Matchweek 3 is in the books, and it certainly did not disappoint from a fantasy football point of view. We had a hat-trick in both the Barclays Women’s Super League and BWSL2, with defences stepping up to claim those all-important clean sheets.
But in fantasy football, it is all about looking forward, assessing who is going to do well for you this week, instead of chasing the points you may have missed out on in the previous gameweek.
So, that is why we’re here to give you five options on who we believe could be solid options for the captain’s armband as we head into matchweek 4.
Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw - £12.5m vs Charlton
Okay, let’s get stating the obvious out of the way with the list, because no matter who Manchester City are playing, Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw is always going to be a good option for captaincy.
She was last season’s top scorer in the BWSL and has picked up exactly where she left off in May by netting four goals in just three games, and even in a match where she was largely marked out of the game by the Liverpool defence, she still got in on the act.
This week for Shaw and City, it’s one of the newly promoted teams, Charlton Athletic. The Addicks have found the step up tough thus far, losing all three games and conceding a league-high nine goals, with five of those strikes going to forwards.
Elise Hughes - £7m vs Watford
The Black Cats hit a slight bump in the road on Sunday, drawing 0-0 with Southampton and losing top spot in the BWSL2; however, they’ll look to put things right against Watford this Sunday.
Sunderland brought in BWSL2 winner Elise Hughes over the summer, and she’s proved an instant success with two goals in three starts.
She’s played 90 minutes in all three matches so far, proving to be the out-and-out number one choice up top for Mel Reay, and against the Hornets, she’ll surely be itching to get back on the scoresheet, especially after seeing the newly promoted side ship five on Sunday.
Beth Lumsden - £7.5m vs Leicester City
Beth Lumsden has been with Newcastle since their days in Tier three when she joined in January 2024, and both the club’s and her own ambition and growth have been parallel the entire way.
And after a busy summer which saw United bring in a host of new attacking recruits, Lumsden has remained a constant under Tanya Oxtoby, starting all three games, and sitting joint top of the goal involvements table for the entire league, as well as netting eight chances.
It’s another home game for Newcastle this weekend, and Lumsden has found the back of the net in their other two games at the Gateshead International Stadium this season, as well as picking up an assist against Sheffield United.
Vivien Endemann - £6m vs Everton
How about if you could captain a forward who costs less than Bunny Shaw and also boasts a better goal conversion rate and shot accuracy percentage? I presume a lot of people would be interested, and that is why Vivien Endemann should be a strong candidate for the armband this weekend.
Everyone loves a derby, and this Merseyside one at Anfield could perhaps not have come at a better time for the Reds. Yes, Everton sit above their city rivals; however, they’ve won 1-0 in both of their wins and have only seen one of their own players find the back of the net once all season.
So, after Liverpool, and Endemann in particular, put in a great display against the champions last weekend and has more goal involvements than league appearances, this appears to be both a team and player very much on the up and performing better than their league position suggests.
Rio Hardy - £8m vs Burnley
Okay, I know I mentioned not chasing points from previous gameweeks when it comes to fantasy football, but after Rio Hardy got off the mark for the season by scoring a hat-trick against Watford, she’s got to be on the radar.
Hardy finished last season as the second-top scorer in the league with 10 strikes, and is now only seven off that tally for the campaign, so with confidence running through her body, this seems like a good moment to jump on the striker.
The Robins travel to face Burnley, who may be a wounded animal coming off the back of a 3-1 defeat against fellow newly promoted side Wolverhampton Wanderers, so Hardy will be licking her lips at the prospect of more goals to keep her momentum going.
