The Scout assesses the best armband alternatives to Haaland, with Saka and Thiago among the standouts
Bukayo Saka (£10.2m) and Igor Thiago (£7.0m) are among the best alternatives to Erling Haaland (£15.0m) for the captaincy in Gameweek 16 of Fantasy Premier League.
After being rested from Arsenal’s starting line-up in Europe in midweek, Saka is expected to start at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday night.
Wolves are without a clean sheet all season and have conceded 33 goals, the worst defensive record in the league.
Brentford’s Thiago, meanwhile, has scored two goals and earned 13 points in each of his last two home appearances.
The Bees entertain a Leeds United side whose 18 goals conceded in away matches is the third-worst total in the league.
Haaland, on the other hand, looks to have a far tougher task when Manchester City visit their top-four rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.
The Eagles have proven relatively stubborn at Selhurst Park, conceding only seven goals in as many home matches.
Who’s in the best form?
Haaland’s match against Palace also comes at a point where he has suffered his worst form of 2025/26, blanking in three of his last four matches.
That’s in sharp contrast to his Man City team-mate Phil Foden (£8.6m), who is the top-scoring player in Fantasy over the last four Gameweeks.
The England star has five goals, an assist and 46 points across that spell, more than twice the total of Haaland’s 20.
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes (£9.1m) has amassed 35 of his 85 points this season in the last four Gameweeks to climb to the top of the midfielder standings.
Similarly to Saka and Thiago, Fernandes also has a very kind home match on his agenda. His visitors AFC Bournemouth have conceded 19 goals in away matches, second only to the 23 of Burnley.
Top-scoring players compared with Haaland, last four Gameweeks
Player
Goals
Assists
Blanks
Points
Foden
5
1
1
46
Dewsbury-Hall
3
1
1
39
Fernandes
2
3
1
35
Guimaraes
2
2
0
31
Haaland
1
2
3
20
Scroll across on mobile to see the full table
Who’s had the most attacking threat?
Notably, Haaland has now produced four of his five blanks this season in the last six Gameweeks and has clearly been far from his prolific best.
That’s shown in the table below by his number of big chances – situations where a player is expected to score.
While you’d typically expect the Norwegian to lead his rivals by a clear margin, he’s tied at the top with Thiago on eight big chances over the last six Gameweeks.
It should be said that Haaland has also created two such opportunities, which means he has been involved in a total of 10 big chances in this spell, more than any other player in Fantasy.
But when it came to converting their shots, Thiago has been almost twice as clinical as Haaland over the same period.
The Brazilian has scored five goals from 13 shots, which is a 38.5 per cent conversion rate. Haaland, meanwhile, has scored with four of his 20 shots, or 20 per cent.
Saka and Fernandes‘s potential for both goals and assists is in evidence here, with the former matching the eight big-chance involvements of Thiago.
While Foden‘s recent revival is also very clear to see by the big-chance (BC) statistics, there’s an argument that the in-form Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.1m) and Bruno Guimaraes (£6.9m) have greatly overachieved based on their underlying numbers, and that we can omit them from the contenders for the captaincy.
Big-chance involvement, last six Gameweeks
Player
Goal conversion
BC
BC created
BC inv.
Haaland
20.0%
8
2
10
Thiago
38.5%
8
0
8
Saka
11.5%
5
3
8
Fernandes
10.0%
4
4
8
Foden
29.4%
6
1
7
Dewsbury-Hall
33.3%
1
1
2
Guimaraes
22.2%
1
1
2
Scroll across on mobile to see the full table
Who’s facing the weakest defence?
A look at the defensive data of the Gameweek 16 opponents shows why Thiago and Saka can outscore Haaland.
Both Leeds and Wolves are without a clean sheet in their last four matches, conceding nine and eight goals respectively.
They have both conceded an average of three big chances per match in that spell.
Somewhat surprisingly, Bournemouth’s total of only four big chances conceded over Gameweeks 12-15 is the best defensive record in the league.
Fernandes’s underwhelming form at Old Trafford is also worth bearing in mind, with his last eight attacking returns (two goals and six assists) all coming in away matches. Indeed, his last goal or assist in a home match was back in Gameweek 5.
Big chances conceded, last four Gameweeks
Club
Goals conc.
Clean sheets
BC conc.
Leeds
9
0
12
Wolves
8
0
12
Crystal Palace
3
2
8
Bournemouth
6
1
4
Scroll across on mobile to see the full table
So, who is the best captain for Gameweek 16?
Haaland’s dip in form, added to his tougher fixture, suggests it could be worth the risk of going against him this week.
But the Norwegian’s huge 73 per cent ownership should also be factored into your decision-making, and if you are handing the armband to someone else, it’s worth making him your vice-captain.
Certainly, the numbers indicate that Thiago is more likely to score than Saka.
But it’s the Arsenal star’s multiple routes to returns – added to his extra points for goals and clean sheets due to his classification as a midfielder in Fantasy – that give him the edge here.
Notably, Wolves are the league’s worst side for conceding shots from set-pieces since Rob Edwards took charge over the last four Gameweeks.
A visit to Arsenal is the last thing they need right now, with the delivery of Saka and Declan Rice (£7.1m) looking very likely to give their visitors huge problems this weekend.
