If you’re willing to take the risk of going against Erling Haaland (£15.5m) with the captaincy in Gameweek 5 of Fantasy Premier League, Morgan Gibbs-White (£8.0m) and Bukayo Saka (£9.5m) have the form and fixture to bring in big hauls.

Manchester City’s Haaland is at home to Sunderland and has scored four goals over the last three Gameweeks to sit joint-second overall on 33 points.

The Norwegian’s huge 72 per cent ownership means he is near-certain to be the most-selected captain by a considerable margin.

Gibbs-White and Nottingham Forest are also at home, hosting a promoted Coventry City side who were beaten 5-0 at home by Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend.

The midfielder has scored once and supplied two assists this season to collect 26 points. 

Arsenal’s Saka has enjoyed a prolific start to 2026/27 Fantasy, scoring in three of the first four Gameweeks ahead of the Gunners’ visit to Brighton.

Similarly to Gibbs-White, Saka also appears to be his club’s first-choice penalty-taker this season, as evidenced by his late spot-kick goal against Sunderland last time out.

Who’s had the most attacking threat?

The underlying data immediately shows why going against Haaland is a big risk.

His totals of 15 shots in the box and seven big chances (situations where a player is expected to score) are both more than any other player this season.

Having also created a big chances for his team-mates, Haaland has been involved in eight of them – again, more than any other player.

Along with Saka, Manchester United‘s Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m) has boasted the main goal threat among Fantasy midfielders.

Their five big chances each rank joint-top in that position, while Mbeumo knocks Saka into second for shots in the box, by 11 to 10.

Everton‘s Thierno Barry (£5.5m), Leeds United‘s Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m) and Brighton’s Charalampos Kostoulas (£5.5m) have each had five big chances, highlighting their potential in the budget-forward bracket. 

Most attacking threat, GW1-4

Player
Big-chance inv.
Big chances
BCC*
Shots in box

Haaland
8
7
1
15

Evanilson
7
4
3
6

Mbeumo
6
5
1
11

Nketiah, Foden
6
3
3
4

Gibbs-White
6
2
4
6

Barry
5
5
0
13

Saka
5
5
0
10

Calvert-Lewin
5
5
0
9

Kostoulas
5
5
0
8

*BCC = Big chances created. Scroll across to the see full table

Who’s facing the weakest defences?

An assessment of the weakest defences across the opening four Gameweeks offers plenty of encouragement for a number of players in the table above.

Mbeumo’s hosts Fulham have conceded 18 big chances already, at least three more than any other side. 

Saka’s opponents Brighton, meanwhile, have allowed 12 big chances – the same number as Barry’s opponents Ipswich Town. This indicates Brighton have been fortunate to claim two clean sheets so far. 

Calvert-Lewin’s visitors Crystal Palace have conceded a league-high 11 goals and are without a clean sheet this season.

Team defensive stats, GW1-4

Club 
Big chances conc.
Goals conc.
Clean sheets

Fulham
18
7
1

Aston Villa
15
7
1

Chelsea
15
9
0

Brighton
12
5
2

Everton
12
3
2

Ipswich
12
10
0

Crystal Palace
11
11
0

Scroll across to the see full table

So, who is the best captain?

Haaland’s peerless goal threat and huge ownership make the captaincy decision a fairly straightforward one and it’ll take a brave manager to go against him.

Both Gibbs-White and Saka have the underlying statistics to suggest they, too, can enjoy a successful Gameweek 5. Ultimately, the Forest star just about edges ahead as the best alternative to Haaland due to the talismanic influence on his side, which means that any attacking returns are likely to come with bonus points.

Whereas Gibbs-White has been involved in three of Forest’s four goals, Saka has been involved in three of Arsenal’s eight. 

If you still have the Triple Captain chip left to play, it’s perhaps worth holding until Haaland is next at home to a promoted side – this occurs in Gameweek 7, when City face Ipswich, and Gameweek 16, when he plays Hull at the Etihad Stadium.