Captains · Gameweek 1

B.Fernandes takes the armband in Gameweek 1

B.Fernandes leads on captain EV at 14.84, with a 16.82 ceiling underneath it and Haaland (12.31) the alternative.

eBy the evmax model · 4 August 2026

B.Fernandes is the captain pick this gameweek: 14.84 captain EV, doubled off an xPts projection of 7.42, with a 16.82 ceiling — his 85th-percentile score across the simulations — which the armband turns into 33.64. He is a £12.0m midfielder at MUN, owned by 48.7% of the game.

B.Fernandes14.84 → 33.64Haaland12.31 → 29.34Thiago11.24 → 27.46Watkins10.39 → 27.34Ndiaye10.07 → 29.80Fée9.91 → 26.72Gibbs-White9.84 → 27.42Saka9.78 → 31.28Senesi8.89 → 21.36Virgil8.74 → 21.72solid = captain EV · faint = ceiling upside (captained)
Top 10 by Captain EV. Green = top pick · red = under 10% owned. Full list in the table below. Solid bar = Captain EV, faint bar = ceiling. Ceiling = the 85th-percentile outcome across our 50,000 simulations — the score when a player's best realistic game happens, not a fantasy cap.

The armband is the only decision you make twice — every other pick scores once, so a captain who is merely fine costs you the week silently.

Haaland is the alternative at 12.31 captain EV and a 14.67 ceiling. He kicks off after B.Fernandes though, so as a vice he leaves you waiting — the safety net only resolves late in the gameweek.

The data

#PlayerCaptain EVxPtsCeilingPriceOwned %
1B.Fernandes MUN14.847.4216.8212.048.7%
2Haaland MCI12.316.1514.6715.575.2%
3Thiago BRE11.245.6213.738.016.0%
4Watkins AVL10.395.2013.678.012.2%
5Ndiaye EVE10.075.0414.906.020.0%
6E.Le Fée SUNDifferential9.914.9513.366.09.9%
7Gibbs-White NFO9.844.9213.718.012.3%
8Saka ARS9.784.8915.649.510.7%
9Senesi TOT8.894.4510.686.011.3%
10Virgil LIV8.744.3710.866.515.8%
11Tarkowski EVEDifferential8.634.3110.716.09.9%
12Rice ARS8.504.2510.247.521.9%
13Szoboszlai LIV8.504.2511.597.047.3%
14Calvert-Lewin LEE8.244.1212.026.017.7%
15Gakpo LIVDifferential8.244.1212.797.03.3%
16Enzo CHEDifferential8.124.0611.857.05.1%
17Mbeumo MUN8.114.0612.668.013.6%
18Gabriel ARS7.933.9711.128.025.4%
19N.Williams NFO7.903.9510.605.013.3%
20Welbeck BHADifferential7.733.8612.286.02.9%

Bottom line

Captain B.Fernandes — 14.84 EV is the best on the board, and 33.64 if the ceiling lands. Vice it with Haaland.

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How we get these numbers. Player scoring rates (goals, assists, defensive contributions) come from each player's own FPL data, not betting markets; match outcomes (de-vigged market odds, or a team-strength rating when a fixture isn't priced) drive 50k Monte-Carlo simulations, scored on the official Fantasy Premier League points table. Ceiling = the 85th-percentile outcome across our 50,000 simulations — the score when a player's best realistic game happens, not a fantasy cap. Every figure here is machine-readable at /api/fpl/gw1/captains.json.