Why is choosing the right Captain so important?
Picking your Captain is one of the most important decisions for a fantasy manager, capable of turning even the most disastrous gameweek into a big ‘green arrow’ success. Your captain will score double points and as such you obviously want to target the player(s) you feel are capable of the biggest point hauls.
As with the rest of your selections in Fantasy EFL, you can change your Captain an unlimited number of times UNTIL his side kick-off, known in Fantasy EFL as ‘lockout’. At this point you’re locked-in with your selection for the rest of the gameweek and, unlike certain other fantasy games, cannot shift the armband. You will also not be able to move your captaincy from a player who hasn’t yet played onto someone who has already played.
The only exception here is if your Captain’s team plays but for some reason he doesn’t feature…at which point your Vice Captain comes into play (so make sure you have good options for both!)
Given the ability to switch strategy mid-gameweek (rather than having all your selections locked), we’ve decided to look at Captaincy options on a day-by-day basis. As the Championship, League One and League Two campaigns all get underway under the lights on the evening of Friday 9th August, we’re going to start there with best options for the opening fixtures.
Who should you consider as your Captain and why?
Friday Fixtures
Of all the Championship sides, the favourite to secure a victory on Friday for Fantasy EFL managers will be recently relegated Sheffield United, who take on Preston North End away from home. Attacking players such as Gustavo Hamer (M), Callum O’Hare (M) and Rhian Brewster (F) are likely to be amongst the goals, but you could opt for a different route by choosing an option such as Anel Ahmedhodzic (D), who is likely to earn defensive bonus points, potentially a clean sheet and could even contribute a +7 point goal! Last season Anel managed to contribute 132 clearances, 59 tackles and 26 shots blocked in the Premier League and he also chipped in with two goals. His last season in the Championship was even better offensively with six goals and two assists contributed.
Blackburn Rovers are also of interest in the captaincy matrix as they take on newly promoted Derby County. Despite a turbulent 23/24 season, Blackburn will be firm favourites in this one and with top scorer Sammie Szmodics (M) (27 goals and 4 assists last season) still yet to make a rumoured move away from the Rovers, offer an excellent option for captaincy in their opening match.
The League One Campaign also gets underway on the 9th August with Barnsley taking on newly promoted Mansfield Town at home. The best options for your Fantasy EFL captaincy here, would come from midfield pairing Connor Hourihane (M) and Adam Phillips (M) or striker Sam Cosgrove (F), who were all amongst the goals and assists las season. The midfield pair also would have received a decent tally of bonus points for key passes made, whilst Adam Phillips ended last season with an impressive goal involvement tally of 17.
However, If you prefer to bank on potential returns at both ends, then Cory O’Keeffe (D) could also be in the mix. Currently the top-picked Barnsley asset in the game (2.2%), the attack-minded Irish right-back finished the campaign with nine goal involvements, but also nine clean-sheets, 40 tackles and 28 clearances.
The pick of the League Two fixtures on Friday night sees newly promoted Chesterfield taking on Swindon Town at the SMH Group stadium. Chesterfield are one of the favourites to push for a second promotion this season, (in part due to the momentum achieved in winning the National League), and they will be desperate to set the tone with a home victory. Swindon, by contrast, had a slightly disappointing campaign last season, concluding in 19th place.
Forwards Paddy Madden (F) and Will Grigg (F) would be solid options for captaincy, but for our money, the best pick must be defender Cheyenne Dunkley (D), who not only offers an attacking threat but is also one of the best defensive players in the division. Dunkley was part of a struggling Shrewsbury Town side last season, yet still managed to find the back of the net on four occasions as well as delivering 49 tackles, 45 shots blocked and an incredible 300 clearances (at a rate of 7.03 per 90 minutes), which would see him earn two bonus points (at least) per game in Fantasy EFL. If Chesterfield can secure a clean sheet as well, then Dunkley is highly likely to return a considerable number of points in the opening game.
