THE GW1 CAPTAIN
who gets the armband — ranked by the model
Get personalised captain, transfer & differential picks from your actual squad — not the template.
Who should I captain in FPL Gameweek 1?
— Onside (onsidearena.com), predictions graded in public.
THE PICK · GW1
Captain — BHA are scoring freely. xP 7.3.
| Rank | Player | Fixture and difficulty | Projected points, as a bar | Projected points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Groß | v AVL 3 | 7.3 | |
| 2 | Barnes | v LIV 4 | 6.9 | |
| 3 | Schade | v TOT 2 | 6.8 | |
| 4 | Belloumi | v MUN 4 | 6.6 | |
| 5 | Kostoulas | v AVL 3 | 5.1 | |
| 6 | Janelt | v TOT 2 | 4.4 | |
| 7 | Rogers | @ FUL 3 | 4.4 | |
| 8 | Buendía | @ BHA 4 | 4.3 | |
| 9 | Kamada | @ EVE 3 | 4.2 | |
| 10 | King | v CHE 4 | 3.5 |
Percentages are ownership — the share of FPL managers who own each player, read from the live game. The xP ladder above ranks by expected points, so the most-owned player isn’t always the model’s #1.
THE RECORD · GRADED IN PUBLIC
EVERY TOP PICK IS SCORED AFTER THE GAMEWEEK — THE LEDGER STARTS WITH GW1.
GW1 CAPTAIN · COMMON QUESTIONS
Who should I captain in FPL GW1?
Onside's top captain pick for GW1 is Groß (BHA) with 7.3 projected xP. Captain — BHA are scoring freely. xP 7.3. Alternatives: Barnes, Schade, Belloumi, Kostoulas, Janelt, Rogers, Buendía, Kamada, King.
What is a differential captain option for GW1?
Barnes (5.7% owned, 6.9 xP) is a differential captain option for GW1 — owned by fewer managers than the consensus pick, offering a rank-up opportunity if they deliver. Consider buying — NEW have a friendly run-in. xP 6.9.
When is the GW1 FPL deadline?
The Fantasy Premier League GW1 deadline is Fri 21 Aug, 18:30 UK time. All transfers, captaincy choices, and chip activations must be confirmed before this time.
How does Onside pick the best FPL captain?
Onside blends nine independent signals into an expected-points score, then runs a Monte Carlo simulation to rank captains by expected value — the median of each player's doubled-score distribution. The top pick maximises median captaincy return, not just peak upside. How the signals are built and weighted is proprietary.
Vice-captain tip
Always consider the vice-captain — if your captain blanks, your VC is the safety net. Pair a premium pick (e.g. a big-six midfielder in a home game) with a differential VC for maximum upside. The Onside engine scores both, so check the #2 and #3 picks as VC candidates.
RANKED BY ONSIDE v5 · EVERY PICK GRADED IN PUBLIC · FPL API · REFRESHED HOURLY