A visit to Sheffield United makes Cole Palmer (£6.0m) one of the top captaincy contenders for Gameweek 32 of Fantasy Premier League.
The Chelsea midfielder visits Bramall Lane after producing a hat-trick and a 20-point haul against Manchester United on Thursday evening.
Palmer has delivered six goals, two assists and a league-high 53 points in his last four league appearances.
Newcastle United's Alexander Isak (£7.8m) is also a man in form ahead of his visit to Fulham. The Swede has five goals, an assist and 37 points in his last four matches.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min (£10.1m), meanwhile, hosts Nottingham Forest on the back of 31 points in his previous four encounters, scoring twice and supplying two assists.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (£13.4m) and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (£14.3m) also have to be considered despite their relative lack of output.
Salah has two goals and an assist in his last four outings ahead of his visit to Man Utd. Haaland, who was rested against Aston Villa in midweek, has one goal and one assist in his last four and visits Crystal Palace.
Player form, last four matches
| Player | Pts | G | A | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer | 53 | 6 | 2 | 9 |
| Isak | 37 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| Son | 31 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Salah | 20 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Haaland | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Who has had the greatest attacking threat?
The underlying numbers show just why Palmer has been such a big success of late.
His 27 shots, 13 shots on target and 18 key passes are all more than any other player in Fantasy across their last four matches.
Salah and Isak bettered Palmer by five big chances to four, with the Egyptian also mirroring the Chelsea attacker's 15 shots in the box.
Haaland, meanwhile, had seven big chances, more than any other player in the assessment. Yet he has struggled to finish those opportunities, converting a mere 7.7 per cent of his attempts.
| Player | Shots | Shots in box | Big chances | Goal conversion | Key passes | Big chances created |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer | 27 | 15 | 4 | 22.2% | 18 | 4 |
| Salah | 20 | 15 | 5 | 10.0% | 5 | 2 |
| Haaland | 13 | 11 | 7 | 7.7% | 3 | 0 |
| Isak | 13 | 9 | 5 | 38.5% | 5 | 1 |
| Son | 12 | 10 | 2 | 16.7% | 7 | 3 |
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How are they performing home/away?
The home and away statistics are very much in Haaland's favour. The Norwegian's total of 25 big chances in away matches is at least 12 more than any other player in Fantasy.
Haaland has been involved in a big chance every 34.2 minutes on the road in 2023/24, almost twice as fast as the 63.6 minutes of Salah.
The Liverpool star is averaging 40.8 minutes per shot in the box in away fixtures which is near-identical to the 41.0 of Son in home matches.
Isak, meanwhile, has been the most clinical of the quintet in the analysis, converting 29.4 per cent of his shots in away matches.
Palmer's numbers are somewhat surprising, with only three big chances on his travels. His minutes of both big chance involvement and shot in the box both rank bottom here.
| Player | Big chances | Big chances created | Goal conversion* | Mins/big chance involvement | Mins/shot in box |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haaland (A) | 25 | 3 | 19.5% | 34.2 | 25.2 |
| Salah (A) | 6 | 8 | 15.4% | 63.6 | 40.8 |
| Son (H) | 6 | 10 | 20.0% | 71.8 | 41.0 |
| Isak (A) | 7 | 0 | 29.4% | 105.1 | 57.4 |
| Palmer (A) | 3 | 5 | 16.7% | 130.9 | 105.9 |
*In their respective matches home or away
What about the opposition?
The team data lifts the armband appeal of both Palmer and Salah.
Sheff Utd conceded a league-high 14 goals in their last four fixtures, while they were the second-worst among all sides for conceding shots in the box.
Man Utd allowed their opponents 76 shots in the box, placing them bottom in that spell, while their total of 15 big chances conceded was joint-worst with Burnley.
Isak backers will also be buoyed by the numbers, with Fulham conceding 14 big chances.
Opponents' form, last four matches
| Team | Goals conceded | Clean sheets | Shots in box conceded | Big chances conceded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHU | 14 | 0 | 70 | 10 |
| MUN | 8 | 1 | 76 | 15 |
| FUL | 8 | 1 | 32 | 14 |
| CRY | 6 | 0 | 32 | 10 |
| NFO | 4 | 0 | 32 | 2 |
How do the opponents fare home/away?
The home and away data again points to Palmer. Sheff Utd have conceded 45 goals at home, more than the combined total of Man Utd and Palace.
The Blades are also the worst for conceding shots in the box and big chances by some margin - their total of 48 big chances conceded at home is just one fewer than Man Utd and Palace combined.
Team home/away form, 2023/24
| Team | Goals conceded | Clean sheets | Shots in box conceded | Big chances conceded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHU (H) | 45 | 1 | 194 | 48 |
| NFO (A) | 30 | 2 | 123 | 39 |
| MUN (H) | 20 | 4 | 136 | 25 |
| CRY (H) | 20 | 3 | 105 | 24 |
| FUL (H) | 15 | 6 | 129 | 36 |
So, who is the best captain?
The form and team data could barely be more encouraging for Palmer, whose total of nine double-figure hauls is now more than any other player this season.
Haaland's statistics show his peerless goal threat on the road, nonetheless, he could easily outscore Palmer if he can improve his finishing at Selhurst Park.
Salah also merits consideration in light of Man Utd's defensive numbers, with the Red Devils granting opponents a multitude of chances recently.
