Aryaman S

FPL GW 7 Guide: Best Captaincy Choices, Players to Buy & Challenge Picks

Bruno Fernandes, Bukayo Saka, Erling Haaland, Fantasy Premier League

Gameweek 7 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is upon us, and with it comes a fresh set of dilemmas. After a chaotic and high scoring GW6 thanks to the Wildcard paying off, managers will be looking to nail the captaincy pick and identify the essential targets for a green arrow. With some favorable fixtures on the horizon, here is your guide to the best captaincy shouts, players to target, and my team for this weeks FPL Challenge.

FPL Gameweek 7: Best Captaincy Picks

This week we have plenty of options to choose for Captaincy including many differential ones, Arsenal take on West Ham under their new coach Nuno at Home. Tottenham take on Leeds at Elland Road, Manchester City travel to London to face Brentford and Newcastle take on a struggling Nottingham Forest side under Ange.

Bukayo Saka- West Ham(H)


Bukayo Saka is the leading captaincy candidate this week. Arsenal host a West Ham side that has just sacked their manager Graham Potter with new manager Nuno just having a week to instill his ideology, and the Hammers are struggling in 19th place. Saka is on penalties most likely as before the penalty got cancelled against Newcastle it looked like he had stepped up rather than Gyökeres. He is highly involved in attacking sequences, and will be looking to exploit a defense that has conceded the most goals (14) this season. He is the safest premium pick outside of Haaland. He is a great differential option as he is only owned by 6.2% of the playerbase and a haul against West Ham could catapult your rank.

Erling Haaland – Brentford(A)

Haaland has scored six goals and provided one assist in his last four appearances, topping the charts for both shots and big chances. Despite Brentford’s history of causing City problems at home, Haaland’s underlying numbers make him the standout captain choice. He has scored a goal in his last 8 matches and has only blanked once this season against Tottenham. He is just coming off 2 consecutive braces and is in red hot form at the moment. The Norwegian is in devastating form and continues to be the safest captaincy option in the game. City face Brentford away who have just defeated their city rivals Manchester United 3-1 last weekend. However, Brentford concede approximately two goals per game, making this still a favorable matchup for Haaland.

Bruno Fernandes- Sunderland (H)

Now look i know all of you are probably confused how can i even consider Bruno after his -1 last week. Here is why i feel he is being a little misunderstood. United face Sunderland with double their opponents’ xG and a 63.6% win probability. Bruno has been involved in everything good for United this season. Bruno is actually the highest for xG among all midfielders this season. Had he converted his penalty he would have come away with a 10 pointer and potentially 12 if he managed one more defensive contribution. Sunderland however are no slouch and are sat fifth in the league with their only loss coming against Burnley. He is a very risky option in my opinion and i would rather go for Saka or Haaland but he is still a contender if you fancy him.

Image from https://fpl.page/stats

Players to Target This Gameweek

Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal)

Gyökeres has scored three goals at home with 13 shots and four big chances. Arsenal’s striker is in excellent form and faces a West Ham side that struggles away from home. Essential for any serious FPL squad building around Arsenal’s favorable fixtures. Just like Saka i expect goals in this match and hopefully for me Saka and Gyökeres combine for them.

Sven Botman (Newcastle)

Newcastle’s clean sheet prospects are strong at home against Nottingham Forest, who sit 17th. While Kieran Trippier is a popular choice with Livramento out for 2 months, Sven Botman offers a reliable route into the defense and is a major threat from corners, giving him a higher goal potential than many centre backs. Newcastle have been defensively solid and have kept a cleansheet in 4/6 matches so far. He is a great long term pick as many managers have gone for Raya/Donnarumma over Pope.

Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace)

Sarr has been an absolute FPL points magnet when fit. He boasts elite underlying statistics for a midfielder, ranking among the best in midfielders for xGI (0.81 per 90) and Big Chances (1.04 per 90). Crystal Palace travel to Everton, who have a decent defense, but Sarr’s individual goal threat means he can haul in any fixture. He’s a perfect differential option if you believe in Palace’s attacking structure under Oliver Glasner. Now that Eze has gone he is the new talisman for the Eagles.

