If you are willing to take a risk and go against Erling Haaland (£14.8m) for the captaincy in Gameweek 10 of Fantasy Premier League, Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.7m) and Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) can offer managers a solution.
Crystal Palace's Mateta boasts strong home form ahead of his encounter with Brentford.
The Frenchman scored a hat-trick and collected his season-high haul of 17 points against AFC Bournemouth in his previous league appearance at Selhurst Park.
Saka's many routes to returns raises his appeal for Arsenal's visit to Burnley. The Gunners are expected to dominate possession at Turf Moor due to their hosts' low-block tactics, which could allow them plenty of scoring opportunities.
The winger's share of set-pieces, added to the likelihood of him still being on penalties, offer the chance of a major haul on Saturday afternoon.
Haaland, nonetheless, has the form and fixture to extend his prolific start to the 2025/26 campaign.
Manchester City's forward has scored twice in each of his last three at the Etihad Stadium, averaging 14.0 points per match in those contests.
Sunday's opponents Bournemouth - as mentioned above - have just conceded three goals to Mateta in their last away match.
Added to his 68 per cent ownership, Haaland's recent output in home matches makes him the very best pick for the captaincy in Gameweek 10.
Watch experts reveal their captain picks
Who's most likely to score or assist?
Mateta's argument as the best alternative to Haaland could barely be any clearer here.
Over the last four Gameweeks, the Palace forward has not only matched his strike rival with 16 shots in the box, he has been involved in more big chances - which are situations where the player is expected to score - than any other player in Fantasy.
Mateta has had 11 big chances of his own and created one of them, which means he has been involved in 12 big chances in this spell.
Palace's weekend visitors Brentford have two form picks of their own, with Igor Thiago (£6.2m) and Dango Ouattara (£6.0m) both ranked in the top five for big-chance involvement.
Newcastle United forward Nick Woltemade (£7.5m) and Manchester United's Bryan Mbeumo (£8.2m) have enjoyed successful recent spells ahead of their matches against West Ham United and Nottingham Forest respectively.
Both have three goals and just one blank in their previous four outings, with Mbeumo having the slight edge by one assist to zero.
Notably, Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah (£14.3m) and Cody Gakpo (£7.6m) also catch the eye, despite the Reds' poor form.
Attacking threat, last four Gameweeks
| Player | Shots in box | Big chances | Big chances created | Big-chance inv. |
| Mateta | 16 | 11 | 1 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thiago | 13 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Haaland | 16 | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| Salah | 11 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Dango | 10 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Woltemade | 9 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Mbeumo | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Gakpo | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
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Who's facing the most out-of-form defence?
As shown in the table below, there are 10 clubs who have conceded at least 11 big chances over the last four Gameweeks.
And it's fair to say their opponents have been profiting from those frailties - between them, those 10 clubs have managed a mere four clean sheets.
Among the players listed in the table above, Woltemade and Mbeumo's growing ownerships will take encouragement from their opposition numbers.
Woltemade faces a West Ham side who are among the bottom two teams for conceding headed shots and shots from set-pieces across Gameweeks 6-9. Notably, the German ranks joint-top and top for those two statistics for Newcastle since making his debut in Gameweek 4.
Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, have conceded an average of two goals per match during this spell ahead of hosting Man Utd and Mbeumo. The Cameroonian's 23 shots, 18 shots in the box and six big chances are all team-leading totals.
Due to a particularly tough opening schedule, Palace's poor run of displays at the back are also in evidence here, which could allow Thiago and Ouattara the chance to make their mark as budget picks.
Burnley's weakness at defending set-pieces highlights why some managers are looking to captain Arsenal centre-back Gabriel (£6.5m) in Gameweek 10.
The Clarets have allowed 21 headed shots across Gameweeks 6-9, more than any other side, which could be tailor-made for the Brazilian. Gabriel boasts very strong form ahead of Saturday's encounter, too - he's returned at least nine points in five of the last six Gameweeks.
Burnley have also allowed their opponents more shots and shots on target, underlining Saka's big potential for goals and assists.
Team defensive stats, last four Gameweeks
| Club | Goals conc. | Clean sheets | Headed shots conc. | Big chances conc. |
| Liverpool | 9 | 0 | 15 | 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everton | 7 | 0 | 11 | 16 |
| Crystal Palace | 7 | 0 | 9 | 15 |
| Burnley | 9 | 1 | 21 | 14 |
| Chelsea | 6 | 1 | 10 | 14 |
| Man Utd | 6 | 1 | 14 | 14 |
| Nottingham Forest | 8 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| Bournemouth | 6 | 1 | 10 | 11 |
| Fulham | 9 | 0 | 5 | 11 |
| West Ham | 7 | 0 | 18 | 11 |
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So, who is the best captaincy alternative to Haaland?
Mateta's underlying numbers are simply too good to ignore. Crucially, Palace have had 33 big chances - more than any other side - and as the focal point of their attack, his owners will be expecting another big return.
While both Woltemade and Mbeumo could be poised for another productive weekend, Arsenal's visit to Burnley looks the likeliest to reward managers.
Due to the huge number of shots that Burnley are conceding, it's Saka who could emerge as their best pick at Turf Moor.