Saturday Fixtures
Of all the Saturday fixtures, the obvious choices for the armband would be players of Leeds United. They face League One title winners Portsmouth at Elland Road but will be confident they can kickstart their campaign with a convincing win in front of their home support, even despite a few lost players in the transfer window. When there is a clear favourite to win a match, it seems most appropriate to choose attackers, therefore Georginio Rutter (F), Willy Gnonto (F) and Matteo Joseph (F) are good options here, especially with the performances that Rutter has displayed throughout pre-season, scoring again in the most recent pre-season match against Valencia.
Last season, Rutter provided six assists and 16 goals and will get a chance to step up even more with the recent loss of Crysencio Summerville. On the other hand, Leeds United defenders will be eager to keep a clean sheet and have even more routes to points. Therefore, players such as Junior Firpo (D), Joe Rodon (D), Ethan Ampadu (D) and Jayden Bogle (D) could deliver substantial returns, making them all viable candidates for captaincy.
Elsewhere, Norwich City take on newly promoted Oxford United, who will be looking to get off to a positive start in the League, especially in front of their home crowd. However, the Canaries will surely be firm favourites to win the fixture, so players such as Josh Sargent (F), who ended the season with 16 goals, and youngster Jonathan Rowe (F), who scored 12 goals and two assists from the flanks, will be well favoured as they look to plug the gap left by Gabriel Sara’s move to Galatasaray. Those who fancy a Canaries clean sheet may also want to go a bit more maverick with Jack Stacey (D) who delivered 103 tackles and 107 clearances last time out, or Shane Duffy (D) who smashed 190 balls clear (averaging 5.36 p/90) as well as scoring a goal and an assist.
There are a few standout fixtures in the League One list too, with teams such as: Birmingham City, Stevenage and Wrexham all getting their campaigns underway with home fixtures against sides who struggled a little last season. For Birmingham City the likes of: Juninho Bacuna (M), Siriki Dembele (M) and Lee Buchanan (D) are all good options to return in their opening match. However, Alfie May (F) is the clear stand-out, following an incredible 2023/24 ending his campaign with 24 goal involvements for Charlton Athletic and has looked sharp in pre-season too, scoring five times for his new side.
Wrexham face Wycombe Wanderers in their opening game and will believe that they can secure all three points, despite Paul Mullin likely to be on the sidelines after a recent injury. In Mullin’s absence, there’s a great opportunity for Elliot Lee (M), an attacker for the Robins but a midfielder in Fantasy EFL, to pick up the mantle and add to the 16 goals, six assists and 70 key passes delivered last season. Notably most of these returns were delivered at home, so the Welsh side starting their season at the Racecourse Ground can only boost his chances!
The final club that could return points in their opening match is Stevenage. Boro take on Shrewsbury Town in their opening match and will be looking to go one better than last season and secure a Play-Off spot. Jamie Reid (F) is likely to be amongst the goals again this season (having finished 23/24 with 18 goals and two assists) and he could be a good outside option that not many Fantasy EFL managers will have considered.
Our favourite from League Two sees Doncaster Rovers take on Accrington Stanley at home. Last season, Doncaster were one of the sides who managed to secure a Play-Off berth, but it was not quite enough to earn promotion to League One. On the other hand, Accrington Stanley were a side who struggled to compete for large swathes of last season, ending their campaign in 17th place. Attacking threats of Doncaster such as Billy Sharp (F) and Joe Ironside (F) could certainly return significant points, however, it is midfielder Luke Molyneux (M) that catches our eye the most for a prospective armband. Last season he provided nine goals alongside eight assists, and he is very likely to be effective in their opening game of the season.
Sunday/Monday Fixtures
With most of the fixtures taking place on Saturday, the remaining fixtures of gameweek 1 are made up of Sheffield Wednesday facing Plymouth Argyle and Luton Town taking on Burnley.
