Gameweek 8 was a great week for captaincies, because every single captaincy option scored about the same as each other. There was no pain, no FOMO. Everyone blanked.

Some say that the captaincy choice is redundant. They say we’re better off just picking names out of a hat. To them we say “that’s probably fair enough, but here’s some expert analysis from our stats expert Clarke Hutchison anyway.”

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang £11.1m

Sheffield United vs Arsenal

Sheffield United provide a stern test for Arsenal and Aubameyang in Gameweek 9. They have conceded an average of 0.88 goals per game and Chris Wilder has taken to top flight football as quickly as Petr Cech has taken to ice hockey.

In anticipation of the game he said “a night game at Bramall Lane under the lights, it’s something we’re really looking forward to”. Though Aubameyang will take solace in the fact that Sheffield have actually conceded more at home (4) than away (3) this season.

The fixture won’t intimidate him either. Aubameyang has 62% FPL goal involvement this season, which is only bettered by Pukki amongst forwards to have played significant minutes. Wilder might have the know-how to utilise overlapping centre-halves, but the Arsenal striker has only blanked once in eight fixtures.

Callum Wilson £7.9m

Speaking of players that have only blanked once in eight fixtures, let’s acknowledge Callum Wilson.

Despite his consistency, the Bournemouth man’s popularity this week is more a symptom of his opponent’s frailties than his own prowess in front of goal. Norwich have conceded 10 goals in four games on the road this season (the third worst) and also have the third worst xGA too. After conceding five goals at Carrow Road against Villa in Gameweek 8, they are quickly becoming the team that every FPL manager wants to stack up against.

Bournemouth will relish the opportunity to host a team who play with such careless abandon at the back. These are two teams who will always prioritise goals, so it’s little wonder that both have been given less than a 31% chance of keeping a clean sheet by the bookies.

With an xG of 4.44 (just 0.22 less than Tammy Abraham and the sixth best in the league), expect Wilson and his colleagues to benefit from what should be a goal-filled encounter on Saturday.

Raheem Sterling £12.1m

Crystal Palace vs Man City

I think Sterling has just about featured in all of my captaincy analysis articles thus far. Nothing changes for Gameweek 9, despite the concerns of him starting both England matches and playing 163 minutes over the international break.

I wouldn’t be too worried about this. Last month Sterling played 71 minutes on the 7th (Saturday), 90 minutes on the 10th (Tuesday) and returned to Manchester to complete 90 minutes versus Norwich on the 14th (Saturday). He is perhaps more likely to be rested prior to or after a draining UCL fixture, rather than a 6-0 pummelling of Bulgaria.

Crystal Palace’s home form this season makes this decision more of a head scratcher. They have conceded just once at Selhurst all season, with clean sheets versus Everton, Aston Villa and Norwich. However, their expected goals conceded ranks them in eighth, which supports the argument that they’re performing above expectations.

Tammy Abraham £7.7m

Chelsea vs Newcastle

Big Tammy is becoming that player who should definitely be considered captain material, but is often disregarded due to his team’s unpredictability and perhaps a slight favouritism for players making up the premium price bracket.

One of the many things talked about when discussing Sergio Aguero’s eight goals this season is the limited time (560 mins) in which he’s achieved it. As we all know, he is one of the most successful and clinical strikers the Premier League has ever seen. Even Hazard voted him as his PFA player of the year for being the ‘most consistent’.

Well, Abraham has also scored eight times this season. In just 569 minutes.

Newcastle will carry confidence into this match, having overcome Manchester United in the previous gameweek. But they have also conceded the second-most goals away from home (11) this season. That’s 85% of their total goals against, five of which came against Leicester in Gameweek 7.

Tammy also benefits from the bookies’ backing this week. According to our Bookies’ Advantage article, he’s the joint-most likely playing to score in Gameweek 9.

Harry Kane £10.9m

Tottenham vs Watford

Despite Tottenham’s stuttering start to the campaign, England’s talisman has been in terrific form for club and country. Kane has five goals and an assist in the Premier League, which is above what is to be expected given the team’s form as a whole. He has also contributed with six goals and four assists in his last four European qualifier fixtures.

Kane just looks better on the field in recent months. For large periods last season he looked like he was dragging a cart behind him in all directions. Though since the summer break, he is sharp in his movement, he is alert, he looks fresh – even in the closing moments of a match – and has that extra burst of energy to exploit defensive lapses.

One concern is the re-appointment of Quique Sanchez Flores at Watford. Although he has never secured a point against Tottenham in two attempts, he limited Spurs to a single goal in his last visit. More to the point, Kane has failed to find the net in both of these meetings, despite playing 90 minutes in each.

Sadio Mane £11.7m

Man United vs Liverpool

If I was a Salah owner I would never sell him based on the injury news, but I would consider removing the burden of captaincy. It’s been reported that he’s on an individual training regime to speed up his recovery ahead of Liverpool’s trip to United, and though he will almost certainly start, Mane will probably be the beneficiary if one of the two is replaced early.

Unlike Salah, there is no worry over Mane’s fitness or minutes. He was the Man of the Match versus Leicester in Gameweek 8 and will be looking to take advantage of David De Gea’s untimely injury and United’s woes on all fronts this season.

Man United have conceded seven of their nine goals this season in the second half. The majority of these have been after the 70th minute. If Liverpool have the job done early, or else Klopp decides to lighten the load on a recovering Salah, just being on the park works in Mane’s favour.

Riyad Mahrez £8.7m

Crystal Palace vs Man City

Taking into consideration the comments from Argentina’s coach on Sergio Aguero “he is not here because he’s been carrying a problem and has not been training 100 per cent with his club”. In my opinion, it is too risky to gamble on Pep Guardiola‘s wheel of rotation landing on him this week.

Although the Man City starting XI is never clear, you would think Riyad Mahrez is currently one of the more nailed on players. He won the Etihad player of the month with 70% of the votes after contributing with two goals and two assists, as well as nine shots and nine key passes, in his two starts during September.

Off the back of a brace for Algeria on Tuesday, with two fantastic efforts from outside the box in either half, Mahrez has hit the form which made him so irresistible in FPL 2015/16. He has the most shots on target (7) and second-most attempted assists (9) of City’s players in their last three fixtures.