Hugo Ekitike (£8.9m) and Matheus Cunha (£8.0m) have the form and favourable home fixtures to outscore Erling Haaland (£15.1m) in Gameweek 18 of Fantasy Premier League.
Liverpool's Ekitike has scored five goals and collected 35 points in the last three Gameweeks, after securing a regular starting role up front.
He now has a home match against a Wolverhampton Wanderers side who are yet to keep a clean sheet in 2025/26 and have conceded a league-high 37 goals.
Manchester United's Cunha has also produced attacking returns in each of the last three Gameweeks, after recovering from injury.
The Brazilian faces a Newcastle United side who are without a clean sheet in their last 10 matches across all competitions.
Haaland certainly has the toughest fixture of the trio, with Manchester City visiting Nottingham Forest.
But with hauls of 14, 13 and 16 points over the last four Gameweeks alone, going against the Norwegian is becoming an increasingly risky tactic.
Who's in the best form?
Haaland and his team-mate Phil Foden (£9.0m) have been the top performers in Fantasy over the last four Gameweeks.
The Norwegian has scored five goals and supplied a further three assists to collect 45 points in that period - just two more than Foden.
When it comes to points per start (pps), though, Ekitike's captaincy potential is very much in evidence here. Having only started the last three Gameweeks, his average of 11.7pps even eclipses the 11.3 of Haaland.
Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers (£7.2m) has kept pace with four goals and an assist, including back-to-back 15-point returns in the last two Gameweeks.
Leeds United's Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Fulham's Harry Wilson (both £5.8m) have been the big budget successes for managers in Fantasy.
Over the last five Gameweeks, Calvert-Lewin has scored six goals, while Wilson has scored three and assisted a further four.
Top-scoring players, last four Gameweeks
| Player | Goals | Assists | Pts/start | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haaland | 5 | 3 | 11.3 | 45 |
| Foden | 4 | 1 | 10.8 | 43 |
| Rogers | 4 | 1 | 9.5 | 38 |
| Calvert-Lewin | 5 | 0 | 9.3 | 37 |
| Ekitike | 5 | 0 | 11.7 | 36 |
| Wilson | 2 | 4 | 8.5 | 34 |
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Who's had the most attacking threat?
A delve into the underlying data only serves to highlight the risk of going against Haaland.
He has had a league-high eight big chances - situations where a player is expected to score - over the last four Gameweeks.
The Norwegian has also created three more such opportunities for his team-mates, which essentially means he has been involved in a total of 11 big chances in this period - five more than any other player.
Calvert-Lewin, Cunha and Ekitike's goal threat is also evident. Along with Haaland, they occupy the top four spots for both shots in the box and big chances (BC).
The potency of Man City's front three right now is also underlined by the inclusion of both Foden and Rayan Cherki (£6.6m) in the table below, with the pair tied on five big-chance involvements.
Arsenal pair Declan Rice (£7.2m) and Bukayo Saka (£10.3m) also feature, with the latter boasting a greater goal threat by nine shots in the box to two.
Most big-chance involvements, last four Gameweeks
| Player | Shots in box | BC | BC created | BC inv. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haaland | 14 | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| Calvert-Lewin | 13 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Cunha | 15 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Gordon | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Ekitike | 12 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Watkins | 9 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Foden | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Rice | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Cherki | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Saka | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
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Who's facing the weakest defence?
Wolves' numbers could barely be more encouraging for Ekitike here, with their 17 big chances conceded over the last four Gameweeks the worst in the league.
By contrast, Haaland's opponents Nottingham Forest have the joint-best record over the same period, conceding only four big chances.
Saka and Rice also look well-placed to deliver against Brighton & Hove Albion, who sit third-worst for big chances conceded on 14.
Meanwhile, Rogers and Wilson - if the latter is passed fit - have the momentum to profit from the frailties of their respective opponents Chelsea and West Ham United.
Most big chances conceded, last four Gameweeks
| Club | Goals conc. | Clean sheets | Big chances conc. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolves | 9 | 0 | 17 |
| West Ham | 8 | 0 | 15 |
| Brighton | 7 | 1 | 14 |
| Chelsea | 5 | 2 | 13 |
| Aston Villa | 7 | 0 | 12 |
| Brentford | 5 | 1 | 12 |
| Fulham | 9 | 1 | 12 |
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So, who is the best captain for Gameweek 18?
The recent additions of Foden and Cherki as regulars in Man City's front three seem to have taken Haaland to another level.
While his peerless goal threat is more or less expected, his improved creativity makes it impossible to go against him at the moment.
But if you're willing to look elsewhere, Ekitike ticks every box you'd want. The underlying numbers suggest both that the Frenchman can maintain his recent output and that Wolves' defence will give him every chance of getting more goals.
Cunha's huge goal threat, which is also likely to be lifted by penalty and free-kick duties in the absence of both Bruno Fernandes (£9.3m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£8.1m), suggests he looks set for another successful Gameweek.