Third-most popular captain on course for 17 points ahead of his head-to-head with Fantasy’s No 1 pick

Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.2m) scored a second successive Old Trafford hat-trick to repay the faith of the 845,000+ Fantasy Premier League managers who made him the third most-selected captain for Double Gameweek 33.

Ronaldo is on course for a 17-point haul, once bonus points are confirmed, having inspired Manchester United to a 3-2 win over Norwich City.

He has now produced five of his six double-figure hauls this term at home. 

Crucially, he will have the chance to add to his huge haul when Man Utd travel to Liverpool on Tuesday.

GW33 most-captained players overall

Ronaldo’s big return was an early blow to those who instead captained Harry Kane (£12.6m) or Mohamed Salah (£13.2m).

Kane was unable to continue his excellent form as he blanked in a 1-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. He had been on a run of five goals and eight assists in seven matches prior to that.

Salah was the most-captained player for the 30th time this season, backed for his midweek home match against Man Utd.

The Egyptian produced a 24-point haul in the reverse fixture in Gameweek 9, his biggest return in 2021/22.

GW33 most transferred-out players*

*Bonus points not yet confirmed

Despite being the most-selected captain Salah surprisingly featured among the most-sold players for Gameweek 33.

He was ditched by more than 323,000 managers ahead of the deadline after a run of only one goal and one assist over his last five matches. 

Only Matt Doherty (£4.8m) and Philippe Coutinho (£7.1m) were sold by more people.

Doherty has been ruled out for the season with a knee injury, while Coutinho is without a fixture in Gameweek 33.

GW33 most transferred-in players

James Maddison (£7.0m) was the No 1 transfer target, brought in by more than 651,000 managers.

Leicester City play twice in this round of fixtures, travelling to Newcastle United on Sunday before a trip to Everton in midweek. 

Maddison has produced an attacking return in each of his last three matches, recording a goal and two assists in that time. He also created 11 goalscoring opportunities over that period, the joint-most of any player in Fantasy.

Newcastle duo Fabian Schar (£4.4m) and Chris Wood (£6.8m) also proved popular acquisitions with a combined 827,000+ transfers in.

The Magpies enjoy two home matches, facing Crystal Palace on Wednesday following their encounter with Leicester.

Since establishing himself as a starter under Eddie Howe, Schar ranks fourth for shots among defenders, with 20.

Wood, meanwhile, has scored seven goals across 15 previous appearances against his Gameweek 33 opponents.

GW33 most-captained by top 100

The New Zealander’s appeal extended to the leading 100 managers in Fantasy, with 13 handing him the captain’s armband. 

Only Bruno Fernandes (£11.6m) and Bukayo Saka (£6.8m) were backed in greater numbers among this elite group. Although disappointingly both players blanked in their first outings of the Gameweek.

Saka has scored only once in his last six matches despite being Arsenal’s main attacking threat over that period, ranking first for shots, shots in the box and chances created.

Arsenal lost 1-0 to Southampton on Saturday but Saka can make amends at Chelsea on Wednesday.

Fernandes has endured an equally frustrating period, returning only a single assist in five appearances.

But the underlying statistics suggest he has been unfortunate. Since Gameweek 26 his tally of 18 shots is bettered only by Ronaldo among Man Utd players, so Fernandes could yet come good at Liverpool on Tuesday.

See: Fantasy Premier League stats

Also in this series

Part 2: GW33 Bonus points: Trossard delivers a maximum