are now on a three game winning streak.

The highlight of their attack has undoubtedly been Semenyo who ranks 2nd for goals scored, 2nd for xG, 3rd for nPxG,3rd for assists, 1st for G+A, and 7th for Penalty Area Touches! He’s led the Bournemouth attack brilliantly which sees them rank 6th for goals scored, 9th for xG, and 5th for Big Chances Created. And while Newcastle are ranked 1st for xGC, they have significantly under-performed and rank in the bottom half for the xGC to actual goals conceded comparison.

A player in red-hot form against a team that has only managed one win out four and will be coming into this fixture after a midweek UCL fixture should have the managers excited for a big upside. The shared responsibility of taking penalties also add to his value now, which further raises the stock for Semenyo making him a strong candidate for this week’s captaincy.

 

Differential Captaincy Pick:

If you are looking to climb the ranking significantly by making a riskier, and less popular captain this week to try to make up ground or seperate yourself further from your mini-league mates, then this is the best differential captaincy choice for Gameweek 5:

Watkins – SUN (A)

Yes it’s actually him! Mr. 0-0-4, Ollie Watkins, returns to the shortlist in a week where he’s being heavily transferred out as he prepares to take on a sturdy Sunderland defence that has conceded three goals in the opening four Gameweeks of the season. Villa are currently under tremendous pressure having scored NO goals in their four games that’s led them to the 19th place in the league table! This fixture comes at the right time for Unai Emery as he would want his team to break the shackles and open their record for the season.

While there has been no output to show for, Watkins has been decent in attack ranking 22nd for xG, 14th for nPxG, and 16th for Penalty Area Touches. To understand his true potential let’s look back at his numbers from the previous season where he ranked 7th for goals scored, 6th for xG, 5th for nPxG, 10th for assists, 9th for total shots, 9th for shots on target, and 9th for Penalty Area Touches. Villa’s overall attacking performance was also respectable, ranking 9th for goals scored, 11th for xG, and 4th for Big Chances Created.

With his team in a crisis situation, Watkins has the chance to lead from the front and get Villa off the mark both with the goals and a win, and the creators behind him would also be motivated to create more chances for Ollie to maximize on the potential of this fixture. For the managers who are looking for a big swing by backing someone who most are going against, Watkins can be a great differential pick for the armband this Gameweek.

 

Thank you for reading our article! In a set of fixtures that has no standout options, who are you choosing to lead your team for the next batch of green arrows?

 

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