This article is part of our The Armband series.
One of these weeks, Manchester City will lose and the average points at the official fantasy Premier League game will fail to reach 30. Gameweek 10 is not that week. The Sky Blues are running through the league with an ease that hasn't been seen since the days of Manchester United's dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson. Chelsea have had success in recent seasons, but not at the level City are displaying.
Through nine matches, City already have a plus-28 goal differential, dropping just two points. Not only are they scoring a bunch, but the back line already has six clean sheets after zero in their first nine matches last season. Because of that, their players have been easiest to trust in terms of the armband. Of the 14 players with at least 50 fantasy points, six of them play for City and Gabriel Jesus is two points shy of that number. If it weren't for a red card, Kyle Walker would be on that list, as well.
If you selected both Sergio Aguero and Jesus at the beginning of the season and captained Aguero whenever he started and Jesus whenever Aguero didn't start, you'd be in a great position. Aguero has one start when he finished with fewer than seven fantasy points and in the other three matches, Jesus totaled 27 fantasy points. That means your captain could have totaled 85 fantasy points through the first nine gameweeks. Of course, none of us is intelligent enough even though it seems like a fairly reasonable strategy looking back at things. But with their next six matches mostly favorable (at West Brom, v. Arsenal, at Leicester, at Huddersfield, v. Southampton, v. West Ham), there's still time to go all in on the South American forwards.
For the trip to West Brom this weekend, expect to see Aguero, Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne as top captain selections along with Leroy Sane and David Silva filtered in for those looking for a differential. West Brom only have allowed three goals in four home matches, but only one of those opponents are in the top 15 of the Premier League table. Adding to that, West Brom have four points from their last seven matches.
Aguero played 120 minutes Tuesday, while Jesus played 82, and that gives some reason for caution. Even if Aguero starts, it's hard to see him playing a full 90, with Jesus the more likely of the two to start and make it 90 minutes. De Bruyne is always a good choice because of his high floor, and he has one goal and six assists in the last six league matches. He also didn't enter Tuesday's match until the 82nd minute (for Jesus). Sane played just 15 minutes off the bench against Wolverhampton and has at least 10 fantasy points in three of his last four matches, so he needs to be in the conversation, as well.
Last but not least are the nine other matches this gameweek. Manchester United host Spurs is an intriguing match, but I'll stay away from captaining either side, namely Romelu Lukaku, Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen. The Red Devils haven't allowed a goal at Old Trafford in league play and their attack as been suspect in recent matches.
Arsenal and Liverpool are the main competitors to Man City players for the armband. Home against Swansea, Alexis Sanchez is again on the radar with one goal and three assists in his last three starts. I like his chances better than Alexandre Lacazette, who is mostly goal-or-bust. Lacazette's four goals at home can't be overlooked, though. As for Swansea's one away goal allowed this season, I'll choose to look the other way.
Liverpool have been poor in league play, scoring just twice in their last three matches, but a lot of that can be attributed to level of competition. Huddersfield are coming off a win against Man Utd, but they also haven't scored in their last four away matches (Carabao Cup included). Mohamed Salah has quietly been Liverpool's most consistent fantasy player with a goal or assist in five of seven matches in which he's played at least 50 minutes. I'd place him on the same level as Philippe Coutinho for now, with Roberto Firmino below them both.
Chelsea are the other team to monitor with a trip to Bournemouth. The Blues aren't playing defense, but they are scoring so Alvaro Morata is the guy to back even though he hasn't scored in his last two league appearances. Eden Hazard is also plenty popular, but I'm not giving him the armband until he shows some consistency.
For the crazy fantasy owners, Wilfried Zaha could be looked at in a favorable spot against West Ham, who just gave up three goals at home to Brighton. Zaha didn't do much last week, but you could hope that he repeats his Chelsea performance. Richarlison is another player to keep in mind as he has two goals and three assists in his last four. No matter the match this season, Richarlison has done something positive for Watford, which shows in his 32 shots and 11 chances created. Jamie Vardy hasn't scored in his last three, but at home against Everton should present him with numerous good looks in front of net.
