More than 900,000 Fantasy Premier League managers were feeling jubilant following another big points return from Ollie Watkins (£8.8m)
The third most-captained player for Gameweek 23, Watkins scored and produced a hat-trick of FPL assists in Aston Villa's 5-0 win at Sheffield United.
Rewarded with the maximum three bonus for an 18-point haul, Watkins has delivered two of the season's best returns.
He adds to his 23-point bonanza at home to Brighton & Hove Albion in Gameweek 7, still the biggest score of 2023/24 Fantasy.
Erling Haaland (£14.2m) is the only other forward to return 18 points or more in a match this season, notching 20 points against Fulham in Gameweek 4.
Impressively, Watkins has now totalled 25 attacking returns, three more than anyone else, and is the only player to reach double figures for both goals and assists, with 11 and 14 respectively.
GW23 most-captained players
| Player | Captained by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Haaland | 3,870,583 | 5 |
| De Bruyne | 1,405,189 | 5 |
| Watkins | 900,372 | 18 |
Following his return from injury Haaland was both the most-captained player and the No 1 transfer target for Fantasy managers.
The Norwegian made his first appearance in six matches in midweek, coming on in the second half of Manchester City's 3-1 win over Burnley.
That led to more than 781,000 recruiting him for the Monday night trip to Brentford.
Haaland registered his 20th attacking return of the campaign with the assist for Man City's third goal in their 3-1 win, although it perhaps should have been more.
He was presented with a big chance after he intercepted a wayward backpass from Vitaly Janelt (£5.3m), but he spurned that opportunity, along with two other shots in the box.
Nonetheless, he has a Double Gameweek on the horizon and three successive home matches, so his owners will be optimistic that he can soon add to his four double-figure hauls this term.
Despite starting only once since Gameweek 15, Haaland is the joint-leading scorer in the Premier League on 14 goals, level with Mohamed Salah (£13.0m).
The underlying statistics support his goal threat, with his total of 15.89 Expected Goals and 29 big chances both more than any other player.
GW23 most-bought players
| Player | Transferred in by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Haaland | 781,111 | 5 |
| De Bruyne | 452,216 | 5 |
| Gordon | 405,114 | 4 |
Kevin De Bruyne (£10.8m) made it a Man City top two for transfers in, with 452,000+ managers snapping him up.
The Belgian was the first name on the shopping list for Fantasy bosses in Gameweek 22, bought by a season-high 1.7million people.
Indeed, since making an appearance in the FA Cup ahead of Gameweek 21, more than 3.1m managers have added De Bruyne to their squads.
The playmaker provided an assist for the third successive match but, like Haaland, his five-point return will feel a little disappointing for his owners given his involvement in the game.
He put in 22 crosses, created four chances, and had three shots, suggesting that bigger returns won't be far away.
Anthony Gordon (£6.2m) completed the top three transfers in.
In the absence of the injured Alexander Isak (£7.6m) and with Callum Wilson (£7.8m) on the bench, Gordon started up front as Newcastle entertained Luton Town at St James' Park.
The 22-year-old extended his exemplary home record with an assist for Newcastle's second goal in a thrilling 4-4 draw. But any hopes of adding to his tally were dashed when he was withdrawn at half-time with an injury. Fantasy managers will be eagerly awaiting an update on his fitness with Newcastle set to enjoy a kind run of fixtures.
Gordon has produced an attacking return in 11 of his 12 outings in front of the Newcastle faithful, totalling of 80 points. Only Mohamed Salah (£13.0m), with 94, has amassed more points at home in 2023/24 Fantasy.
GW23 top 100 captains
| Player | Captained by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Haaland | 33 | 5 |
| Watkins | 18 | 18 |
| Palmer | 16 | 8 |
| De Bruyne | 14 | 5 |
| Solanke | 10 | 2 |
Watkins caused a major shake up in the overall standings with the new top three all entrusting him with the captain's armband.
Between them, the leading 100 managers captained 10 different players with Haaland proving the most-popular.
But it was his team-mate, Phil Foden (£7.9m), who delivered the biggest score of the round.
Captained by just one manager in this elite group, Deep Mukhopadhyay reaped the rewards for going against the crowd with Foden's 20-point haul — 40 with the armband — pushing him up to seventh in the leaderboard.
Foden scored all three of Man City's goals for his second Premier League hat-trick. Taking home maximum bonus, he surpassed his previous high of 19 points, recorded against Manchester United in Gameweek 9 of the 2022/23 season.
Among the other favoured picks, 16 managers opted for Cole Palmer (£5.9m) and 10 for Dominic Solanke (£7.1m).
Palmer has belied his budget-friendly price tag this season, averaging 7.6 points per start at Stamford Bridge before Sunday. He exceeded that after scoring and picking up a bonus point to return eight points in Chelsea's 4-2 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Solanke, meanwhile, produced a career-best 17-point haul in the reverse fixture between AFC Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest, his opponents in Gameweek 23. But he was unable to repeat that feat as the match finished 1-1, blanking for the third time in four appearances.