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Captain Tips For Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 5

It’s form vs fixture vs odds in this week’s captain tips for Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 5. We compare Ibrahimovic, Costa, Lukaku, Sanchez, Vardy, Benteke and Kane to reveal who is the best captaincy option.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the favourite for the armband last game week with 35% of FPL managers opting for the United striker. His goal in the Manchester derby was enough to keep those who selected him happy… at least for Saturday night.

Diego Costa (7%) stole the show on Sunday with a brace and 24 point return against Swansea, much to the dismay of the 13% who opted for teammate Eden Hazard.

It didn’t stop there though. Romelu Lukaku proved himself as the best choice for the armband following his Monday night hat-trick against Sunderland. It would have been a shrewd move captaining him, but those who did were rewarded with 34 point haul.

In this article, @FPLSteve is going to analyse recent form, opposition difficulty and the bookies odds to reach a verdict on which player is the most rounded captaincy choice for Gameweek 5.

Which player is in the best form?

# Player PPG Goals Assists 1 Ibrahimovic 7.25 4 0 2 Costa 6.75 4 1 3 Lukaku 6.33 3 0 4 Sanchez 5.5 1 2 5 Vardy 4.5 2 0 5 Benteke 4.5 1 0 7 Kane 3.75 1 1

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has hit the ground running for Manchester United and currently leads the standings for strikers after scoring four goals in four games, including a brace against Southampton.

Chelsea’s Diego Costa also did a stellar job as Sergio Aguero’s replacement with a brace and 12 points against Swansea last week to put him on four in four as well, while Romelu Lukaku got off the mark with a hat-trick against Sunderland.

Alexis Sanchez exploded with 16 points against Watford in Gameweek 3 but has failed to register returns in any other games, while Jamie Vardy has carried on last season’s form with two goals in four games.

Christian Benteke found the net on his second start for Crystal Palace while Harry Kane, notoriously slow to start, has ticked over with a goal and assist in the opening four game weeks.

Which player has the easiest fixture in Gameweek 5?

# Player Vs Goals Conceded Big Chances Conceded 1 Benteke STO (H) 10 10 2 Ibrahimovic WAT (A) 8 7 3 Kane SUN (H) 8 7 4 Costa LIV (H) 7 4 5 Vardy BRN (H) 5 6 6 Lukaku MID (H) 4 3 7 Sanchez HUL (A) 3 7

Benteke’s owners will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing bottom of the league Stoke, who have also leaked the most goals in the league. This, coupled with the amount of chances Palace can create for the Belgian, could be a recipe for goals.

Ibrahimovic looks like he could be fixture-proof after finding the net against rivals Manchester City last weekend, yet his owners will be excited at the prospect of the Swede facing a Watford side who appear to have lost some of their defensive resilience under Walter Mazzarri. Similarly, Harry Kane faces a leaky Sunderland defence that have conceded seven big chances.

Diego Costa arguably has the toughest fixture. Chelsea face Liverpool on Friday in what could be a tight affair and while the Reds have already conceded seven goals, they have only allowed four big chances, suggesting clear-cut chances could be at a premium.

Romelu Lukaku’s Everton host a Middlesbrough side who have been surprisingly resilient in their return to the Premier League. They have only allowed three big chances and conceded four goals, although two of those came in their last game against Crystal Palace.

Finally Alexis Sanchez will be hoping to fire against a Hull side that have kept two clean sheets and almost held United in Gameweek 3. They have arguably been a tad fortunate to have conceded 3 goals after allowing seven big chances, so it will be interesting to see how Arsenal fare.

Who is the bookies favourite to score in Gameweek 5?

# Player Odds To Score Implied Chance 1 Ibrahimovic 8/11 57.89% 2 Sanchez 5/6 54.55% 2 Kane 5/6 54.55% 4 Lukaku 13/10 43.48% 5 Costa 7/5 41.67% 5 Vardy 7/5 41.67% 5 Benteke 7/5 41.67%

Ibrahimovic is the bookies favourite to add to his four goals with a 57.89% implied chance of scoring. Sanchez and Kane tie at 54.55%, with the return of Moussa Dembele increasing the Spurs man’s appeal.

Romelu Lukaku comes in slightly lower with only a 43.48% chance of scoring. A potentially tricky fixture for Costa sees him given a 41.67% chance of scoring – the same as Vardy and Benteke – despite being joint-top scorer.

Who is the best captaincy option for Gameweek 5?

# Player Form Fixture Odds Total 1 Ibrahimovic 1 2 1 4 2 Benteke 5 1 5 11 2 Costa 2 4 5 11 4 Kane 7 3 2 12 5 Lukaku 3 6 4 13 5 Sanchez 4 7 2 13 7 Vardy 5 5 5 15

Zlatan Ibrahimovic appears to be the best bet for those wanting to play it safe this weekend. The Swede has found the net in three of his four games and has a relatively easy fixture on paper. He also sits in 63% of teams, meaning not captaining him could be a risk.

For those looking for a differential Christian Benteke may well be the man. Benteke has only played two games and faces the easiest fixture. On top of that, he is in a Palace side geared towards crossing the ball and may profit with his aerial ability. Despite this, he only sits in 5.3% of teams.

Diego Costa is also a decent bet and is currently in lethal form. His goal potential is tempered however by a difficult fixture and propensity for picking up bookings and missing out on BPS.

Harry Kane sits 4th in our list but could be set for a rise should things click for him against Sunderland, especially as Spurs scored four at Stoke last time out. Lukaku and Sanchez’s averages are skewed by massive returns in previous weeks (17 and 16 points respectively), therefore captaining them is a risk.

Jamie Vardy sits at the bottom of the list. The Leicester man is often good for a goal and has the outside chance of grabbing assists from drawing fouls.

Captaincy Competition:

Congratulations to tommass4 who was our Gameweek 4 highest scorer. All three of his players delivered returns in some capacity, though Lukaku stole the show with 34 points thanks to his hat-trick against Sunderland. Tommass4’s overall score of 58 is the highest yet and he currently tops our overall leaderboard with 110 points. Look out for his predictions this week as he clearly knows his stuff!

To enter, comment below with a best bet, differential (less than 5% ownership) and defender pick. The player with the highest five game week scores at the end of the season will win our top secret prize.