The Hard Tackle lists the five best options to consider for the captain’s armband heading into FPL Gameweek 37 of the 2025/26 season.
Gameweek 37 offers a classic FPL captaincy puzzle: one explosive favourite, one in-form striker, one elite creator, and one defender with set-piece threat. With several fixtures looking inviting and the season entering its final stretch, managers are being asked to balance ceiling, safety, and recent rhythm more carefully than ever.
This is also the kind of week where the best captaincy choice is not always the most obvious one. A strong fixture helps, but so does current form, role in the team, and the kind of opponent standing in the way. That is why the discussion naturally narrows to a small group of players who can win a Gameweek on their own, or at least come very close.
Erling Haaland, Viktor Gyokeres, Bruno Fernandes, and Gabriel Magalhaes each bring a different route to FPL points. Haaland leans on raw goal threat, Gyokeres on form and a friendly fixture, Fernandes on all-around influence and assist potential, and Gabriel on the rare but valuable defender captaincy route with clean-sheet and set-piece upside.
The job here is not just to name the best armband candidate, but to explain why each of these four belongs in the conversation. In a Gameweek that includes Arsenal vs Burnley, Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest, and Bournemouth vs Manchester City, the margins are narrow and the case for every FPL captaincy option has to be built on something more solid than reputation alone.
Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland has not been at his ruthless, week-in-week-out best for large parts of the season, but that has never fully removed him from the FPL captaincy debate. Even when his form has wobbled, the Manchester City forward still carries the kind of ceiling that can turn a quiet week into a huge one, and his recent haul against Brentford was a reminder of that exact danger.
That is the simple reason he remains the go-to option for many managers. When Haaland is facing a fixture that looks remotely favourable, the argument usually starts with trust in the player rather than trust in the team. Bournemouth may not be the softest opponent in the league, but Haaland’s sheer volume of chances, his penalty threat, and his proven ability to score in bursts keep him ahead of most alternatives.
Viktor Gyokeres
Viktor Gyokeres makes a very strong case because Burnley have not exactly been a team that scares attackers across the season. The Clarets have shown enough inconsistency to give away openings, and that is often all a striker of the Swede’s profile needs. Arsenal, meanwhile, have shown that they can create plenty of good chances for their centre-forward, especially when they dominate territory and set the tone early.
The encouraging part for FPL managers is that Gyokeres seems to be building again rather than fading away. His solid showing in Gameweek 35, where he delivered two goals and an assist against Fulham, suggested that his rhythm is returning at the right moment. If Arsenal control the match against Burnley, he has both the fixture and the form to justify the captaincy shout.
Bruno Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes is a different kind of FPL captain pick, but that is exactly why he deserves serious attention. Nottingham Forest have not been the most reliable team defensively this season, and Fernandes remains Manchester United’s most important player in the final third, especially when it comes to linking attacks, supplying chances, and staying involved even when the team is not at its most fluent.
His numbers explain the appeal. Fernandes is on 19 Premier League assists for the season, just one short of the all-time record, and that chase alone gives him a huge bonus-point and return potential in Gameweek 37. Recent FPL returns, including an assist against Liverpool and another against Brentford, show how consistently he has kept producing when United need him most.
Gabriel Magalhaes
Gabriel Magalhaes is the most adventurous of the four FPL captaincy picks, but he is not a wild one. Arsenal facing Burnley gives him a strong clean-sheet foundation, and that matters because defender captaincy only works when the chance of a shutout is genuinely high. Burnley’s attack has not been reliable enough to make this feel like a risky punt for the sake of it.
What pushes Gabriel into the discussion is his set-piece threat. He is not just a defender who waits for bonus points but also one of Arsenal’s most dangerous aerial options and can turn a corner or free-kick into a decisive Fantasy return. If Arsenal keep control of the match, Gabriel can easily outscore many midfielders and forwards in a Gameweek where the obvious premium picks are not all aligned with perfect fixtures.
FPL captaincy options at a glance
| Player | Club | Opponent | Main appeal | Risk level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erling Haaland | Manchester City | Bournemouth (A) | Huge goal ceiling, proven captaincy pedigree, can score in bursts | Medium |
| Viktor Gyokeres | Arsenal | Burnley (H) | Strong fixture, improving form, central attacking role | Medium |
| Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United | Nottingham Forest (H) | Elite creativity, assist-record chase, all-round involvement | Medium |
| Gabriel Magalhaes | Arsenal | Burnley (H) | Clean-sheet potential, set-piece danger, defender upside | Low-Medium |
Haaland is still the safest headline captain, but Fernandes offers the most exciting differential among the premium attackers. Meanwhile, Gyokeres is the best blend of fixture and form. Gabriel, meanwhile, is the smart left-field choice for managers who want to attack Burnley’s weaknesses through Arsenal’s defence rather than their attack.
Honourable mentions
A few other names deserve a glance before the deadline: Nico O’Reilly, Jeremy Doku, Bukayo Saka, Matheus Cunha, Morgan Gibbs-White, Morgan Rogers, Florian Wirtz, Danny Welbeck, and Benjamin Sesko. They may not lead the captaincy conversation, but in a week like this, several of them can still return enough to change the shape of a mini-league race.
