Welcome to the season opener of the FPL Captaincy Metrics blog. We are all starting afresh, with everyone sitting on the same rank, data, and number of transfers and chips. The real grind starts now, and picking the correct captain’s picks is crucial as always. Read on as we analyse the captaincy, for the first time, for the 2026/27 season of the Premier League.
Link to all our 2026/27 Pre-Season articles including all team pre-season friendly updates, best drafts, fixture analysis, position-wise analysis, differentials, players to target, budget enablers and more. Completely free to access as well!
FPL GW1 Captaincy Metrics
FPL GW1 Captaincy Metrics
FPL GW1 Captaincy Metrics
Erling Haaland tops the captaincy poll for the first week with 39% of the votes against Bournemouth (H). Bruno Fernandes is second with 37% of the votes as he visits a newly promoted Hull City. Teammate Mbeumo is third in the captaincy poll this week as he readies himself to start the season well. After a brilliant performance in the Community Shield, Tzolis finds himself fourth in the captaincy list. as he welcomes a new promoted Coventry City. Finally, pre-season favourite Joao Pedro, who is the most owned player in FPL right now, rounds up the captaincy picks for GW1.
Further Read: FPL GW1 Scout Selection based on Stats, Fixtures and Matchups
Underlying Numbers of the FPL Gameweek 1 Captain Picks
Underlying Numbers of the FPL Gameweek 1 Captain Picks
Underlying Numbers of the FPL Gameweek 1 Captain Picks
For this analysis, we have used per/90 stats from last 6 matches from the previous season. For Tzolis, we have used the stats from Community Shield game, as it’s the only “competitive game” that he has played with Arsenal for now.
Bryan Mbeumo tops the table with 2.71 shots in the box per/90, 1.13 Big chances, and an xG of 0.89 per/90 in the last six games.
Haaland is 2nd with an xG per/90 of 0.74 in the last six games. He’s also had 1.67 big chances and 3.83 shots inside the box per/90.
Joao Pedro is 3rd with an xG of 0.31 per/90 in the last six games. He’s had 0.35 big chances and has had 2.10 shots inside the box per/90.
Bruno Fernandes stands 4th with an xG of 0.08, managing 0.83 shots inside the box and 0 big chances in total per/90.
Finally, Tzolis stands 5th with an xG of 0.00, managing no shots inside the box and no big chances in total.
Fantasy Football Hub(FFHUB)
Fantasy Football Hub is a high-quality FPL website offering a wide range of FPL content, tools, data, planners, and more. Memberships are available for the 2026/27 season at a 50% discount along with a win-your-mini-league or get-your-money-back guarantee**(T&C Applicable).** (Click on the image above to claim the offer)
Underlying numbers of Candidate’s teams
Underlying numbers of Candidate's teams
Underlying numbers of Candidate's teams
Manchester City take the top spot and have registered 12.37 xG, 17 Big Chances, and 77 Shots inside the box in the last six games**.**
Manchester United are up next with 56 shots inside the box and 19 big chances during the period, and an xG of 10.84.
Arsenal are fourth with 60 shots inside the box and 22 big chances during the period, and an xG of 10.34.
Finally, Chelsea are last with 38 shots inside the box and 6 big chances during the period, and an xG of 6.10.
Further Read: Top FPL GW1 Differential Picks to Target Ahead of GW1 Deadline
Fixture Difficulty of the Candidate Team in FPL GW1
Fixture Difficulty of the Candidate Team in FPL GW1
In the Third Phase of the Article, we look at the Fixture Difficulty of our 5 Candidates.
We will use FantasyFootballHub’s odds for the candidate’s Team’s Expected Goals and the odds of the opposition keeping a clean sheet.
Arsenalare top and have 2.73 xG odds and their opposition has a 10% chance to keep a clean sheet as per the market odds.
Manchester Cityare second and have 2.51 xG odds and their opposition has a 11% chance to keep a clean sheet as per the market odds.
Manchester United are third with 2.42 xG odds odds and their opposition has a 12% chance to keep a clean sheet as per the market odds.
Lastly, Chelsea are last with 1.92 xG odds and their opposition has a 17% chance to keep a clean sheet as per the market odds.
Further Read:2026/27 PL Season: Predicted GW1 Lineups of All 20 PL Teams
Projections Rank of our FPL Gameweek 1 Captain Picks
Projections Rank of our FPL Gameweek 1 Captain Picks
Projections Rank of our FPL Gameweek 1 Captain Picks
In the fourth phase of the article, we have used the Projected Points tool available at Fantasy Football Hub.
Bruno Fernandes is first with a points projection of 7.1 in FPL Gameweek 1 vs Hull City (A).
Haaland is second with a 6.6 points projection in FPL Gameweek 1 vs Bournemouth (H).
Mbeumo is third with 5.4 projected points Gameweek 1 vs Hull City (A).
Tzolis is fourth with a projection of 5.3 points on his debut against Coventry (H).
Finally, Joao Pedro is last with a projection of 4.8 points in FPL Gameweek 1 vs Fulham (A).
