Gameweek 4 delivered far more captain points than the previous week for the vast majority of Fantasy Premier League managers. Mainly because Erling Haaland (£14.1m) caught fire, blasting his first big points haul of the campaign. Man City’s star forward accumulated four attacking returns against Fulham in the shape of an assist and a hat-trick, ending up with a score of 20 FPL points. We mentioned Jarrod Bowen (£7.1m) in our ‘Gameweek 4 Best Captains’ article and the in-form winger didn’t let us down away at Luton, scoring the opening goal. Elsewhere, Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) picked up 8 points in Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa, his highest individual fantasy score of the season so far, whilst Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo (£6.8m) matched that total as Brentford drew 2-2 with Bournemouth.
We now take a look at some of the most sensible captaincy options for Gameweek 5.
Erling Haaland (£14.1m) – West Ham vs MAN CITY
It goes without saying that Erling Haaland tops the list of contenders, we’d be foolish to put any other player in that position after the striker’s Gameweek 4 pyrotechnics. It’s now 39 FPL points for the season accrued for Haaland and no other fantasy asset has managed more in any position. He also unsurprisingly tops the Premier League goalscoring charts in 2023-24 with six goals overall.
Haaland will be familiar with Gameweek 5 opponents West Ham, having found the net three times against the Hammers last season. This included a brace on his English top flight debut at the London Stadium, the location for Haaland on Gameweek 5. The Norwegian is coming off the back of having scored for his country over the course of the international break and he’ll be looking to repeat the dose with Man City. Captaining Haaland will be seen as a formality for many when considering the obvious pitfalls of choosing someone else, only for them to blank and Haaland to rack up a large haul of points.
James Maddison (£7.8m) – SPURS vs Sheffield United
Goals in consecutive gameweeks for James Maddison, not to mention the critical role he plays at the heart of Spurs’ attack makes him one of the go-to captain choices for anyone brave enough not to hand Haaland the armband in Gameweek 5. Maddison controls set pieces for Spurs and has also shown that he isn’t afraid to shoot from range. This was proven against Burnley in Gameweek 4, the midfielder bending a right-foot shot into the corner from outside the penalty area.
The England international boasts 17 points across the last two gameweeks and 29 so far this season (only two midfielders have gained more), including four attacking returns. On paper, Maddison and Spurs have an enticing fixture against Sheffield Utd, the newly promoted Blades having lost three and drawn one of their opening four league games. Ange Postecoglou will no doubt set Spurs up to attack at every opportunity and against a club who have conceded twice in each of their most recent three top flight fixtures, Maddison could be set to cash in.
Martin Odegaard (£8.5m) – Everton vs ARSENAL
One thing Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland have in common? Both scored in the same game for Norway this past international break. That’s not the first time the Arsenal midfielder has found the net this season however. Odegaard has been on target twice for the Gunners after four gameweeks, most recently equalising against Man Utd in a thrilling contest that saw Mikel Arteta’s side wind up 3-1 winners.
Bukayo Saka’s injury concerns makes Odegaard more of an attractive option for those looking at a potential Arsenal asset to captain in Gameweek 5. Arteta’s men visit Everton, who have endured a tough start to the campaign, conceding eight goals and picking up just a point. Like Maddison, Odegaard is the creative hub of his team and offers both goal and assist potential.
Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m) – MAN UTD vs Brighton
You could argue that no one enjoyed a more successful international break than Bruno Fernandes, who starred for Portugal in their two Euro 2024 qualification group stage victories. After netting the only goal against Slovakia, Fernandes was on the scoresheet again vs Luxembourg and also accrued a hat-trick of assists in a 9-0 win for Roberto Martinez’s side.
The last time the Man Utd attacking midfielder took to the field at Old Trafford, he recorded a goal from the penalty spot, an assist and 12 FPL points in Gameweek 3 as the Red Devils came back from two goals down to beat Nottingham Forest 3-2. When taking this into account, naming Fernandes as your FPL skipper in Gameweek 5 may wind up being an incredibly shrewd move as Man Utd take on a Brighton side yet to keep a Premier League clean sheet in 2023-24.
