Arsenal star handed the armband by over one million managers ahead of home match against bottom side Wolves
More than one million Fantasy Premier League managers have captained Bukayo Saka (£10.2m) for Arsenal’s appealing home fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers, his biggest backing in 68 Gameweeks.
Wolves have conceded a league-high 33 goals and Saka has scored in three of his last four appearances against them, bagging a 12-point return in the corresponding fixture last season.
However, the omens aren’t ALL good. The last time Saka was captained in greater numbers was for Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Crystal Palace in Gameweek 21 of the 2023/24 season, when Saka wasn’t involved in ANY of the goals.
Erling Haaland (£15.0m) remains the most-popular captain choice, despite 1.7m fewer managers handing him the armband than in Gameweek 15.
Manchester City travel to Crystal Palace, an opponent Haaland has done very well against in the past. The Norwegian boasts a flawless record against Oliver Glasner’s side, having scored in each of his previous four Premier League meetings with them, averaging 9.5 points per match.
GW16 most-captained players
Player
Captained by
Pts
Haaland
5,642,190
–
Saka
1,094,344
–
Salah
853,758
6
The third most-popular captain, Mohamed Salah (£14.0m), supplied an assist after coming on as a first-half substitute in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion, his first attacking returns since Gameweek 10.
He now departs for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and looks set to miss at least two Gameweeks, depending on Egypt’s progress in the tournament.
Three players bought by more than one million managers
For just the second time this season, three players have been transferred in by more than 1m managers each.
GW16 most-bought players
Player
Bought by
Pts
Foden
1,750,069
–
Thiago
1,589,697
–
Fernandes
1,059,317
–
Phil Foden (£8.7m) is the No 1 transfer target for the second successive Gameweek, having totalled 44 points across his last three matches.
In contrast to Haaland, however, Foden doesn’t have a particularly good record against Palace, having never scored against them. Indeed, his seven previous appearances against the Eagles have yielded just two assists.
Brentford’s Igor Thiago (£7.1m) has been recruited by over 1.5m for Sunday’s meeting with Leeds United at the Gtech Community Stadium. Thiago has scored seven goals at home this season, a tally bettered only by Haaland.
Bruno Fernandes (£9.2m) is the third player to be snapped up by more than 1m people, with Manchester United hosting AFC Bournemouth in the final match of the Gameweek.
The Portuguese registered the best score of Gameweek 15 with an 18-point haul away to Wolves, equalling his second-best return in Fantasy.
