Cole Palmer (£10.5m) and Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) are set to battle it out for the captain's armband for millions of managers in the opening Gameweek of 2025/26 Fantasy Premier League.
The midfield pair are the first and third most-owned players ahead of the Gameweek 1 deadline at 18:30 BST on Friday 15 August.
Chelsea's Palmer is selected by 60 per cent of managers for the Blues' home meeting with Crystal Palace, while Liverpool's Salah has 53 per cent backing ahead of the Reds' home encounter with AFC Bournemouth on Friday evening.
Certainly, Palmer is the one in form after inspiring Chelsea to the FIFA Club World Cup over the summer.
Salah, on the other hand, has just one goal over Liverpool's summer friendlies, with Liverpool moving to a 4-2-3-1 formation following the signing of Florian Wirtz (£8.5m).
Palmer's new team-mate Joao Pedro (£7.5m) and Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) are also among the most in-form players ahead of the start of the season, with both scoring five goals over the summer.
Who is the most likely to score?
As highlighted by the statistics, Watkins - who is at home to Newcastle United - was a huge goal threat last season when playing at Villa Park.
In home matches, his total of 26 big chances - or situations when the player is expected to score - was more than the COMBINED 24 of Salah and Palmer.
Salah's 56 shots were the lowest of the trio, but the Egyptian was far more clinical with his finishing - he converted 23.2 per cent of his shots, almost double the 11.7 per cent of Palmer.
Palmer did lead the way for total shots, but only 38 of those 77 efforts - just under half - were from inside the box.
Captain candidates' goal threat stats 24/25
| Player | Shots | Shots in box | Goal conversion | Big chances |
| Watkins | 61 | 61 | 14.8% | 26 |
| Salah | 56 | 51 | 23.2% | 14 |
| Palmer | 77 | 38 | 11.7% | 10 |
Who is the most likely to assist?
Palmer and Salah were both far more creative in home matches than the Villa star.
The Chelsea star takes first spot for both chances created and big chances created here, with 51 and 14 respectively.
Salah's numbers for both these statistics are also more than TWICE that of Watkins, who does, nonetheless, finish top of the pile for big chance involvement, with a total of 31.
Captain candidates' creativity stats 24/25
| Player | Chances created | Big chances created | Big chance inv. |
| Watkins | 20 | 5 | 31 |
| Salah | 42 | 12 | 26 |
| Palmer | 51 | 14 | 24 |
So, who is the best captain for Gameweek 1?
While there’s no doubt that Watkins is in fine form and boasts a huge goal threat in home encounters, choosing a captain for Gameweek 1 is all about limiting the risk.
Palmer and Salah’s ownership makes them better options in that respect. It’s worth remembering that as midfielders in Fantasy, they earn more points for goals than Watkins and also collect a point for a clean sheet.
While there’s very little to choose between the midfield pair, the arrival of Wirtz as Liverpool’s playmaker does suggest that Salah’s potential for assists could take a turn for the worse this season.
Palmer, on the other hand, remains central to all of Chelsea’s forays forward, which just about gives him the edge for Gameweek 1.