This article is part of our The Armband series.
If you didn't captain a Manchester City player last gameweek, you have a chance to redeem yourself as they have an even more favorable match this Saturday at home against Burnley. And while the Blues didn't secure a clean sheet against Stoke, it was a dominant performance from the start, scoring seven goals with production coming from all of the big names and even Fernandinho found a goal.
After taking care of business in Champions League play Tuesday against Napoli, the lineup should remain the same, though Sergio Aguero made the bench so he could throw a wrench into things. The last time Aguero started, Raheem Sterling opened on the bench and came on for Gabriel Jesus in the 54th minute. That's something fantasy players don't want going forward.
Elsewhere in Gameweek 8, the road proved too difficult for both Chelsea (at Crystal Palace) and Arsenal (at Watford) even in favorable spots. Liverpool and Man United ended in a scoreless draw as Romelu Lukaku's four-match scoring streak ended. And once again, Spurs struggled at Wembley Stadium, as Harry Kane still hasn't scored there in Premier League play.
The upcoming week will be dominated by Man City, but some will be keen on Chelsea hosting Watford. Spurs are at Wembley again and take on Liverpool, making them a tricky side to back. Arsenal travel to Everton and there's no telling how that one turns out, so it'll be best to avoid. Maybe the only other match to consider for your captain is Man United going to Huddersfield, who let up four goals against Spurs the last time they were at home.
Starting with the obvious, Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne should be two of the most-captained players this week. If Aguero returns, it's most likely he'll take the spot of Sterling or Leroy Sane, so that leaves Jesus as a fairly safe option. Jesus continues to find the score sheet, now with six goals and an assist in his last five league starts. It's a similar situation for De Bruyne, who has scored or assisted in seven of his last eight matches in all competitions, and he's taken at least two shots and created at least two chances in each of his last four. Burnley have surprisingly been the opposite of last season on the road, as they already have wins at Chelsea and Everton to go with 1-1 draws at Tottenham and Liverpool. None of those teams are Man City, though. With a clean sheet in the cards again, Kyle Walker will be a better play than most other forwards this week, as long as City don't go up by five goals and let up defensively.
Chelsea have a favorable match from the outside, but they are playing a side that's two points above them in the table. Watford remain in the top 4 and have an 8-3 score differential on the road. While none of those matches were against top competition, Chelsea still aren't an easy team to back, having lost their last two league matches. On Wednesday, Chelsea gave up three goals to Roma (all of them scored by Man City legends Alexander Kolarov and Edin Dzeko) at Stamford Bridge. Alvaro Morata returned from injury to play a full 90 in that match and while Eden Hazard scored a brace, I'm still not into giving him the armband.
Outside of Man City players, my top choice is Lukaku, even on the road. Outside of the recent Liverpool match, he's had at least three shots in every start this season and I'll bank on that to beat a back line that recently had trouble dealing with Chicharito or even a defender like Jose Fonte, who has two assists in his last five starts. Then again, Chicharito doesn't have a shot in the last two matches, so I'm not sure why you'd go that route.
I'd probably look at Manolo Gabbiadini (v. West Brom), Xherdan Shaqiri (v. Bournemouth) or Ayoze Perez (v. Crystal Palace) before Chicharito, but that's not saying much. I haven't mentioned Christian Eriksen yet, but he takes precedence above all of these guys, even at Wembley. He's much more consistent than Kane and has created at least three chances in five of his last six starts in all competitions. He's also good for a shot or two, which has produced three goals this season.
