Welcome to the latest article in a new series for the 2020/21 Fantasy Premier League season from @FPL_Heisenberg for FPL Bet. In this weekly series, Heisenberg will be looking into the best captaincy options, as well as ‘outside of the box' captaincy choices for each Gameweek. Heisenberg has a proven track record in FPL, having finished inside the top 32k in each of the last 6 seasons, including a best finish of 836th. Let's cook!
Gameweek 22 Captains:
Mo Salah (Fixture: Brighton, Home)
Mo Salah faces Brighton at home in Gameweek 22 following on from an impressive brace away at West Ham. Salah is yet again a top-pick for captaincy this Gameweek, especially as his home record is phenomenal. His season-long form is strong, with 15 goals and 4 assists in the league so far.
He's been consistently performing well in all the key metrics such as creating chances, shots on target, shots in the box, expected assists and expected goals and I have no doubt this will continue this Gameweek. Furthermore, as Mo is on penalties, that is another route to points too.
It'll be interesting to see if Mane is fit, as Salah tends to score more with Mane not in the team. Could we see Mo build on his brace in Gameweek 21? Those who captain him will certainly hope so.
Raheem Sterling (Fixture: Burnley, Away)
With Sterling getting a full rest at home to Sheffield United in Gameweek 21, this makes him an ideal captaincy pick in Gameweek 22, as he has most-likely had his rest now (although you can never fully predict Pep!).
An away fixture against Burnley could be tough as Sean Dyche's men will be organised defensively, but Burnley always have the potential for a defensive collapse against City, which would benefit Manchester City's number 7. Will Man City be able to kick on further and build upon their free-scoring performances in both the league and cup? For those captaining Sterling, they'll sure hope so.
However, there's an argument to go for the Englishman's City teammate, Portuguese international Joao Cancelo who is also capable of big hauls.
Joao Cancelo (Fixture: Burnley, Away)
Another Man City asset who got a rest in Gameweek 21, making it much more likely that he'll start away to Burnley. The creative Man City defender is only selected by under 21% of FPL players at the time of writing, and will be a huge captain differential, with your mini-league rivals likely to captain one of the midfield or forward options.
The Portuguese has been performing very well recently, getting plenty of shots away and performing well creatively too. I tipped him in my Gameweek 20 article and he proved me right with a 17 point haul away at West Brom.
He's part of a team that has the best defence in the league, so the chances of a clean sheet are high, especially as they are playing Burnley side that don't score too many goals. A clean sheet plus an attacking return (which is a very realistic scenario) would almost certainly guarantee a double-digit haul from Cancelo.
‘Outside of the Box' captains:
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Fixture: Leeds, Away)
After a great start to the season, Dominic Calvert-Lewin went off the radar following some blanks and then an injury. He also blanked in a nice fixture in Gameweek 21 at home to Newcastle.
However, in terms of the underlying statistics at the start of the season, he was top for non-penalty expected goals for all players in the league. He was getting himself into the positions where he's most likely to score goals, in the central areas of the penalty area, with most of his goals being one touch finishes � something he and Ancelotti have been working hard on.
His output suffered recently when Lucas Digne, Richarlison and James Rodriguez all missed games through injury. With those players now back in the game, supplying chances to Calvert-Lewin he should have an increased chance to score goals.
Everton are away to a team who score and concede plenty of goals, so this could be a good fixture for Calvert-Lewin to excel in.
Patrick Bamford (Fixture: Everton, Home)
Although the Leeds centre-forward is currently selected by around 47% of FPL players at the time of writing, he will be a huge captain differential, with your mini-league rivals likely to captain one of the premium assets like Salah.
The Englishman has had a great season so far, with 11 goals and 7 assists, playing in a team who see plenty of action in both penalty areas! In terms of the underlying statistics he's top of all players for non-penalty expected goals in the league this season.
Leeds are facing Everton fresh off a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle. I cannot see them being able to stop Bamford and co scoring at least 2 goals, hopefully Bamford can be involved in the goals that do inevitably flow.
Thanks for reading the latest article in this captaincy series from FPL Heisenberg, be sure to follow @FPLBet and @FPL_Heisenberg on Twitter so that you don't miss the weekly article. Agree or disagree with these captaincy picks? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!
