FPL Bois Best Captains: Gameweek 3

Now that the teetering Gameweek 2 is in the history books, it’s time to shake it off and gear up for the next gameweek to actually get on the green arrows train and start the climb up. Here are three players who could help you get some big gains before the first international break of the season:

Erling Haaland – BHA (A)

Little brother Erling kicks things off this week as he takes on a Brighton defence that has looked shaky in the first two Gameweeks keeping no clean sheets against relatively weaker attacks in Fulham and Everton. City on the other hand have shown some very good attacking play in phases but would be disappointed after the loss to Spurs despite creating more xG, and this fixture at the AmEx is the one that they would be eagerly waiting upon to cash in on the credit of their creative players feeding into the machine up top.

While still early days, Haaland has started off right where you would expect him to, top of the charts for goals scored, xG and nPxG. But as the sample size is too small right now, let’s brush up on his stats from last season once again – he ranked 3rd for goals scored, 2nd for xG, 1st for nPxG, 2nd for shots taken, 2nd for shots on target, and 4th for Penalty Area Touches. Meanwhile the City attack also showed strong signs, ranking 2nd for goals scored, 2nd for xG, and 3rd for Big Chances Created. Meanwhile Brighton were ranked 13th for xGC and conceded 17 goals against the top 6 of the 2024/25 season.

With three teams having a perfect start to the season, Pep’s team would also be looking to make a statement and get into the mix of things early on. Erling boasts of a strong record against the Seagulls with 5 goals and an assist against them in 5 matches (including a goal each in both the fixtures in the 24/25 season) and would be looking to add more of the same again. We’re all aware of his goal threat and now with a hungry attack against a weaker defence, it seems to be a great time to pounce and hand the armband to the robot and wait for his mega haul this Gameweek.

Joao Pedro – FUL (H):

The shining star of GW2, Joao Pedro makes his debut on the shortlist next as he takes on a Fulham defence that has had its moments of vulnerabilities in both the fixtures so far. Coming in hot with one and two assists, and a MASSIVE 15 points, in the previous game, Pedro proved why he is being so heavily backed by a majority of the FPL managers. After the first two games of the season, Fulham are in the bottom six for xGC meanwhile Chelsea top the charts for xG and are third for goals scored.

Here’s a look at Pedro’s stats from last season which are bound to improve this season as he now plays for a much stronger attack, he ranked 20th for goals scored, 28th for xG, 27th for assists, 25th for Big Chances Created, and 36th for Penalty Area Touches. We’re already seeing improvement of his output since the games in the Club World Cup and the start of the season and expect his stock would continue shining in this good run of fixtures for Chelsea. As an attacking unit, Chelsea was impressive last season and ranked 7th for goals scored, 3rd for xG, and 2nd for Big Chances Created while paving their way back to the Champions League.

Pedro’s record against the fellow London side is decent with 1 goal and 2 assists from 3 games. Now with a much better creative force behind him, he will be eager to get on to the scoresheet once again carrying the momentum into the international break. With some of the other popular picks having tricky fixtures, this Gameweek could be the one where managers who hand Pedro the armband reap the benefits once again through his finishing and link up with the rest of the Chelsea attack.

 

Differential Captaincy Option:

Chris Wood – WHU (H)

The transfers are rolling in fast for the dark horse of the previous season, Chris Wood, who stands out as an excellent differential candidate for captaincy this Gameweek. Taking on a West Ham defence that has been extra susceptible against strikers, and conceded the most goals (8) from the first two fixtures of the season, not really showing any signs of improvement from last season where they also finished the season ranking 15th for goals conceded and 16th for xGC. On the other hand, Forest have scored four goals in their opening two games against defences that are stronger than West Ham’s.

Chris Wood was the surprise player from last season and had an exceptional campaign scoring 200 points as he ranked 4th for goals scored, 8th for xG, and 11th for nPxG. He was the shining light of the Forest attack who ranked 9th for goals scored, 15th for xG, and 14th for Big Chances Created, further highlighting the importance of Wood. Now with the likes of Elanga missing from the attack, Wood’s impact would be even higher as the big man up top, and we’ve already seen the struggles of West Ham against forwards.

There’s a lot of news about West Ham potentially getting a new manager and this so this fixture comes at the right time for Forest with their opposition’s morale down and they would be looking to head into the break unbeaten with a dominant win. For managers who like to target fixtures and form, this Gameweek seems ideal to hand the armband to Wood who ticks both the boxes and has shown his potential of a big haul with the multiple double digit hauls during last season.

 

It’s an exciting bunch to choose from this Gameweek as we head into the international break. Which forward will be punching in the boarding pass for green arrows for your team this Gameweek?

 

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