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After the long wait for the new Premier League campaign to start ended last week, FPL (Fantasy Premier League) managers can't wait for the next deadline. Gameweek 2 is fast approaching and managers have plenty of decisions to make. The most important of them, however, is their captaincy choice.
With Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur squaring off, Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane's captaincy appeal reduces. Even if they did get a positive result, the duo were always likely to be shadowed by Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah.
Both Salah and Haaland kicked things off with a double-digit haul in Gameweek 1 and have some exciting fixtures in GW 2. While Liverpool will look to win big against Crystal Palace at Anfield, Manchester City faces Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium.
There are also other differential options FPL managers could consider giving their captain's armband to.
On that note, let's look at the top five captaincy options ahead of GW 2.
#5 Joao Cancelo (MCI) (DEF) (£7.0 m) vs BOU (H)
This one is for the maverick FPL managers. Manchester City takes on Bournemouth in their GW 2 fixture, and it's hard to see the Cherries scoring in this one. Already a goal-shy side, it will be difficult for them to breach arguably the best defense in the league. With clean sheet points very likely in the bag, Joao Cancelo becomes an intriguing option.
A BPS magnet with his accurate and creative passing, Cancelo should feature heavily in City's build-up play. While his barrage of long shots hasn't yielded much success, Cancelo has done pretty well on the creativity front, getting nine FPL assists last season.
He could get some attacking returns from this match in addition to a clean sheet and is among the best FPL captaincy options, albeit with a risk.
#4 Bukayo Saka (ARS) (MID) (£8.0 m) vs LEI (H)
With Chelsea and Spurs taking on each other, the number of teams with viable captaincy options does reduce. That's why I suggest Arsenal's Bukayo Saka as an alternative selection. While Gabriel Jesus hogged the limelight ahead of GW 1 with his skyrocketing FPL ownership, Saka could prove to be a better FPL option.
While Jesus had a very positive impact on Arsenal's attacking play against Crystal Palace, he didn't offer that much of a goal threat. While that could very well change in upcoming matches, Saka feels a safer bet. He's nailed on to start and is likely to be on penalties. Saka's also on set-pieces, and that provides him an alternate route for assists.
The young Englishman's numbers from last season were pretty impressive, and he looks set to improve on them this campaign. The Gunners take on a shaky Leicester side at home, and Arteta's men will look to capitalize on the Foxes' defensive insecurities. While he may not be the most explosive of picks, Saka could be a reliable FPL differential in captaincy.
#3 Kevin De Bruyne (MCI) (FWD) (£11.5 m) vs BOU (H)
Not many in the game own Kevin De Bruyne, with the Belgian boasting of less than 20% FPL ownership, as compared to Salah or Haaland. Nevertheless, he's a top alternative and an exciting differential captaincy option ahead of Gameweek 2.
De Bruyne was Manchester City's highest goalscorer in the league last season, netting fifteen times, massively overperforming his xG. His eye for goal seems to be growing with time while not negatively impacting his creativity.
The Belgian grabbed an assist for one of Haaland's goals in GW 1 and looks set to do more at home to Bournemouth. He's one to consider giving the armband if you have him on your FPL team.
#2 Mohamed Salah (LIV) (MID) (£13.0 m) vs CRY (H)
It would've been hard to imagine Mohamed Salah in a captaincy tussle with another FPL asset ahead of a home game against Crystal Palace. While Patrick Viera's side has proved to be the thorn in the flesh of many PL sides, Liverpool has dominated the Eagles for quite a while now.
Although Erling Haaland's appeal is alluring, that shouldn't take away from what an excellent captaincy choice Mo Salah is. He continued his run of scoring in the league opener, doing so for the 6th consecutive time in Liverpool's first match against Fulham.
With Jurgen Klopp's side kicking to register their first win of the season, expect them to go all-out and make a statement.
#1 Erling Haaland (MCI) (FWD) (£11.5 m) vs BOU (H)
After his exploits in Gameweek 1 and City's GW 2 fixture, it shouldn't be a surprise to see Erling Haaland at the top of this list. He also appears to be their first-choice penalty-taker which furthers his appeal. The Norwegian put to the sword the notion that he would take time to adjust to the Premier League with his two goals and an all-round solid performance.
With Bournemouth up next in front of home fans, you would back Haaland to continue his goalscoring run. While the Cherries gave a good account of themselves on opening day at home to Aston Villa, playing away to Manchester City is a completely different prospect.
City's style of play looks like it will get the best out of Haaland. In one of the easiest fixtures on paper this season, it shouldn't be hard for FPL managers to give him their captain's armband.
