Cole Palmer (£10.5m) and Erling Haaland (£15.1m) lead a host of big-hitting captaincy candidates who have very favourable fixtures in Gameweek 3 of Fantasy Premier League.
Both delivered 17 points in the previous Gameweek, with Palmer producing a goal and three assists in Chelsea’s 6-2 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers just 24 hours after Haaland’s hat-trick in Manchester City’s 4-1 victory over Ipswich Town.
Palmer is now at home to a Crystal Palace side who have struggled in defence since Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) rejoined Fulham. The England midfielder blanked only once in his 13 home starts in 2023/24, averaging 8.9 points per match.
Haaland, meanwhile, has a perfect record against his hosts West Ham United. He has scored on both his visits to London Stadium, totalling three goals and 19 points.
Arsenal’s Buyako Saka (£10.0m) and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) have also enjoyed strong starts to the 2024/25 campaign. Both have been involved in three goals – Saka has scored one and assisted two, while Salah has two goals and an assist.
Saka clearly has the better fixture of the two to offer an alternative to Palmer and Haaland – he is at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, whereas Salah visits Manchester United.
There’s also Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) to consider as Aston Villa make their way to Leicester City. The forward averaged 12 points per match in his visits to the three promoted clubs in the previous campaign.
Who has the most attacking threat in 2024/25?
The underlying statistics highlight Haaland’s peerless goal threat among his premium rivals.
His nine shots and eight shots in the box both rank top in the analysis, with the Norwegian clearly all about his goal threat right now – indeed, he has failed to make a single key pass this season.
Salah runs Haaland the closest for goal threat and both take joint-top spot for big chance involvement, on four apiece.
Palmer and Saka’s all-round displays have been the best of the premiums on show here.
The Chelsea star’s seven shots and six key passes both claim second spot in the analysis. Despite managing only two shots in the box, he’s just one behind Haaland and Salah for big chance involvement.
Saka leads the way on seven key passes, while his five shots in the box are more than twice the total of Palmer.
Attacking threat, first two GWs 2024/25
| Player | Shots | Shots in box | Key passes | Big chance involvement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haaland | 9 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Salah | 7 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| Palmer | 7 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Saka | 6 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| Watkins | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
How did they compare home/away in 2023/24?
Assessing each player’s output in home and away fixtures last season can also help shed more light on the armband decision.
Palmer was involved in 20 of Chelsea’s goals at Stamford Bridge in 2023/24, scoring 16 and assisting a further four.
That helped him average 8.9 points per match (ppm) in home contests, which was comfortably ahead of his rivals - Haaland is the nearest challenger, with an average of 6.7ppm in Man City’s away matches.
Watkins, meanwhile, averaged 6.3ppm on his travels – exactly the same as Saka at Emirates Stadium.
Output home/away last season
| Player | Starts | Goals | Assists | Pts per match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer (H) | 13 | 16 | 4 | 8.9 |
| Haaland (A) | 14 | 12 | 4 | 6.7 |
| Saka (A) | 16 | 7 | 6 | 6.3 |
| Watkins (A) | 18 | 10 | 7 | 6.3 |
| Salah (A) | 13 | 5 | 7 | 5.4 |
What do the underlying stats tell us?
Palmer and Haaland are also the leading options when delving into the Expected Goal Involvement (xGI) numbers.
The Chelsea star’s 69.8 minutes per xGI in home contests in 2023/24 was quicker than his rivals in the analysis, with Haaland not too far behind with an xGI of 79.6 on his travels.
Palmer’s potential for goals and assists impresses again here – he also takes a spot in the top two players for minutes per shot and minutes per key pass, with 20 and 31 respectively.
While Saka’s frequency of shots and key passes also catch the eye, he was surprisingly involved in only 33 per cent of his side’s home goals when selected last season, compared with the 59 per cent of Palmer.
Underlying statistics home/away last season
| Player | Mins/shot | Mins/key pass | Mins/xGI | Goal Involvement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer (H) | 20 | 31 | 69.8 | 59% |
| Haaland (A) | 25 | 74 | 79.6 | 52% |
| Saka (H) | 23.6 | 26 | 96.1 | 33% |
| Salah (A) | 30.1 | 45 | 121.2 | 50% |
| Watkins (A) | 31.4 | 83 | 199.7 | 63% |
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How have their opponents fared defensively in 2024/25?
Assessing the opposition defences, Leicester already look like they are struggling - indeed, they rank bottom among all sides for conceding shots in the box, shots from set-pieces and headed shots.
The Crystal Palace and West Ham numbers are relatively similar, although the one point of note is perhaps that three quarters (21 of 28) of all the shots the Eagles have conceded have come from inside the box, compared with the Hammers’ 62 per cent.
As a result, Palace have allowed their opponents eight shots on target, whereas West Ham have conceded five.
Opposition defences, 2024/25
| Player | Shots conceded | Show in box conceded | Shots on target conceded |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Ham | 29 | 18 | 5 |
| Leicester | 33 | 25 | 12 |
| Crystal Palace | 28 | 21 | 8 |
| Man Utd | 24 | 16 | 6 |
| Brighton | 20 | 14 | 4 |
So, who is the best captain?
There’s little to separate Palmer and Haaland and there would be no surprise if they both racked up yet another huge haul this weekend.
The former’s all-round potential just about gives him the edge, with his Man City rival’s lack of creativity the determining factor.
Although Salah’s statistics are also encouraging, his visit to Old Trafford is surely enough to look elsewhere, making Saka the best option if you’re willing to overlook Palmer and Haaland. While Leicester's numbers also lift the appeal of Watkins, the forward's own stats are enough of a deterrent for now.