FPL

FPL GW10 Captain Picks: Who Gets the Armband?

5 November 2026FPL Demon

This is the tightest captaincy week of the season. Haaland is still top of the attackers, but four players sit behind him separated by 0.04 of a projected point. GW10 also starts on Friday night, with Everton against Coventry at 8pm, so one of these armbands is spoken for before most managers have even finished their tea. We ran every attacker through this week's projections, minutes and fixtures. But the Demon's top projection of the whole week isn't an attacker at all. It's Gabriel against Hull, so we'll make the case for a defender armband further down, with Gabriel and Calafiori.

1. Erling Haaland (Man City, £15.8m)

Nottingham Forest (A). Owned by 79.1%. Projected 5.75 points.

Nine goals in nine starts. Fourteen bonus points. Three Dream Team appearances. He's first on City's penalties and the Demon has him down for 89 minutes, so the only real question is the opponent.

Forest away on Saturday evening is a tougher trip than his next two: the Demon has him at 6.46 at home to Fulham in GW11 and 6.32 against Leeds in GW13. Even so, he's 0.46 clear of the next attacker this week. That's nearly double the gap between the second and seventh best attackers.

Demon's Verdict: Captain him. With four in five managers owning him, the risk is in not doing it.

2. Declan Rice (Arsenal, £7.4m)

Hull City (H). Owned by 12.8%. Projected 5.29 points.

No goals yet, but five assists and 2.01 expected assists, the highest expected assists of anyone on this list. He's first on Arsenal's corners and direct free kicks, so every set piece Arsenal win runs through him.

Hull at home is Arsenal's best fixture of the next five, and the Demon rates it so highly that Arsenal defenders fill three of the top four spots on the full captain board. Rice is how you get a slice of that from midfield.

Demon's Verdict: The set-piece armband. Under 13% owned, and this is his best projection of the next five weeks by 0.55.

3. Alexander Isak (Liverpool, £9.2m)

Crystal Palace (A). Owned by 22.4%. Projected 5.26 points.

Six goals and 14 bonus points from 657 minutes, the same bonus total as Haaland in fewer minutes. His 0.60 expected goals per 90 is the best of anyone here after Haaland.

Minutes are still the catch. The Demon expects 73, the fewest of the five, and he's second on penalties behind Szoboszlai. Palace away on Sunday afternoon is a good fixture on paper.

Demon's Verdict: The best goal threat outside Haaland. If you're chasing, he gives you the highest ceiling.

4. Evanilson (Bournemouth, £6.4m)

Ipswich Town (A). Owned by 19.1%. Projected 5.26 points.

The form player of the five: a form rating of 8.5, the highest here, built on four goals and four assists. He's started every game, and his 3.60 expected goals say the goals aren't a fluke.

He doesn't take penalties, which caps his ceiling a little. But Ipswich away on Sunday is a fixture the Demon likes, and his run after it stays strong, peaking at 5.52 against Hull in GW14.

Demon's Verdict: The in-form, budget armband. He's also one of the best keeps of the five for the weeks after.

5. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Everton, £6.6m)

Coventry City (H). Owned by 6.3%. Projected 5.25 points.

805 minutes out of 810. Nobody here is more nailed, and the Demon expects 89 minutes again on Friday night. He's second on Everton's corners and has two double-digit hauls already this season.

This is the standout week of his next five. After Coventry, his projection drops to around 4.2 for three straight games, so if you own him, this is the one to use.

Demon's Verdict: The Friday night punt. Under 7% owned, and you'll know before Saturday whether it paid off.

The defender punt: Gabriel or Calafiori?

Here's the number nobody wants to hear: Gabriel is projected for 6.64 points against Hull, almost a full point more than Haaland. Arsenal have kept six clean sheets in nine games, Hull come to the Emirates, and the Demon gives Arsenal a 55% chance of another one.

Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal, £8.0m)

Hull City (H). Owned by 24.8%. Projected 6.64 points.

Here's roughly how that 6.64 adds up under FPL's scoring. About 2 points for playing the full 90. About 2.2 for the 55% clean sheet chance. About 1.1 from goals: 0.18 expected goals per 90 is a lot for a defender, and he's had 1.47 expected goals this season with only one to show for it. Around 0.4 from assists. And close to 1 point from defensive contributions, because he averages nine a game and has reached the ten needed for the bonus in four of his nine games.

His floor is the real selling point. He's played every minute of every game, so a clean sheet plus his defensive contribution is 8 points before he touches the ball in the other box, or 16 with the armband. In GW8 against Everton he scored, kept a clean sheet and took three bonus points for 17.

The risk is simple. One Hull goal wipes out the clean sheet, and Hull have scored in three of their four away games. If they score, you're relying on Gabriel scoring at the other end.

Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal, £5.9m)

Hull City (H). Owned by 48.1%. Projected 5.58 points.

Same clean sheet chance, more attacking threat on paper: two assists and a goal already, and 1.0 expected assists this season against Gabriel's 0.25. But the projection is a point lower for two reasons. The Demon only expects 78 minutes, because he hasn't completed 90 minutes in four of his nine games, including just 22 minutes against Everton. And he barely adds defensive contribution points: his best this season is nine, so he hasn't reached the ten needed for the bonus once.

Demon's Verdict: If you're going to take the defender punt, it has to be Gabriel. He has the higher projection, plays every minute and carries the extra defensive contribution floor. Calafiori is a good player to own this week, not a captain. And the Demon's honest take on Gabriel? It only makes sense if you're chasing. He's 24.8% owned against Haaland's 79.1%, so it's a real swing. But a captain who needs a clean sheet can lose it to one Hull goal. If you're protecting a lead, stick with Haaland.

Conclusion

Haaland is the captain again. 5.75 projected points, first on penalties and owned by 79% of managers. Forest away isn't his best fixture, but nobody else is within half a point.

Behind him, it's a coin toss. Rice has the set pieces and the best fixture, Isak has the goals, Evanilson has the form and Dewsbury-Hall has the Friday kick-off and the lowest ownership. Alex Iwobi (Newcastle at home, 5.24) and Thierno Barry (Coventry at home, 5.04, first on Everton's penalties) just missed the cut. And if you're chasing and own him, Gabriel is the boldest armband of the week.