Welcome to the FPL Gameweek 8 Captaincy metrics blog. Haaland is in red-hot form, and will be up against Everton, while Salah will be facing Man United at Anfield, one of his favourite opponents. Arsenal face Fulham, who have only one clean sheet this season, making Saka a decent captaincy shout too. Let’s see who comes out on top of the captaincy metrics.
This season, we have a 6/7 returns record. Last season, the metrics finished with 686 pts(26/38 returns), the metrics had a “26/38 returns record” in the 23/24 season, 31/37 “returns record” in the 22/23 season, and “30/38 returns record” in the 21/22 season. Do follow the man behind the metrics @AK_FPL1(Do follow him on Twitter)
Total metrics points: 14 + 4 + 18 + 26 + 10 + 32 + 16 = 120 points
Note: “Returns” ~ player topping the metrics getting points returns and not necessarily the highest scoring option of the week.
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FPL GW8 Captaincy Metrics
FPL GW8 Captaincy poll ~ Wisdom Of the Crowd
Haaland is top of the captaincy poll with 71% of votes, the highest by a distance, which isn’t a surprise. Mo Salah, who has 134 FPL points against Man United in 15 games, is 2nd in the captaincy poll with 7% of the votes. King Mo has had a slow start to the season and will be looking to be amongst the goals against one of his favourite opponents. The rest of the top three is completed by Saka, Semenyo, and Bowen.
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Underlying Numbers of the FPL Gameweek 8 Captain picks
Haaland tops the table without any surprise, with 22 shots in the box, 11 big chances, and an xG of 5.72 in the last six games.
Semenyo is 2nd with an xG of 2.69 in the last six games. He’s also had 5 big chances and created 10 chances, which is the joint highest amongst all players.
Salah is 3rd with an xG of 1.70 in the last six games, he’s also had 4 big chances and 8 goal attempts in the box.
Saka is 4th with an xG of 1.21 in the last six games and has had 2 big chances & 7 goal attempts in the box so far this season.
Bowen is only 5th with an xG of 0.66 in the last six games. He’s third for goal attempts inside the box amongst the five players.
Further Read: FPL GW8 Scout Picks Based on Stats, Analysis and Matchups
Underlying numbers of Candidate’s teams
Arsenal have registered 10.91 xG in the last six games and take up the top spot. They have had 78 shots inside the box and 18 big chances during the period.
Man City have registered 9.75 xG in the last six games and take up the 2nd spot. They have had 49 shots inside the box and 18 big chances during the period.
Liverpool are 3rd in the table with an xG of 8.85. The Reds have also registered 51 goal attempts in the box and have had 16 big chances in their last six games.
Bournemouth are 4th in the table with an xG of 6.73 and have had 9 big chances and 47 goal attempts in the box.
West Ham are last in the table with an xG of 6.10 and have had 10 big chances and 46 goal attempts in the box.
Further Read: Top FPL GW8 Differential Picks to Target Ahead of GW8 Deadline
Fixture Difficulty of the candidate team in FPL GW8
In the Third Phase of the Article, we look at the Fixture Difficulty of our 5 Candidates.
We will use DraftHound’s odds for a Team scoring at least one goal in the Gameweek and the Odds of scoring more than 2.0 goals in the Gameweek as a whole.
Man City are top with a 86% odds of at least 1 goal in gameweek one and 40% odds of scoring 2+ goals in FPL GW8 against Everton(H).
Liverpool are 2nd with a 79% odds of at least 1 goal in the gameweek and a 42% odds of scoring 2+ goals against Man United(H).
Arsenal are 3rd and have 82% odds of at least 1 goal in the gameweek and a 31% odds of scoring 2+ goals this week against Fulham(H)
Bournemouth are last with a 67% odds of at least 1 goal in the gameweek and only a 14% odds of scoring 2+ goals this week against Crystal Palace(A).
West Ham are also last with 65% odds of at least 1 goal in the gameweek and only a 18% odds of scoring 2+ goals this week against Brentford(H).
Further Read: DEFCON Analysis: Top Defenders for DCs, Best Opponents + More
Projections Rank of our FPL Gameweek 8 Captain Picks
In the fourth phase of the article, I used the Anytime Returns and Projected Points tools available at Fantasy Football Hub. With the help of the Anytime Returns Tool, I have derived the Safety Rank, which helps in determining the Safest Captaincy Option of the week, while I have used the Projected Points Tool to determine the Explosion Rank, which helps in determining the Most Explosive Option of the week.
Haaland is first with an anytime returns projection of 71% and a 7.3 points projection in FPL Gameweek 8 vs Everton(H)
Salah is second and has an anytime returns projection of 64% and a 7.2 points projection vs Liverpool(H)
Saka is third with an anytime returns projection of 52% and a points projection of 5.2 vs Fulham(A)
Semenyo is also third with an anytime returns projection of 46% and a points projection of 5.6 against Crystal Palace(A).
Bowen is also 5th with the Arsenal forward having an anytime returns projection of 44% and a points projection of 5.1 against Brentford(H).
Further Read: FPL GW8 Wildcard Team – Tips, Players to Target and Best Drafts
Conclusion – Final Rank from our FPL Gameweek 8 Captaincy metrics
In the Fifth and Final Phase of the article, I have aggregated the Ranks derived above to pull out the Cumulative Rank Factor (CRF). According to our captaincy metrics, the candidate with the lowest cumulative rank factor is the ideal captaincy option.
Haaland tops the captaincy metrics with a CRF of 5, and Salah is 2nd with a CRF of 10. Saka is 3rd with a cumulative rank factor of 11, Semenyo is 4th with a CRF of 13, and Bowen is last with a CRF of 19.
Further Reads from ALLABOUTFPL Ahead of FPL GW8
FPL GW8 Ultimate Guide: Tips, Differentials, Captaincy & More
Top FPL Gameweek 8 Captain Picks Based on Analysis & Metrics
Premier League Players who will miss PL due to AFCON 2025
FPL GW8 Predicted Lineups, Injuries, & Press Conference Updates
FPL GW8 Scout Picks Based on Stats, Analysis and Matchups
DEFCON Analysis: Top Defenders for DCs, Best Opponents + More
FPL Gameweek 8 Transfer Tips: Two Players to Buy, Hold & Sell
FPL Gameweek 8 Wildcard – Position Wise Players to Target
FPL GW8 Wildcard Team – Tips, Players to Target and Best Drafts
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