The Luton Town fixture will be a tricky one to predict as both sides were in the Premier League last year and will feel confident of a run at promotion in the 24/25 season, hence possibly not an ideal ‘captaincy’ landscape, especially for defensive players. That said, if you do want to put your faith in either of these sides, then the most favourable options would be Burnley’s Lyle Foster (F), Zeki Amdouni (F) and Josh Brownhill (M) or Luton’s Carlton Morris (F), Elijah Adebayo (F) and Alfie Doughty (M). The two sides met last season in the Premier League, with the first meeting ending in a 1-1 draw and the second concluding in a 2-1 victory for Burnley away from home. Foster scored in the second meeting and Amdouni in the first, while Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo were the two players to contribute for the Hatters.
Sheffield Wednesday vs Plymouth Argyle is a competitive tussle for different reasons, with both teams struggling lower down the table last time out, finishing 20th and 21st respectively. Both teams conceded a ton of goals (68 and 70), so this isn’t likely to be one for defensive purists, but could be a chance for a last-gasp maverick captaincy pick up front, with Plymouth’s Morgan Whittaker (F), who managed 27 goal involvements last season from 64 shots-on-target, alongside 61 key-passes.
Top 10 Picks
So, a lot of suggestions there, and we’ve pulled out the full list again below, but to narrow it down a little, our top 10 captaincy shortlist would be something like this…
Alfie May (F) – Birmingham City
Sammie Szmodics (M) – Blackburn Rovers
Matteo Joseph (F) – Leeds United
Gustavo Hamer (M) – Sheffield United
Jayden Bogle (D) – Leeds United
Cheyenne Dunkley (D) – Chesterfield
Elliot Lee (M) – Wrexham
Jamie Reid (F) – Stevenage
Anel Ahmedhodzic (D) – Sheffield United
Adam Phillips (M) – Barnsley
Full Captaincy Candidates
Friday
Adam Phillips (M) - Barnsley
Connor Hourihane (M) - Barnsley
Sam Cosgrove (F) – Barnsley
Sammie Szmodics (M) – Blackburn Rovers
Cheyenne Dunkley (D) - Chesterfield
Paddy Madden (F) - Chesterfield
Will Grigg (F) – Chesterfield
Anel Ahmedhodzic (D) – Sheffield United
Callum O’Hare (M) – Sheffield United
Gustavo Hamer (M) – Sheffield United
Rhian Brewster (F) – Sheffield United
Saturday
Alfie May (F) – Birmingham City
Juninho Bacuna (M) - Birmingham City
Lee Buchanan (D) – Birmingham City
Siriki Dembele (M) – Birmingham City
Billy Sharp (F) - Doncaster Rovers
Joe Ironside (F) - Doncaster Rovers
Luke Molyneux (M) - Doncaster Rovers
Joe Rodon (D) – Leeds United
Junior Firpo (D) – Leeds United
Ethan Ampadu (D) – Leeds United
Georginio Rutter (F) – Leeds United
Jayden Bogle (D) – Leeds United
Matteo Joseph (F) – Leeds United
Willy Gnonto (F) – Leeds United
Jonathan Rowe (F) - Norwich City
Josh Sargent (F) - Norwich City
Jamie Reid (F) – Stevenage
Elliot Lee (M) - Wrexham
Sunday/Monday
Morgan Whittaker (F) – Plymouth Argyle
Josh Brownhill (M) – Burnley
Lyle Foster (F) - Burnley
Zeki Amdouni (F) – Burnley
Alfie Doughty (M) - Luton Town
Carlton Morris (F) – Luton Town
Elijah Adebayo (F) – Luton Town
Have Your Say
Think we’ve missed an obvious option for the armband? Send us your thoughts at fantasyefl@fantasyfootballscout.co.uk or message direct at #fantasyefl (x.com/FEFLOfficial)
Insights provided by the team at Fantasy Football Scout Fantasy Football Scout Homepage the leading voice in fantasy football who’ll be providing coverage on teams, player picks and strategy for the Fantasy EFL game throughout the season here and on their own dedicated EFL channel here FPL Archives - Best FPL Tips, Advice, Team News, Picks, and Statistics from Fantasy Football Scout We’ll be adding key data to these profiles through the pre-season, but now you’ve got some insight, it’s time to put it to work in the game Fantasy EFL