This article is part of our The Armband series.
The only question I have for fantasy bosses after Gameweek 15 is why everyone is tentative in captaining (or owning) Eden Hazard. He was my favorite play last week and has been the hottest player in the league along with Mohamed Salah. Yet, he still wasn't one of the most popular captains last gameweek. With tasty upcoming fixtures, expect those two to lead the way in my captain rankings for the next few weeks. As for Romelu Lukaku, whose ownership is down to 35 percent as of writing, I have my reservations as he's scored just once in his last eight league starts and twice in his last 12 overall.
For Gameweek 16, it's the usual suspects for the armband outside of those in the Manchester derby. If you read my weekly article, you'll know that trusting players in big matches between top-six clubs is always difficult. Guys like Alexis Sanchez and Lukaku didn't show up on the score sheet despite four goals between Arsenal and Man Utd last weekend. Spurs didn't score at Arsenal when the sides met a few weeks ago even though most people pegged Tottenham to win at the Emirates. Man City are easier to trust, but in their lone away match against a top club (Chelsea) there was only one goal scored and it was by Kevin De Bruyne. In this spot, I'd rather go with a side in a favorable match than back Aguero or De Bruyne in a spot they'll find it difficult to score more than once. Plus, with Paul Pogba out, there's a decent chance United sit back and play for a draw.
That means I'm looking to Chelsea (at West Ham), Spurs (v. Stoke), Arsenal (at Southampton) and Liverpool (v. Everton) for the best captain choices. Starting with the Blues, I'm betting on Hazard to start after going a full 90 against Atletico on Tuesday. He had a slow start to the season, but already has eight goals and four assists in his 13 starts. He has 20 shots on goal and 15 chances created in his last seven starts. As I said last week, I'd much rather back Hazard than Alvaro Morata, who doesn't often create for his teammates.
There's been talk of people triple captaining Harry Kane because this match feels like one he could break out in going against a Stoke side that has allowed 15 goals in seven away matches. While Spurs are struggling, Kane is still finding the back of the net with three goals in his last five matches. At Wembley against a weak back line, this is the type of match Kane should be active in up front. Giving him the triple captain may be a stretch given the team's struggles, but he's at least in the captain conversation.
I'd rather take Salah in the Merseyside derby even though Everton are coming off two clean sheets. I'm still not sold on the Toffees mainly because those two clean sheets (and wins) were at home against teams in the bottom half of the table. Liverpool are rolling with five wins in their last six league matches and that includes a couple clean sheets against teams at the same level as Everton (Huddersfield, Southampton). No one can stop talking about Salah, who has scored or assisted in 10 of his last 11 matches. The contrarian play would be to go with Sadio Mane or Philippe Coutinho. However, there's a question over Mane's status, as he's been rested every other match for the last few weeks (he played 90 minutes Wednesday against Spartak Moscow in the Champions League). Coutinho is slightly easier to trust, though has been hit-or-miss in terms of fantasy. He has six goals and five assists in his last seven starts but didn't find the score sheet in three of those matches. It also helps that Liverpool are running through opponents with at least three goals scored in eight of their last nine in all competitions.
Arsenal will try and rebound from the Man United defeat, but it won't be easy. Southampton haven't been consistent, but backing the Gunners on the road never feels like a great idea. Alexis is the only option I'd consider because he's always creating and getting shots off. He's averaging more than three chances created and almost two shots on goal in his 10 starts this season.
The biggest differential captain could end up being Wilfried Bony or Tammy Abraham, both of whom got starts last match for the Swans. Bony scored and took more shots, but I can't advise giving the armband to anyone on Swansea, even at home against a bottom club.
Matt Ritchie could be worth a look at home against Leicester. He at least has the edge going against Jamie Vardy. As the team's corner taker, there's always the chance he connects on one of those and that's why he has seven assists this season. Wilfried Zaha and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are in the discussion for Crystal Palace at home against Bournemouth. If you're a risk taker, Mamadou Sakho has bonus points in the last three matches, with two of those away clean sheets. Meanwhile, the Cherries have just four away goals this season.
