Gameweek 10 was less frustrating than the previous week in terms of captaincy, though an underwhelming feeling still lingered as De Bruyne, Salah, Mane and Abraham all chipped in with returns, but none hit a double-figure points total.

The silver lining was Raheem Sterling, who bounced back with an 11-point haul having managed just 19 points in his last five gameweeks. A particularly big well done to all those who bit the bullet and stuck the captaincy on Jamie Vardy, who was aided massively by Bertrand’s stupidity.

For Gameweek 11, I would strongly recommend captaining one of your Man City or Liverpool assets. They are easily the best two sides in the league, and the most potent in attack. Combine this with the two most attractive fixtures of the weekend and it’s obviously risky to even contemplate looking elsewhere.

In my opinion, there are three candidates for captaincy in each squad. I have ranked them in order of preference, to help you confirm your initial thoughts or else make that all-importantl decision.

Best Man City Captain For Gameweek 11

Man City vs Southampton

#1 Raheem Sterling £12.1m

Southampton are on the ropes right now. Their manager is under pressure, they’ve slipped into the relegation zone and they are reshuffling their defence every wee. Unlike Aston Villa, who we will discuss later.

Sterling has recorded 10 multiple attacking returns for club and country in 2019. I mentioned last week that he is the definition of a high ceiling offensive player who can haul at any moment.

Of the 11 players who managed double-figure returns in Gameweek 10, Sterling had the highest xFPL points (11.08), excluding Jamie Vardy (11.72). His expected returns were bang on (credit to FFFix) and, impressively, he almost matched the striker who played 14 more minutes and 78 of these against 10 men.

#2 Kevin De Bruyne £10.2m

Kevin De Bruyne remains ‘the most involved’ player in the Premier League. He has 12 attacking returns despite playing significantly less minutes (693) than the other top points scorers this season – Sterling (790), Salah (792), Mane (786), Vardy (900).

Yes Southampton lost a man early on in the Leicester City whipping, the way they capitulated was worrying. It’s almost like they used the Bertrand sending off as an excuse not to even attempt to defend properly – even if they were allowed 15 players on Saturday, I’d put money on Man City carving through them.

The man who can open up the gaps and expose their defensive frailties once more is Kevin De Bruyne. Southampton will likely sit back and try to stay compact in the early stages, but just one incisive move and finish from City will open the floodgates for them and kick-start a downwards spiral amongst Saints fans and their manager.

#3 Sergio Aguero £12.1m

The third option from Man City is the riskiest, but has the potential for huge returns. If you have the bottle in trusting Pep Guardiola’s spin the bottle landing on Sergio Aguero, then fair play, but please don’t rant when he’s not in the Starting XI…you know the risks!

Talking about Sergio Aguero’s record against his upcoming opposition is almost unfair at this stage. He’s basically scored multiple times against every Premier League opponent, though if you’re into that, he scored a goal and assist in this fixture last season and also found the net in the away fixture to Hasenhuttl’s dismay.

If he starts, and there’s big question marks around that ‘if’, this fixture and Aguero’s history provides the best hat-trick potential of the weekend. If you own Sterling and Aguero, I would advise captaining Sterling if you’re relatively happy with your rank and Aguero if you’re looking for a moment of madness…sorry, I meant magic!

Best Liverpool Captain For Gameweek 11

Aston Villa vs Liverpool

#1 Mohamed Salah £12.4m

Salah scored the winning penalty against Spurs and picked up seven points in Gameweek 10, but looking at his number of attempts throughout the match, his owners could even feel slightly hard done by. Likewise, his non-owners might well be dabbing their foreheads in relief.

Although his xG was very low (0.38) when removing his penalty, he racked up seven goal attempts, five of which were on target. In the last two gameweeks, Aston Villa rank worst for shots conceded (45) and shots conceded from inside the box (32).

Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last four home fixtures, but are yet to play any of the top six. For a taste of how they fare against top six opposition, they have conceded nine times in their three fixtures versus them this season – Tottenham (3), Arsenal (3) and Man City (3).

Both rested and refreshed ahead of the weekend, Mane vs. Salah is a tough call this week, though penalty duty and the sheer number of his attempts in recent weeks pushes Salah to number 1 spot.

#2 Sadio Mane £11.9m

There is a lot of love for Mane’s away from this season, and he has in fact recorded 10 more points than Salah on the road. With that said, he has actually scored less points (7), than Salah (8) in Liverpool’s last three away gameweeks, in which Salah only featured in two.

My preference often swings between Mane and Salah according to the fixture and, more often than not, Mane gets the nod against more adventurous opposition who encourage an open game. Salah, meanwhile, is more adept at breaking down a defence who attempts to shield their goal.

That being said, Mane has already returned versus Southampton, Burnley and Newcastle this season. These three have attempted to stifle Liverpool’s forwards rather than attack a somewhat leaky defence at that stage.

#3 Trent Alexander-Arnold £7.2m

‘Kevin De Bruyne at right back’ was Jamie Carragher’s take on the England youngster last weekend. You can’t argue that he has the best delivery in the Premier League alongside De Bruyne, but can you realistically captain a defender with the competition at hand?

Alexander-Arnold has been on the peripheral of my captaincy article all season, having attempted the most assists (37) and creating the second-most big chances (8) this season. Of defenders, he also has the most goal attempts (12) and two big chances, but only one goal to his name.

His crossing ability is outrageous and he is not afraid to take the initiative to cross early or else float balls over the top for runners or Andy Robertson bombing forward on the opposite flank. With Alisson back, Liverpool have a high probability of a clean sheet and if he can build onto this, I can see him surpassing Salah and Mane’s return.