Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers are once again seeing “double” as four teams – Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford, Crystal Palace, and Southampton – play twice in Double Gameweek 27.
In an open captaincy week, Ivan Toney (£7.8m) and a trio of Brighton assets assume the role of chief protagonists, with alternative options from Palace, Southampton, and a quartet of single fixture heavyweights providing the supporting cast in this edition of the armband argument.
As usual, the Captain Sensible article is here to highlight which assets have the best chance of hauling.
First, we will assess the fallout of the captain poll, before then analysing the best options, the Rate My Team (RMT) points projections and the Premier Fantasy Tools ratings ahead of Saturday’s 11:00 GMT deadline.
THE CAPTAIN POLL
The captain poll has a distinctly Double Gameweek feel, with Brentford’s Ivan Toney topping the charts for the first time this season, backed by a mite over four-tenths of the total votes cast by users at the time of writing.
Providing stiff competition is Brighton’s wing-wizard Kaoru Mitoma (£5.5m) who sits currently in second place, backed by just over one in four of our users.
Mohamed Salah (£12.8m) occupies third place with 6.41% of the vote, followed by Erling Haaland (£12.2m) and Alexis Mac Allister (£5.4m) further back.
DOUBLE GAMEWEEK CANDIDATES
IVAN TONEY
Ivan Toney converted from the penalty spot against Fulham on Monday night – his 15th goal of the season – to continue a prolific campaign for the Bees talisman.
Toney is the third-highest scoring forward in Fantasy – with his tally sitting at 130 points for 2022/23 – and places in the top six for attacking returns (18) this season.
Notably, Toney has received 26 big chances this season, a total that only Erling Haaland (40) can better.
However, over the last six matches, Toney’s underlying numbers have underwhelmed, ranking joint-seventh best for goal attempts (19), with his seven shots on target bettered by ten other players.
In those half-dozen matches, Toney ranks ninth-best in the division for non-penalty involvement (NPxGI, 3.28), a tally bettered by two immediate captaincy rivals – Alexis Mac Allister and Solly March.
However, set pieces heighten Toney’s appeal, with the penalty supremo converting his 10th Premier League career spot-kick against the Cottagers.
Toney has also registered the most set-piece attempts (23) for Thomas Frank’s side and highlighted his free-kick potential when smashing the woodwork in the 35th minute against Fulham.
Above: Ivan Toney places second for big chances received (26) this term – a tally bettered by only Erling Haaland (40)
Brentford travel to face an Everton side winless in three Premier League matches, following their initial “new manager bounce” under Sean Dyche. Despite two clean sheets over the last six matches, the Toffees still rank sixth worst for expected goals conceded (xGC, 9.21) over the period.
Southampton host Thomas Frank’s side in the second fixture of Double Gameweek 27, with the Saints buoyant since the appointment of new manager Ruben Selles.
The Spaniard has led Southampton to consecutive Premier League wins – over Leicester City and Chelsea – registering two clean sheets in the process.
However, the Saints have been poor defensively ranking sixth worst for non-penalty expected goals conceded (NPxGC, 9.9) over the last six matches.
KAORU MITOMA/SOLLY MARCH/ALEXIS MAC ALLISTER
1 year, 7 months agoBrighton manager De Zerbi on Spanish goalkeeper Robert Sanchez: "One of the best relationships I have in the dressing room is with Rob Sanchez.
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