FPL Captaincy Conundrum: Gamweek 16

The Hard Tackle lists the five best options to consider for the captain’s armband heading into FPL Gameweek 16 of the 2025/26 season.

Manchester City’s home clash with Crystal Palace, Manchester United welcoming Bournemouth, Arsenal hosting Wolves, Fulham travelling to Burnley and Aston Villa facing West Ham together make Gameweek 16 a captaincy puzzle with several tempting answers for FPL managers.

Erling Haaland, Bruno Fernandes, Bukayo Saka, Harry Wilson, and Ollie Watkins all arrive with strong individual arguments, but their appeal changes once recent form and opponent weaknesses are placed under the microscope.​

Setting the Gameweek 16 stage

Gameweek 16 offers a rare mix of premium safety, mid-priced upside and a couple of calculated punts that can transform mini‑league standings in one weekend. Manchester City, Arsenal, and Aston Villa bring the heavy artillery, while Fulham and Manchester United provide differential routes for managers looking to climb the ranks quickly.​

The fixtures themselves are just as important as the names on the teamsheet. Manchester City’s meeting with Crystal Palace and Arsenal’s home game against Wolves put elite attacks up against defences that have started to leak after promising early spells. Further down the table, Burnley’s step up to Premier League level has exposed a softer underbelly than their historic promotion defence, while West Ham and Bournemouth have struggled to find consistency without the ball.​

Why fixtures matter as much as form

Form guides tell managers who is hot, but defensive data shows where the real damage can be done. Wolves are conceding more than two goals per game this season, with their actual goals against figure outstripping their expected numbers, which hints at a unit that buckles under pressure.

Bournemouth and West Ham United, meanwhile, sit in that awkward middle ground: not disastrous at the back every week, but prone to wild swings when faced with quality movement or quick transitions.​

Burnley’s promotion was built on a record‑breaking defensive effort, yet their return to the top flight has brought heavier pressure, more shots conceded and more time spent defending their own box. That profile tends to reward creative wingers and set‑piece threats rather than old‑fashioned poachers, which is exactly where Harry Wilson comes into the conversation.​

Balancing risk and reward

Gameweek 16 FPL captaincy, therefore, becomes an exercise in balancing three ideas: explosive upside, reliability over ninety minutes, and how much risk a manager is willing to shoulder. Erling Haaland and Bukayo Saka tick the “reliable” and “explosive” boxes, backed by steady goal involvement and penalty duties for dominant teams.

Bruno Fernandes and Wilson sit in the “creative talisman” category, where shots, key passes and set‑pieces combine to offer multiple routes to points.​ Ollie Watkins, finally, is the classic form‑versus‑fixtures debate wrapped into one player.

Aston Villa’s attack has looked dangerous over a large sample, and his long‑term FPL record is elite, but his recent returns have been patchier, which keeps his armband percentage lower and makes him especially attractive to aggressive managers.​

Erling Haaland: the default FPL giant

Crystal Palace deserve credit for an excellent start that saw them concede fewer than a goal per league game, but recent underlying numbers hint at cracks. Their expected goals against sits around 1.3 per match, higher than their actual goals conceded, suggesting opponents are creating enough chances that a ruthless finisher could punish them heavily.

The Eagles also concede a sizeable chunk of their goals in the final third of games, which is exactly when Manchester City’s pressure usually peaks.​ Haaland, for his part, continues to operate like a cheat code.

The Norwegian has 15 goals in 15 Premier League matches this season, with non‑penalty xG close to 0.7 per 90 minutes and more than three shots per game, most of them from inside the box. In recent outings he has produced braces against Bournemouth and Everton, goals versus Liverpool, Burnley and Wolves, plus a hatful of big chances in the last month alone, turning City’s dominance into FPL hauls with frightening regularity.​

Bruno Fernandes: the creative heartbeat

Bournemouth’s league position hides a defence that gives up a steady flow of chances, particularly in broken play. Their goals‑conceded rate hovers between 1.4 and 1.6 per game, with six goals shipped in one recent six‑match sample of Premier League fixtures and a tendency to allow more opportunities after half‑time.

The Cherries’ expected goals against number of around 1.4 per match underlines that opponents are not relying on wonder‑strikes; they are creating repeatable, high‑quality chances.​ Bruno Fernandes thrives in exactly these open, transition‑heavy games. The Manchester United captain has four league goals this season and remains his side’s main creative hub, posting strong shot volumes and a healthy share of passes into the final third.

