Captaincy options for Gameweek 31: A long-awaited opportunity to double Alexander Isak’s points

GAMEWEEK 31 features another open-ended captaincy debate.

With Arsenal, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Newcastle set to pull double duty, there are several viable candidates for the all-important armband.

A rare double Gameweek for the Magpies presents Dream Team managers with a long-awaited opportunity to double Alexander Isak’s (£6.2m) points.

The Swedish striker averages 8.4 points-per-game this season, a rate only bettered by three players at this moment in time.

Isak has scored 24 goals and provided eight assists in all competitions.

The only strikers with more points are Mohamed Salah (declining form) and Erling Haaland (injured).

Eddie Howe’s side have the luxury of two home fixtures in Gameweek 31: Manchester United and Crystal Palace.

The Toon’s head coach declared that Isak was “100% fit” after his side’s win over Leicester on Monday night so there’s seemingly no need to worry about availability scares.

Elsewhere, Cole Palmer (£5.4m) should be considered a strong captaincy option.

At the time of writing, Chelsea still have to play the first leg of their Conference League quarter-final against Legia Warsaw but, barring an injury to the 22 year-old midfielder, he seems well placed to deliver plentiful returns this coming Gameweek.

Like Newcastle, the Blues have back-to-back home games with Ipswich due at Stamford Bridge before the aforementioned Polish outfit visit London next Thursday.

Enzo Maresca rang the changes against Brentford last time out when he dropped Palmer and four others to the bench but his bold selection yielded a dull 0-0 draw.

Given Chelsea are still competing for Champions League qualification, it would be a huge surprise if the England international didn’t start against the Tractor Boys this Sunday.

And if there’s still a job to do against Legia Warsaw in midweek then Palmer could be looking at two run outs against favourable opposition.

Villa couldn’t have asked for a more friendly league fixture this weekend as they will travel to Southampton, a match-up that usually offers plentiful points for the visiting team.

However, with the Villains 3-1 down on aggregate to PSG in the Champions League quarter-finals, Unai Emery may rest key players against Saints.

Morgan Rogers (£4.2m) banked 21 points in Gameweek 30 and would probably have a field day against the top flight’s worst defence but the risk of a benching is enough to provoke reluctance.

Marco Asensio (£4.1m) and Ollie Watkins (£4.9m) both have a good chance of starting this weekend having only featured as substitutes in Paris.

Many gaffers will stick the armband on Bruno Fernandes (£7m) for Gameweek 31.

The Red Devils travel to Newcastle before hosting Lyon in what is a tricky double header on paper.

That being said, the Portuguese playmaker is leaps and bounds ahead of his team-mates and has proven himself capable of healthy returns in losing efforts this season.

He remains among the game’s most in-form players.

The Eagles’ double header is a tough one as they will travel to Manchester City and Newcastle.

However, it’s worth noting that Oliver Glasner’s side have actually performed better on the road this season.

Furthermore, only champions elect Liverpool have earned more points than Palace since the turn of year.

Daniel Munoz (£5.4m), Eberechi Eze (£4.7m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£4.3m) are all great assets to own in Gameweek 31 but whether any of them are worthy of being captain is another matter.

Be sure to select your captain (and vice captain) before Saturday’s 11am deadline!

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk