Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers have an early opportunity to test the Mohamed Salah (£13.3m) ‘perma-captaincy’ mantra in an exciting renewal of the captain conundrum ahead of Gameweek 16.
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Cole Palmer (£11.1m) leads a queue of able and viable big-hitting alternatives. There are plum fixtures for Arsenal, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, too, bringing other options to the fore.
As usual, Captain Sensible highlights which assets have the best chance of hauling.
First, we will assess the fallout of the on-site captain poll. We will then analyse the player and team statistics, Rate My Team (RMT) and the Premier Fantasy Tools ratings ahead of Saturday’s 11:00 GMT deadline.
THE CAPTAIN POLL
Mohamed Salah was given some unexpected rest and recuperation last time out, with high winds from Storm Darragh in the north-west leading to the Merseyside derby’s postponement on safety grounds.
The Egyptian’s red-hot form, however, continued unabated in Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League win at Girona. Salah’s converted penalty secured a 1-0 victory for the Reds.
Domestically, Liverpool’s right winger sits joint-top for goals (13) and comfortably leads the way for attacking returns (21) despite his recent Blank Gameweek.
Ahead of Fulham’s visit to Anfield, Salah is backed by just under half of our users to resume his double-digit exploits.
Meanwhile, Cole Palmer ably assumed the role of deputy captain for many Fantasy managers. Chelsea’s star man was clinical from the spot in Chelsea’s 4-3 comeback thriller against Spurs.
Palmer’s three big chances and shots on target were joint division-leading totals in Gameweek 15, aided by calamitous defending by Spurs in their own penalty area.
The arrival of Thomas Frank’s defensively questionable Brentford side presents an opportunity for Palmer to haul once again. He’s backed by just under a quarter of voters this time around.
Bukayo Saka (£10.6m) occupies third place with almost exactly 10% of the vote. Alexander Isak (£8.6m) and Erling Haaland (£14.9m) are some distance further back.
THE PLAYER STATISTICS – LAST SIX MATCHES
