Hugo Ekitike (£9.1m) has the form and fixture to outscore Erling Haaland (£15.1m) with the captaincy in Gameweek 19 of Fantasy Premier League.
Liverpool's Frenchman is the top-scoring player in Fantasy over the last four Gameweeks. Handed a regular role up front, Ekitike has scored five goals and supplied an assist to claim 40 points in that spell.
Encouragingly for his 34 per cent owners, Ekitike scored twice to collect 13 points against his midweek visitors Leeds United as recently as Gameweek 15.
Manchester City's Haaland has four goals, an assist and 33 points to his name in the last four Gamweeks ahead of his visit to Sunderland.
The table below highlights the midfielders and forwards in Fantasy who produced at least 30 points across Gameweeks 15-18.
Leeds' Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.8m) mirrored the five goals of Ekitike ahead of their head-to-head at Anfield. Haaland's team-mate Rayan Cherki (£6.7m) was the top-scoring midfielder, with a goal, four assists and 35 points.
Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers (£7.4m) has scored four goals to equal the 33 points of Haaland in that spell, while Fulham's Harry Wilson (£5.8m) combined two goals and three assist to blank on only one occasion.
Top-scoring midfielders and forwards, last four Gameweeks
| Player | Goals | Assists | Blanks | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ekitike | 5 | 1 | 0 | 40 |
| Calvert-Lewin | 5 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| Cherki | 1 | 4 | 1 | 35 |
| Haaland | 4 | 1 | 2 | 33 |
| Rogers | 4 | 0 | 2 | 33 |
| Wilson | 2 | 3 | 1 | 31 |
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Who's had the most attacking threat?
A delve into the underlying data highlights the dangers of going against Haaland.
He's had a league-high seven big chances - situations where a player is expected to score - over the last four Gameweeks. The Man City talisman has also created one such situation for his team-mate, which means he was involved in a total of eight big chances in this spell.
Ekitike and Manchester United's Matheus Cunha (£8.1m) also catch the eye. They are identical on five big chances and one big chance created, while they ranked first and second respectively for shots in the box in this period.
Cherki and Arsenal's Bukayo Saka (£10.3m) have also posted strong numbers.
Cherki's six big chances created are at least twice the number of any rival in the table below.
Saka has notably upped his goal threat, with 14 shots in the box claiming joint-second with Cunha.
Most big-chance involvements, last four Gameweeks
| Player | Shots in box | BC | BC created | BC inv. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haaland | 11 | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| Calvert-Lewin | 11 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| Ekitike | 15 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Cunha | 14 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Schade | 8 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Gordon | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Cherki | 5 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Watkins | 9 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Jimenez | 9 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Rogers | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Saka | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Semenyo | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
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Who is facing the weakest defence?
Cunha's prospects certainly take a boost ahead of Man Utd's home match with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Brazilian's former club conceded a hefty 16 big chances over Gameweeks 15-18, essentially allowing their opponents four gilt-edged scoring opportunites per match.
AFC Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo (£7.7m) is another player who features in the table above and is facing a weak defence. His hosts Chelsea have also conceded 16 big chances in the last four Gameweeks, an indication they've been lucky to claim two clean sheets.
Similarly, Villa's data could also help Saka to another haul in their head-to-head at Emirates Stadium. Unai Emery's side are among the six who have conceded more than 10 big chances in this period.
Most big chances conceded, last four Gameweeks
| Club | Goals conc. | Clean sheets | Big chances conc. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolves | 10 | 0 | 16 |
| Chelsea | 4 | 2 | 16 |
| West Ham | 8 | 0 | 13 |
| Brighton | 5 | 1 | 12 |
| Brentford | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| Aston Villa | 5 | 0 | 11 |
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So, who is the best captain for Gameweek 19?
Ekitike and Cunha look the best alternatives to Haaland for the captaincy.
Ekitike’s underlying numbers back up his recent form in Fantasy and, with no blanks in his last four, the Liverpool star has the momentum to offer the biggest threat to Haaland.
Wolves’ data also gives Cunha every chance of a successful Gameweek and he is also expected to be on penalties and free-kicks.
Nonetheless, Haaland’s peerless goal threat is still very much in evidence above and with Cherki adding so much creativity to the Man City attack, the Norwegian remains the most likely to reward your armband faith.