Recent weeks have seen him on the scoresheet in multiple Premier League fixtures and heavily involved in build‑up even when Manchester United’s performances have fluctuated, which keeps his returns resilient to the odd poor team display. Add penalty duties and a home crowd behind him, and the Portuguese international becomes a high‑ceiling captain who can explode through a combination of goals, assists and bonus.​

Bukayo Saka: Wolves’ worst nightmare

If there is one defence currently inviting trouble, it is Wolves. They are conceding an average of 2.2 goals per match in the league, with 33 goals already shipped, and their expected goals against of 1.64 per game tells the story of a side that allows sustained pressure and good shooting positions.

The Black Country outfit concede a goal roughly every 41 minutes, making them ideal opponents for a patient, multi‑phase attacking side like Arsenal.​ Saka has been central to everything positive about Arsenal’s season, combining goals, assists and relentless involvement in the final third. Across his 2025/26 campaign he has repeatedly delivered returns in clusters, registering multiple goal involvements over short stretches and contributing both from open play and the penalty spot.

The Englishman’s historical record against Wolves is encouraging too, with four goals and an assist in eleven league meetings, underlining that this is a matchup he already understands how to exploit. With Arsenal top end of the table and Wolves’ defence reeling, Saka is arguably the most balanced captain on offer: high floor, high ceiling, low rotation risk.​

Harry Wilson: the crafty differential

Burnley’s promotion season famously produced the best defensive record in English league history, but their return to the Premier League has been a different story. They are conceding 2 goals per game overall and close to 2.9 away from home, figures that show how much more punishment they have taken against top‑flight attacks compared to the Championship.

Expected‑goals data and shot maps point to an increased number of efforts allowed from dangerous central areas, where composed finishers and clever crossers tend to feast.​ Harry Wilson has quietly positioned himself as one of Fulham’s most important attacking weapons this season. He has four league goals and two assists in the current campaign in a little over a thousand minutes, backed by solid shot volume and progressive dribble numbers that reflect his constant involvement around the box.

Season‑long metrics show him as one of Fulham’s leading contributors in both goals and key attacking actions, and he has been a regular feature in FPL discussions thanks to his blend of set‑pieces, long‑range shooting and open‑play creativity. For managers willing to step away from the template, a midfielder with multiple routes to points against a stretched Burnley backline is exactly the kind of gamble that can change a gameweek.​

Ollie Watkins: upside against chaos

West Ham United’s campaign has lurched from solid to shambolic and back again, but the defensive baseline has remained worrying. They sit near the bottom of the table with a goal difference of -12 and only three wins to their name, demonstrating how often their backline has been exposed.

Their tendency to collapse once behind suits an Aston Villa side that rarely takes its foot off the gas when in control of a match.​ Watkins arrives in this fixture with a reputation for reliability that stretches over several seasons.

The English striker has scored double‑digit league goals in each of his five Premier League campaigns, and he is one of only a handful of players to have accumulated over 400 FPL points across the last two seasons combined, thanks to a blend of goals, assists and bonus accumulation.  While there has been a recent dip, his underlying involvement remains strong. With Villa at home to an erratic West Ham, this feels like the kind of fixture where a “buy‑low” captaincy call on Watkins could look very smart in hindsight.​

Key FPL captaincy options at a glance

Honourable mentions for bold FPL managers

Beyond the headline names, several other players deserve a nod for FPL managers chasing differentials. Kiernan Dewsbury‑Hall continues to offer steady creative numbers and late runs into the box from midfield, translating into a useful mix of goals and assists at a friendly price.

Phil Foden, as ever, combines world‑class talent with the risk of rotation, but any start for him in a high‑scoring Manchester City side comes with haul potential that few midfielders can match.​ Declan Rice has quietly added more attacking output to his game, popping up with the occasional goal or assist alongside the passing and ball‑winning that underpin Arsenal’s control.

Morgan Rogers has emerged as a bright spark in advanced roles for Aston Villa, while Igor Thiago’s physical presence and penalty‑box instincts mark him out as one to watch if his minutes and service remain consistent.

For most FPL managers, though, Gameweek 16 captaincy will likely revolve around Erling Haaland, Buakyo Saka, or Bruno Fernandes, with Wilson and Watkins ready to reward those prepared to take a calculated leap.​