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All the latest Gameweek 8 injury news from each Premier League pre-match press conference ahead of the deadline can be found in our Fixtures, Team News & Predicted Line-ups article
The latest international break ended with FPL managers being forced to deal with potential injury headaches. Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka (£10.1m) and Kai Havertz (£8.3m) were two such players hurt whilst on duty with their respective national teams. However, other big-name assets came through unscathed such as Erling Haaland (£15.4m) and Cole Palmer (£10.8m), no doubt triggering a sigh of relief from their respective fantasy ownerships.
Despite this, there are still plenty of extremely viable captaincy options in Gameweek 8 and we run through three of them here, along with an alternate differential pick ahead of Saturday’s 11:00am deadline.
PREMIUM OPTIONS
Erling Haaland (£15.4m) vs WOL (a)
Erling Haaland against bottom of the table Wolves? Sounds good to us! No club this season has conceded more Premier League goals than Wolves’ 21, an average of three goals per game. Man City will be licking their lips headed to Molineux, as will owners of Norwegian striker Haaland, who recently became the all-time record goalscorer for his country.
The 24-year-old boasts ten goals across seven Premier League matches in 2024-25, not to mention 67 FPL points which is not only the highest score among forwards, but also the joint-highest across all positions. It’s hard to see Haaland not being the most popular captain pick in Gameweek 8.
Ollie Watkins (£9.1m) vs FUL (a)
After a slow start to this season’s Premier League, Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins has firmly hit his straps since then and warrants substantial consideration when it comes to choosing a skipper for Gameweek 8. The England international has failed to register an attacking return in just one of the last five gameweeks, underlining his recent consistency.
Watkins has accumulated four goals and two assists since the start of Gameweek 3, racking up 39 FPL points including two double-figure returns. Taking on Marco Silva’s Fulham at Craven Cottage in Gameweek 8, it would be no surprise to see Watkins add to his tally of attacking returns.
Cole Palmer (£10.8m) vs LIV (a)
As different a league fixture as it is for Cole Palmer in Gameweek 8 with Chelsea travelling to Liverpool, the attacking midfield maestro has done more than enough to prove that he is very much ‘fixture-proof’ from an FPL point of view and still more than capable of registering a large haul of points at Anfield.
Only Erling Haaland has matched Palmer’s 67 fantasy points recorded so far and taking on a Liverpool side without their first-choice goalkeeper needs to be factored into your thinking when selecting a Gameweek 8 captain. With six goals in his last three league games, Palmer ticks lots of boxes.
DIFFERENTIAL OPTION
Brennan Johnson (£6.6m) vs WHU (H)
One of the most in-form players who are set to feature in Gameweek 8, Brennan Johnson has all the makings of a potentially lucrative differential captain for FPL managers searching for a point of difference this weekend. The Welsh international was on the scoresheet for his country in the recently concluded international break.
In the Premier League, Johnson has found the net in each of the last three gameweeks, also acquiring an assist and 25 fantasy points in total, not scoring lower than 7 points on each occasion. Having an ownership percentage of less than 7% as it stands justifies his credentials as a differential option.
