More than 4.1 million Fantasy Premier League Managers were rewarded for their decisions as captains Erling Holland (£14.2m) in Gameweek 36
The Norwegian delivered his seventh double-figure haul in Manchester City’s 5-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, with four goals and a maximum bonus giving him a 21-point tally, or 42 with the armband.
It was his best score of the 2023/24 Fantasy and he now leads the race for the Castrol Golden Boot by five goals.
Confidence in Holland has seen his captaincy tally rise by nearly a million from the previous round.
This is set to add to Man City’s two fixtures in Double Gameweek 37 (DGW37), when Pep Guardiola’s side visit Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur.
GW36 players with most captains
| player | By Capt | points |
|---|---|---|
| Holland | 4,144,198 | 21 |
| Palmer | 944,797 | – |
| Salah | 702,522 | – |
| Isaac | 676,401 | 7 |
| Off | 664,197 | 10 |
But FPL managers who opted against Holland either missed out big time or are anxiously waiting to see if their captain can outshine him.
Cole Palmer (£6.2m) He was the most popular captain after Holland, with more than 944,000 choosing to trust him with the armband.
Chelsea enjoy a favorable home game against West Ham United on Sunday. The Hammers conceded four goals to Newcastle United in Gameweek 30 and five goals to Crystal Palace in Gameweek 34 of the double.
Palmer was unlucky not to score in the final round as he took a gameweek-high 11 shots and gave up two big chances.
Mohammed Salah (£13.4m) retained 702,000+ supporters as Liverpool entertain Spurs.
Salah needs just 10 points to reach 200 for the seventh season in a row, but he has not returned in four appearances, his worst run of the season.
Alexander Isaac (£8.4m) and Bugayo Saka (£9.0m) completed the top five captains.
Sakha made it his second straight double-figure haul with 10 points thanks to a goal and a bonus part in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over AFC Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium.
The England international has now made 28 attacking returns this season, his best tally in his six seasons in Fantasy.
GW36 most purchased players
| player | Replaced by | points |
|---|---|---|
| Isaac | 485,657 | 7 |
| Cardiol | 456,489 | 6 |
| De Bruyne | 402,755 | 2 |
| Holland | 398,626 | 21 |
| Gordon | 339,090 | 6 |
| Leg | 313,393 | 5 |
Isaac is not only the fourth most-capped player, but also the most bought, with more than 485,000 in attendance for Newcastle’s trip to Burnley on Saturday.
Isaac continued his good form with a goal and an assist in The Magpies’ 4-0 win, although his seven points would have been more had he not missed a penalty.
Sweden now have 12 attacking returns and 73 points in their last nine matches.
Like Man City, Newcastle also have two fixtures in DGW37, hosting Brighton & Hove Albion before Manchester United visit.
Isaac’s teammate, Anthony Gordon (£6.3m) found himself among the top transfer targets for Gameweek 36, beaten by nearly 340,000 fantasy bosses.
Gordon provided an assist for six points in the 4–0 win, although Isaac would have had another if he had converted his penalty.
Man City players needed
Over 2 million transfers were made to Man City’s players.
If cardiol (£5.1m) was the most sought after, gaining 456,000 new owners. After winning the penalty for Holland’s first goal, he provided his fourth attacking return in four matches with an assist.
Kevin De Bruyne (£10.5m), having averaged 10 points from his six previous starts and against Wolves, he disappointed his 402,000+ new owners with a blank, the second time in five appearances.
Holland et al Bill Foden Four of the first six transfers (£8.4m) produced City players.
Foden recovered from the illness that kept him winless last weekend to provide an assist and five points at Nottingham Forest.
GW36 Captains of Top 100 Managers
| player | By Capt | points |
|---|---|---|
| Holland | 84 | 21 |
| Palmer | 10 | – |
| Isaac | 2 | 7 |
| De Bruyne | 2 | 2 |
| Howards | 1 | 5 |
| Salah | 1 | – |
What did the world’s top 100 people do?
Holland was captained by the majority of Fantasy’s top 100 managers, and the top 10 advanced to Game Week 36.
Palmer was the main odd pick in this elite group of 10, with Isaac and De Bruyne supporting two each.
Mahmoud Alhassan Backed the most in-form player in Fantasy ahead of Gameweek 36, Kai Howards (£7.5m), with a total of 100 points from Gameweek 25.
But the risk of going against Holland didn’t pay off as Howard managed to return just five points in Arsenal’s 3-0 win.
Finally, 94th place Mike Dobson Salah, his odd one out, will be hoping to produce something spectacular against Spurs on Sunday.