Further Read: FPL Gameweek 1 Bench Boost Drafts- BB1 vs BB2 vs BB Later Analysis
Conclusion – Final Rank from our FPL Gameweek 1 Captaincy metrics
Erling Haaland is again starting at the top of the captaincy metrics with a cumulative rank factor of 7. Mbeumo is second with a CRF value of 9. Bruno is third with a CRF value of 10. Tzolis is fourth with a CRF value of 14. Finally, Joao Pedrois last with a CRF value of 18.
Author’s note
It is worth noting that these are stats from last season and there have been many changes in the off/pre-season for the clubs analyzed. There are new managers, new acquisitions and risk of minutes for these picks. The safest pick for GW1 is Bruno Fernandes, and although the data crunching says Haaland, any data/information is incomplete at the start of GW1. Our final pick is Bruno Fernandes due to security of starts and penalties.
Further reads from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL GW1 of the 2026/27 FPL Season
FPL Basics:
2026/27 FPL Season – New Rules & Changes | What’s New in FPL?
Best & Funny FPL Team Names for 2026/27 PL Season
GW1 Articles:
FPL GW1 Scout Selection based on Stats, Fixtures and Matchups
Top FPL GW1 Differential Picks to Target Ahead of GW1 Deadline2026/27 PL Season: Predicted GW1 Lineups of All 20 PL Teams
FPL Gameweek 1 Bench Boost Drafts- BB1 vs BB2 vs BB Later Analysis
2026/27 Pre-Season Summary of All 20 Premier League Teams
2026/27 Premier League Penalty and Set Piece Takers for all 20 Teams
Top FPL Gameweek 1 Captain Picks Based on Analysis & Metrics | 26/27 Season
Must Read Articles:
FPL Team Structure Guide with Drafts, AI Team Rating, Formations, Pros, Cons and Key Notes
2026/27 Premier League Penalty and Set Piece Takers for all 20 Teams
Best FPL GW1 Drafts for the 26/27 FPL Season with Pros & Cons
FPL Chip Strategy Guide- Best Windows to Play Free Hit, Wildcard, Triple Captain and Bench BoostUltimate DEFCON Analysis: Top Players & Best Opponents to Target
FPL Rotational Pairs and Combinations for 2026/27 FPL Season
Eight Simple FPL Tips to Secure a High Rank | 26/27 Season
2026/27 Pre-Season Summary of All 20 Premier League TeamsFPL Fixture Analysis for 2026/27 Season- Teams with Best and Worst fixtures
Five Must Own Players in GW1 for FPL 2026/27 season
AK FPL’s Final GW1 Draft & Team Reveal | 3x Top 5K FinishesHow Chelsea could line-up under Xabi Alonso for 2026/27 seasonFPL Players To Avoid in Your GW1 Drafts | 2026/27 FPL Season
Position Analysis:
GKs and Defenders Series:
Best FPL Goalkeepers to Target based on Stats and Fixtures
Best FPL Defenders at Each Price Point for the 2026/27 SeasonBest £4.0 Million FPL Defenders for 2026/27 FPL SeasonBest Premium Defenders for 2026/27 season based on Stats and Fixtures
Best £5.0-5.5 Million FPL Defenders for the 2026/27 FPL Season
FPL Rotational Pairs and Combinations for 2026/27 FPL Season
Best £4.5 Million FPL Defenders for the 2026/27 FPL Season
Best Value for Money Defenders and GKs for 2026/27 FPL season
Midfielders Series:
Best FPL Premium Midfielders(8.0-12.0) for 2026/27 FPL season
Best FPL Midfielders at Each Price Point for the 2026/27 Season
Best Mid-Price FPL Midfielders for the 26/27 Season | £6.5 to 7.5M
Best Budget FPL Midfielders for 26/27 Season | £4.5m to £6.0m
Best Value for Money Midfielders for 2026/27 season
Forwards Series:Best FPL Budget Forwards (£4.5 – £6.0 Million) | 26/27 FPL Season
Best £6m Forwards Comparison for the 2026/27 FPL Season
Best FPL Premium and Mid-Priced Forwards (6.5 million and above) for 2026/27 seasonTop Forwards at every price point for the 2026/27 FPL Season
If you’re new to FPL, here is a link to all our FPL Beginners Guide including FPL Beginner’s Guide- How to play?, Bench boost, Team value, Triple captain, Effective ownership, Price Changes,Free Hit, Bonus Points, and more.
Link to all our 2026/27 Pre-Season articles including all position-wise analysis, team previews, fixture analysis, position-wise analysis, and more. Completely free to access as well!
Thanks for reading the “FPL Gameweek 1 Captain Picks & Metrics“ blog. Keep checking allaboutfpl.com for regular blogs. Also, follow our 220,000+ community on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, and Twitter to stay updated on regular Posts and FPL updates.
What’s next from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL Gameweek 1 of the 2026/27 FPL Season?
We’ll be covering FPL team structures, must-own players, player comparisons, differential picks, fixture analysis, captaincy metrics, multiple FPL drafts with pros and cons, chip strategy, rules guide, beginners guide, FPL tips, and more. Keep checking allaboutfpl.com for all our blogs and subscribe to our free newsletter through the link below. We’ll also be posting regularly about the same on our social media accounts, so follow us on Twitter/X,Instagram, Threads, and Facebook keep our notifications ON.
Our content is always free, and if you like our content, do drop a comment, follow, subscribe, and support us. Your love is what keeps us going:)
Link to all our pre-season content in one place & for free!