More than 4.1 million Fantasy Premier League managers were rewarded for their decision to become a leader Erling Haaland (£14.2m) in matchday 36.
The Norwegian hit his seventh double-figure haul of the season in Manchester City’s 5-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, with four goals and the maximum bonus taking him to 21 points, or 42 with the armband.
He was the top scorer of the 2023/24 Fantasy and now leads the race for the Castrol Golden Boot with five goals.
Confidence in Haaland is growing with his captain numbers increasing by almost a million since the previous round.
And that is expected to increase further ahead of Man City’s two fixtures in Double Gameweek 37 (DGW37), when Pep Guardiola’s side visit Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur.
GW36 players with most captains
Player | Captain from | Grades |
---|---|---|
Haaland | 4,144,198 | 21 |
Pilgrim | 944,797 | 8 |
Salah | 702.522 | – |
Isaac | 676.401 | 7 |
Satchel | 664.197 | 10 |
But FPL managers who have opted against Haaland have either missed out big time, or face an anxious wait to see if their captain can overcome him.
Those who chose instead Cole Palmer (£6.2m) suffered a big points deficit from Haaland supporters.
Palmer was the most popular captain after Haaland, with more than 944,000 giving him the armband, but the Chelsea midfielder returned just eight points thanks to a goal in the 5-0 win over West Ham United.
Mohamed Salah (£13.4m) retained 702,000+ supporters as Liverpool entertain Spurs.
Salah needs just 10 points to reach 200 for a record seventh consecutive season but is without a return in four appearances, his worst run of the season.
Alexander Isaac (£8.4m) and Bucayo Saka (£9.0m) completed the top five captains.
Saka recorded his second straight double-figure performance with 10 points thanks to a goal and share of the bonus in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over AFC Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium.
The England international has recorded 28 offensive rebounds this season, his best tally in his six seasons in Fantasy.
GW36 players with the most purchases
Player | Transferred from | Grades |
---|---|---|
Isaac | 485,657 | 7 |
Guardiol | 456,489 | 6 |
De Bruyne | 402,755 | 2 |
Haaland | 398,626 | 21 |
Gordon | 339,090 | 6 |
Foden | 313,393 | 5 |
Not only was Isak the fourth most-capped player, he was also the most bought, with more than 485,000 lining up for Newcastle’s trip to Burnley on Saturday.
Isak continued his good form with a goal and an assist in the Magpies’ 4-0 win, although his seven-point tally would have been more had he not missed a penalty.
The Swede now has 12 rebounds and 73 points in the last nine games, the most of any forward.
Like Man City, Newcastle also have two games in DGW37, hosting Brighton & Hove Albion before traveling to Manchester United.
Isaac’s teammate, Anthony Gordon (£6.3m) was also among the top transfer targets for Gameweek 36, snapped up by almost 340,000 Fantasy bosses.
Gordon provided an assist in the 4-0 win to earn six points, although he would have been credited with another assist if Issac had taken his penalty.
Man City players wanted
More than 2 million transfers were made for Man City players.
Josko Guardiol (£5.1m) was the most sought after, winning over 456,000 new owners. He duly provided his fourth attacking return in four games with an assist after winning the penalty for Haaland’s first goal.
Kevin De Bruyne (£10.5m), who averaged 10 points per game in his previous six starts against Wolves, disappointed his 402,000+ new owners with a clean sheet, just his second in five appearances.
Haaland and Phil Foden (£8.4m) were four City players among the top six signings.
Foden recovered from the illness that kept him out of last weekend’s win at Nottingham Forest to provide an assist and five points.
The leaders of the top 100 GW36 trainers
Player | Captain from | Grades |
---|---|---|
Haaland | 84 | 21 |
Pilgrim | 10 | 8 |
Isaac | 2 | 7 |
De Bruyne | 2 | 2 |
Havertz | 1 | 5 |
Salah | 1 | – |
What did the world’s top 100 do?
Haaland led the majority of the top 100 coaches in Fantasy, and all of the top 10 were heading into Gameweek 36.
Palmer was the main differential pick, selected from 10 people from this elite group, with Isak and De Bruyne finding favor with two each.
Mahmoud Alhassan supported the most informed player in Fantasy before Gameweek 36, Kai Havertz (£7.5m), who had a total of 100 points from matchday 25.
But the risk of going against Haaland didn’t pay off as Havertz returned just five points in Arsenal’s 3-0.
Finally, 94th place Mike Dobson will be hoping his difference, Salah, can produce something spectacular against Spurs on Sunday.