One of the most important decisions of the entire season for any FPL manager, is which player to captain on Gameweek 1. The right skipper ensures a successful haul of points and can lay down a platform for the rest of the FPL campaign. The wrong choice though, can leave an FPL boss playing catch-up in terms of points, which is less than ideal so early in the competition.
Gameweek 1 boasts a healthy selection of attractive captaincy options and having assessed the field, we’ve marked out some of the most enticing players, explaining our reasons why.
Erling Haaland (£14.0m) – Burnley vs MAN CITY
It is widely expected that the first fixture of the 2023-24 Premier League season between Burnley and Man City will feature by far and away the most captained FPL asset of Gameweek 1. Haaland is the most expensive player available to purchase and the fact that over 80% of fantasy bosses have already stumped up the cash to own him, says it all about his FPL credentials. Anyone who owns the Norwegian, but doesn’t give him the armband are unlikely to profit from any big points haul that Haaland gains, due to the sheer amount of players who will captain him.
Last season was Haaland’s first in the Premier League and one in which he set new standards. His tally of 36 league goals scored for Man City was a Premier League record and that’s not including his nine assists. He finished on 272 FPL points, the most of any player and when factoring in all competitions, Haaland racked up 52 goals across 53 games. This includes an FA Cup quarter-final hat-trick against Gameweek 1 opponents Burnley.
Marcus Rashford (£9.0m) – MAN UTD vs Wolves
Wolves have endured a turbulent pre-season, which culminated in them losing head coach Julen Lopetegui in the week leading up to Gameweek 1. Gary O’Neil has since been appointed in his place but has had precious little time to work with the players at his disposal. Also factor in the sale of important players and this Wolves side could be set to struggle in 2023-24. Man Utd will be looking to benefit from this in Gameweek 1 and Marcus Rashford is one player who could really cash in.
Installed as a midfielder on FPL, Rashford is a key cog in Erik ten Hag’s attacking machine at Man Utd and after recording 17 goals, seven assists and 205 fantasy points last season, Rashford will want to hit the ground running here at Old Trafford where he has proven so potent under ten Hag since last year’s World Cup. Being listed as a midfielder means that Rashford gains an extra FPL point for a goal compared to a forward, not to mention a clean sheet bonus point which should only increase his captaincy appeal.
Martin Odegaard (£8.5m) – ARSENAL vs Nottingham Forest
Arsenal’s Norwegian maestro Martin Odegaard is the creative hub of Mikel Arteta’s midfield and reaped the rewards from an FPL point of view last season. Of the Arsenal midfield trio who accumulated fantasy points for fun, Odegaard finished with a higher score than both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, gaining 212 points in total. Not only was this the second highest score among midfielders, it was also the fourth highest score of the entire FPL player-base.
Odegaard will no doubt be aiming to improve on his 15 goals and eight assists in this coming Premier League season, starting on Gameweek 1 which sees Arsenal hosting Nott’m Forest. The Gunners started the 2022-23 campaign with five consecutive league wins and are expected to come out of the traps flying once again this time round. With that in mind, Odegaard warrants serious consideration as your Gameweek 1 captain.
Mo Salah (£12.5m) – Chelsea vs LIVERPOOL
The only FPL-listed midfielder to end this past season with a higher fantasy score than Odegaard was Mohamed Salah, always one of the most coveted assets available for his relentless consistency in terms of attacking returns and fantasy points. In 2022-23, Salah ended with 19 league goals, 13 assists and 239 FPL points, a total bettered by just two other players. Since joining Liverpool in 2017, Salah is yet to drop below 230 fantasy points across a single season.
However, in terms of captaincy for this particular weekend, no player has proven more potent in Gameweek 1 than Salah since his return to England. The Egyptian boasts the joint-highest number of goals scored on the opening day of the Premier League with eight in total, a record he can break against Chelsea on Sunday and has netted in each of his last six Gameweek 1 fixtures. With two goals and seven assists in pre-season for Liverpool, Salah appears in-form and could be ready to drop another big FPL points haul in Gameweek 1, underlining his value as a captaincy option.
