GW2 Captain Picks: Demon Is Backing Bruno

Here are the top five captains for GW2 on the Demon expected points model. Haaland led the GW1 captain piece at home to Bournemouth and blanked. He had 0.74 xG in that game and still only managed 2 points. The chances were there. The captain return was not. This week he is second.

Bruno Fernandes, Ipswich at home, 6.66

Bruno blanked at Hull. So did the rest of the United attack. They lost 2-0, and his xG in that game was 0.08. If you are picking the captain off one away day at a newly promoted side, you will talk yourself out of him. Don't. Ipswich at Old Trafford is the game United were supposed to have last week.

Demon has him on 0.38 xG and 0.41 xA, 81 minutes, £12.0m. The assist number is the highest of the five. He is a midfielder, so the goal pays 5, and he takes the penalties. Ipswich are FDR 2 at home. That is a captain fixture. 6.66 is the top score on the board for a reason, and the reason is the whole route, not one shot.

Erling Haaland, Palace away, 6.44

Haaland is the name most people reach for. £15.5m, and he should have scored against Bournemouth. 0.74 xG, five efforts, 2 points. City still won. He did not. Take him to Selhurst on the back of that and you are assuming the next big chance falls for him in a harder game.

Demon has him at 0.74 xG again this week, which is the best chance total of the five, and only 0.12 xA. The fixture is away, FDR 3. A forward's goal pays 4. Put that next to Bruno's penalties, his 0.41 xA and a home game against Ipswich, and 6.44 is the right number. Close. Second. Palace away is exactly the kind of fixture that flatters a Haaland captaincy and then blanks you.

Bryan Mbeumo, Ipswich at home, 5.75

Mbeumo is the other United captain, and he is there because somebody has to score the open-play goal if the penalty never comes. 0.50 xG at Hull, a blank, same as Bruno. This week Demon has him on 0.45 xG and 0.20 xA, 73 minutes, £8.0m.

He is the shot. Bruno is the kick and the pass. You can own both. You captain Mbeumo only if Bruno is not in the side, because 5.75 against 6.66 in the same match is you betting the penalty goes somewhere else. FDR 2 at home is lovely for him as a player. It is Bruno's armband.

Cole Palmer, Brighton at home, 5.15

Palmer is the one who actually hauled in GW1. Goal and assist at Fulham, 13 points, off 0.28 xG and 0.19 xA. Chelsea scored three away from home. He was in the middle of it. £9.5m, and a way off the Haaland and Bruno pile if you want a different captain.

Brighton at home is FDR 2, which looks like a captain game until you see the minutes. Demon has him at 70, on 0.45 xG and 0.14 xA. The chance is fine. The worry is he does not play the whole match, and 5.15 is a full point off Bruno. Good player, wrong week to move the armband for him.

Antoine Semenyo, Palace away, 4.83

Semenyo played the full 90 against Bournemouth and posted 0.06 xG. He is in this five because City create, not because he is the finisher. Demon has him at 80 minutes, 0.35 xG and 0.12 xA, £8.5m.

He goes to Palace with Haaland. Same away day, FDR 3, without the box to himself. If City score two, there is a world where Semenyo is on one of them. That is a squad pick. It is a wild captain. Haaland is already the City option, and even he is second.

Demon's captainBruno Fernandes

Bruno, at home to Ipswich. Haaland is the vice if the template is what you need, and you should know you are taking him to Palace. Mbeumo is the United cover, not a second captain.

The GW3 captain piece is next. The live numbers are in the planner.