Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) and Harry Kane (£12.3m) have emerged as the two outstanding candidates for the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Double Gameweek 29 captaincy.

They, of course, have two fixtures and strong chances of significant game-time across both.

First, we will assess the fallout of the captain poll, before then analysing the best options, Rate My Team (RMT) and the Premier Fantasy Tools ratings ahead of Saturday’s 11:00 GMT deadline.

THE CAPTAIN POLL

In a predictably one-sided captain poll, Mohamed Salah is the runaway leader, having gained a whopping 68.3% of total votes from our users at the time of writing.

Harry Kane, meanwhile, sits in second, having been backed by 14.67% of FPL managers.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.5m) occupies third place with 5.71%, followed by Son Heung-min (£10.8m) and Bukayo Saka (£6.6m) on 3% and 1.79% respectively.

MOHAMED SALAH / TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD

Mohamed Salah has now gone three matches without finding the net for only the second time in 2021/22.

However, he was thwarted by both posts against Inter in midweek (see below), and the fact he’s on course to smash the all-time FPL points record for a single season says everything about his ongoing appeal.

“I hit the post a couple of times, maybe next game I’ll score three.” – Mohamed Salah

Since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the Egyptian has racked up three goals (including two penalties) and an assist in five appearances, with double-digit hauls recorded against Leeds United and Norwich City. During that time, he ranks top or joint-top amongst all players for goal attempts, shots in the box, efforts on target, big chances and penalty area touches.

MOHAMED SALAH – LAST SIX MATCHES

(Last six matches: WHU/LEE/NOR/bur/LEI/che)

Liverpool are still playing catch-up with Manchester City in the Premier League title race, and now, ahead of their visit to Brighton and Hove Albion in Saturday’s early kick-off, can close the gap to just three points.

That’s followed by the second part of their double-header against Arsenal, a Gameweek 30 blank – which coincides with their FA Cup quarter-final against Nottingham Forest – and the March international break. At least, in theory, that should keep rotation to a minimum across their next two Premier League matches.

As for their Double Gameweek 29 opponents, Brighton and Arsenal have generally kept things pretty tight on home turf in 2021/22 (see below), but given that Liverpool have scored more goals (34) than any other team on their travels this season, that needn’t be too off-putting. The Seagulls have declined of late, too, conceding five goals across their last two Amex encounters against Aston Villa and Burnley.

Above: Liverpool’s Double Gameweek 29 opponents – Brighton and Hove Albion and Arsenal – rank third and sixth-best respectively for big chances conceded at home in 2021/22

Trent Alexander-Arnold, meanwhile, represents an alternative captaincy option at Liverpool.

The England international has amassed 31 bonus points so far this season and is averaging 7.2 points per match, more than any other player bar Salah and Ben Chilwell (£5.6m), who has made just six Premier League appearances in 2021/22.

Both Double Gameweek 29 opponents don’t tend to give up too many crosses from their left flank or attempts from set plays at home, but their chances created conceded heatmaps are more encouraging for the right-backs prospects, as he regularly operates in the half-spaces.

It’s also worth noting that Alexander-Arnold’s highest score of the season came against the Gunners in the reverse fixture.

Above: Brighton (left) and Arsenal’s (right) chances created conceded heatmaps at home in 2021/22

HARRY KANE / SON HEUNG-MIN