FPL Challenge GW7: Double Clean Sheet Points on Offer in Zero to Hero

This week the FPL Challenge is centered about clean sheets with there being double points for clean sheets for goalkeepers, defenders and midfielders. This means 8 points for defenders and keepers and 2 points for midfielders if they keep a clean sheet. As usual 6 players to choose from, unlimited budget and one player per club only.

Before we start, here is how my team fared last week in the Young Guns theme.

Last week’s score of 73 points with a global rank of 27,182 means my overall rank is currently 1450 in the world. It was a game week of disappointment and regret.

Roefs was the hero at the back as he would pick up a 20 pointer with the theme bonus. He had a great gameweek making 6 saves and earning 2 bonus in Sunderland’s 1-0 win over Forest despite playing at the City Ground. Roefs is now the highest scoring keeper in the league with 39 points, who would have predicted that at the start of the season.

Here is where it gets bad, Calafiori came away with a one pointer, i wanted to go for Gabriel but the Bonus as he was under 23 made me switch. A brutal 12 point swing had i trusted my gut rather than chasing the bonus.

Bergvall home to Wolves on bonus and had returned in his last two matches, and he comes away with a 1 pointer as he got a yellow card along with Calafori. Minteh came away with a return luckily setting up Welbeck for the equalizer and scored me 10 points thanks to the bonus. Semenyo was not on bonus but had Leeds so i went with him and he came away with a goal for 7 points. I was going to go with Gravenberch but Palace were defensively solid so i decided to go with Semenyo, the Dutchman racked up a 16 pointer thanks to an assist and all 3 bonus.

Haaland my captain delivered me 32 points, if only he was 2 years younger this would have been a monster haul. Anyways moving onto this week’s Challenge.

I have gone for a 3-1-1 formation for thus challenge.

Keepers: Vicario away to Leeds is not a great fixture and they have conceded a lot of goals but i am hoping for a comeback from Thomas Frank’s side and hopefully a 12 pointer is on the way. Unfortunately it is one player per club as Raya and Pope are all good options as well. You could also go for Martinez home to Burnley if Vicario feels too risky.

Defenders: This is where the points need to come in for a good week as the bonus revolves around clean sheets. I have gone for Gabriel as my captain after last week’s haul. He did go off injured last night in the UCL, Arteta said after the match “He was fine to carry on.” Now given how crucial he is there is a chance Hincapie/Mosquera come in for him as a precaution. If so please keep watch the lineup and so will I, if he does miss out I will switch to Saliba/Timber and captain one of them.

Dan Burn is a strong defensive pick, benefiting from a Newcastle side with the league’s best clean sheet record. Their home fixture against a potentially fatigued Nottingham Forest playing in the Europa League on Thursday with a quick Sunday turnaround is highly favorable. Nottingham have also managed to score just 1 goal in their last 3 games in the league under Ange and it looks to be a good fixture for them this week.

Guehi as well another great defensive pick plays against Everton at home. Everton are a tough opponent especially at home however i am backing the Eagles form under Glasner. Crystal Palace’s defence has been phenomenal, conceding the joint fewest goals in the league so far (3 goals in 6 games) and keeping three clean sheets. They are a strong defensive unit, even in trickier away games.

Midfielders: Minteh has been in a great run of form, returning in his last 4 matches and faces a very shaky Wolves defence. He has recorded the most FPL assists and attempted assists at Brighton over the last five gameweeks. He is a primary source of creativity, often down the right flank. Minteh’s pace and direct running will be perfectly suited for exploiting space against the Wolves defence on the counter attack, making him a prime candidate for a massive score.

Forwards: Who else but Erling Haaland, the Norweigan striker is on a hot streak of form scoring two consecutive braces and blanking just once as i had mentioned earlier in my captaincy rankings. Brentford’s defence is struggling, ranking among the bottom teams for shots conceded and xGC. They are unlikely to be able to contain Haaland’s elite movement and clinical finishing.

Leave a comment