This article is part of our The Armband series.
It's been almost a little too easy picking a captain lately. As long as you go with a Man City player, Mohamed Salah or Harry Kane, you're usually in good hands. That's what happened last gameweek and all signs point to that happening for the remainder of the season. But if there was ever a week to ignore that trend, this may be it. Then again, there's still a decent chance Liverpool score five goals, Spurs drop a hammer at Crystal Palace and Man City trounce Arsenal at the Emirates.
Not included in the discussion this gameweek are Man United and Chelsea. Both were busy in the midweek for Champions League play and neither have instilled much confidence over the last few weeks as it is. There's also no reason to back the Gunners, who play the Sky Blues twice in one week. No matter what happens in the League Cup final, it's a safe bet not to consider them for captaincy this week.
Liverpool are undoubtedly the best side to back for the armband this gameweek, and that means Salah once again. He has scored or assisted in 10 of his last 11 matches in all competitions and is almost a guarantee to add to that at home against West Ham, which gave up three goals to Brighton in their last away match. If you hate conforming, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane are in the same boat, though much harder to trust. Firmino has seven goals and four assists in his last nine league matches, and while Mane doesn't compare as well in terms of consistency, he did just have a hat trick in Champions League play.
Spurs are the other big club with a favorable match, though Crystal Palace have allowed just one goal in their last three at home, including a scoreless draw against Man City. That puts Kane a level below Salah for me, but still worthy of captain consideration. Kane wasn't contained at Juventus last week and hasn't been in league play in some time. The striker has scored in five of his last six matches, and when he didn't score against Man United, he still took eight shots and had numerous chances. I'd be wary of giving the armband to anyone else on Spurs mainly because production between Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-Min and Dele Alli has been inconsistent all season. I'd consider taking a gamble on a Liverpool defender like Andrew Robertson with hopes of a clean sheet and assist.
It's always hard to go against Man City, even with Arsenal needing points to compete for a spot in the top five. The Gunners have played well at home, but also allowed five goals in recent home matches against Liverpool and Chelsea. Their back line remains iffy, and that makes Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling all decent choices. Aguero has the highest upside, and that was seen in his four goals last league match against Leicester. I'd put De Bruyne slightly above Sterling only because he's a more consistent threat to create chances.
The only other team worth consideration in a favorable spot is Leicester (v. Stoke) and that's if you're willing to trust Jamie Vardy or Riyad Mahrez. Vardy has scored in four straight, but he also only has six shots on goal in that period. With limited opportunities, he'll always be hard to trust for the armband, and he hasn't scored more than one goal in a match since the opener.
No one else stands out unless you're a big West Brom (v. Huddersfield) or Watford (v. Everton) fan. Gerard Deulofeu is probably the only other player to consider or even Theo Walcott if you want to get crazy.
