FPL GW16 Best Captain: Palmer, Salah, Haaland & More
Following another midweek round of European action, we’re having a look at the best captaincy picks ahead of this weekend’s fixtures. Here are our best choices ahead of FPL GW16.
Our surprise pick for GW15 was Aston Villa attacker Morgan Rogers; even though his side secured a 1-0 victory, Rogers was unable to find the net.
It was a composed performance from Unai Emery’s side, as they looked in control for large parts of the match.
Let’s hope our surprise pick for GW16 gets among the goals on Saturday afternoon!
FPL GW16 Best Captain Options: The Usual Suspects
Bukayo Saka (10.5m) – Expected Points: 7.27
After the disappointment of his late winner being ruled out for offside last week, Bukayo Saka responded by scoring twice in Arsenal’s midweek victory over Monaco.  The winger is in unstoppable form at the minute and is undoubtedly the Gunners most dangerous attacking threat.
In the Premier League, the England international has failed to contribute to a goal in his last 2 appearances but will see this weekend’s home tie with Everton as a perfect opportunity to get back among the goals.
With matches to come against Crystal Palace, Ipswich & Brentford in a busy festive period, Mikel Arteta will expect to rack up points as they look to chase down league leaders Liverpool.
And with a player of Saka’s class in top form at the minute, they will hope to take advantage as much as possible. It’s hard to look past the 23-year-old when pondering who to trust with your captain’s armband head of GW16.
Mo Salah (13.3m) – Expected points: 7.64
Having scored in his last 7 Premier League games, Mo Salah is a man on fire. After overtaking City’s Erling Haaland in the race for the golden boot, the Egyptian will no doubt want to continue his red-hot form.
His record against this weekend’s opponents, Fulham, is impressive; he is unbeaten in his last 4 starts, with 2 goals and 1 assist included during that time.
Talks continue to circulate if the League’s top scorer will be at Anfield next season. Liverpool fans are desperate for the goal machine to extend his contract with the club, with the situation continuing to drag on.
In his current form, Salah has to be at the top of the list of priorities to have in your FPL team, and giving the captaincy ahead of GW16 is not out of the question either.
Cole Palmer (11.1m) – Expected Points: 7.67
Despite only lining up against fellow Londoners Brentford twice for Chelsea, Cole Palmer is yet to secure a victory against Thomas Frank’s Bees.
He has also failed to score on both occasions but is coming into this week’s clash in scintillating form. The 22-year-old has hit the back of the net in his last 3 Premier League appearances and bagged a brace in last weekend’s convincing 4-2 victory over Tottenham.
There’s no doubt he is in the conversation as the best player in the league this season, what City would do to have a player of his class in-form at the minute.
The calmness under pressure he has shown at times this season is staggering given his age and experience playing in the league. He seems to have taken the mantle of Chelsea’s main man like a duck to water.
He will be eyeing up a first win against Brentford this weekend.
Erling Haaland (14.9m) – Expected points: 5.97
The majority of Manchester City’s stars will still have nightmares about their FA Cup Final defeat to their neighbours Manchester United. 7 months on, they get the opportunity to erase some of those memories when they took on the Red Devils in the first Manchester Derby of the season.
City are going through a capitulation at the moment; they have 1 win in their last 10 and Pep Guardiola’s side looks like a shadow of the team that dominated domestically for the past 4 seasons.
The injury to Balon D’Or winner Rodri was a huge blow, but the issues run far deeper than the loss of their influential central defensive midfielder.
Haaland has struggled for consistency and has only scored 2 in his last 6 Premier League appearances, a disappointing return for the 2-time Golden Boot winner.
The fixtures don’t get easier for City as they travel to Villa Park to take on high-flying Aston Villa next weekend too. At times like these, the Norwegian will hope to hit form and pull his teammates out of the rut they find themselves in.
He has a good record against United, however, having lined up against them 7 times with 6 goals to his name.
FPL GW15 Best Captain Options: The Surprise Pick
Harvey Barnes – Expected points: 2.7
Despite struggling for consistency, Newcastle have stuttered to 12th place in the league and are only 7 points off Champions League qualification after a far-from-convincing beginning to the season.
Barnes has found it hard to nail down a starting spot this season but has begun to find some form over the last few weeks and scored his first goal since November 10th in last weekend’s 4-2 defeat to Brentford.
Even though it was a disappointing result for the Magpies, there were signs throughout that they may be returning to their best, approaching a very busy period domestically.
There’s no doubt that when on form, Barnes is one of the most dangerous wingers in the league, but there’s been very few occasions he’s shown that form so far this season.
We feel the form that he has shown at times during the last few seasons is not far away, and this weekend may be the right time to bring him into your FPL team. He will also have a point to prove against his former club.
About The Author
