The Gameweek 34 captain pool is diminished thanks to blanks for Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Manchester City.
As a result, Liverpool’s potential title-winning contest against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield puts Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) in pole position. However, there are some enticing alternatives from Chelsea, Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers who deserve consideration.
As usual, Captain Sensible highlights which assets have the best chance of delivering a big haul.
First, we will assess the fallout of the captain poll before analysing the best options, Rate My Team (RMT), and the Premier Fantasy Tools ratings ahead of Saturday’s 11:00 BST deadline.
THE CAPTAIN POLL
Salah failed to score for a fourth consecutive match in Liverpool’s 1-0 win at Leicester City.
A collector’s item left-footed finish from homeboy hero-turned-villain Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m) took the plaudits, while the Egyptian’s seven shots – all from inside the box – and four big chances were league-leading totals. Understandably, Salah is backed by a 35.76% majority.
Meanwhile, Alexander Isak (£9.6m) ‘blanked’ in Newcastle’s heavy 4-1 loss at Aston Villa. The Swedish international cut a subdued figure throughout his 76-minute appearance, shooting once and creating a sole chance.
In fact, over the last six games, Isak’s two goals and one assist are a far cry from his gold-standard best.
Nevertheless, he gets slightly over three-tenths of the vote ahead of the Magpies’ favourable tie against Ipswich Town.
Matheus Cunha (£6.9m) is third with 9.33% of the vote, followed by Cole Palmer (£10.6m) with Jacob Murphy (£5.2m).
THE PLAYER STATISTICS – LAST SIX MATCHES
Jorgen Strand-Larsen (£5.4m) claims the top spot for non-penalty expected goals (NPxG, 2.93), bettering Cunha (2.54) and Isak (2.44).
Leading the way for shots is Palmer (25), then Cunha (22) and Salah (18). Yet the latter has accumulated the most penalty area attempts (17), closely followed by the 14 of Luis Diaz (£7.5m) and Isak.
His nine big chances are also top, with Isak (seven) and Strand Larsen (six) in hot pursuit. On the other hand, he’s missed seven of them.
Wolves’ bad-boy Cunha sits at the summit for shots on target (11), chased down by with Palmer and Strand Larsen (both eight).
Back to Salah, he’s ranked quickest for minutes per non-penalty expected goal involvement (NPxGI). One every 109.0 minutes pushes Diaz (114.0) and Palmer (121.6) into second and third, respectively.
Sticking with the Colombian, Diaz scoops the overall creative crown, with 2.0 expected assists (xA). His 25 key passes are eight more than Salah, also edging him for big chances created (five v four) over the last six outings.
With Joao Pedro (£5.6m) suspended, Danny Welbeck (£5.5m) looks like Brighton and Hove Albion’s best pick. But the elder statesman sits inside this bottom two for attempts (11), box shots (eight) and NPxG (1.60).
Managers playing their Free Hit chip have Raul Jimenez (£5.3m) as their flavour of the month, given Fulham’s trip to Southampton. The Mexican is below Welbeck here for big chances (one), shots on target (two) and NPxG (0.76). Then again, his minutes have been reduced during these half-dozen occasions.
TEAM ATTACKING STATISTICS – LAST SIX MATCHES
Liverpool’s attack dominates several key areas ahead of Spurs’ visit to Anfield. They are at the summit for total attempts (114), big chances (26) and attempts in the box (88) over these six.
Arne Slot’s lot also ranks best for NPxG (11.56), with Newcastle amongst the best three for both this (10.65) and big chances (22). They top the charts for goals (16).
Elsewhere, Wolves are a team on the up under Vitor Pereira. The Portuguese manager’s side has scored 11 times, a top-six rank in this assessment.
Despite sitting second for goal attempts (107) and shots on target (35), Palmer’s Chelsea slump to midtable for NPxG (6.86).
As for Brighton, they’ve registered a fifth-best 20 big chances. They sit seventh best for NPxG (8.45) in this time, which ranks fourth among sides that feature this week.
Meanwhile, Marco Silva’s Fulham underwhelm in our team analysis. The Cottagers rank third worst for NPxG (4.93) and are inside the bottom four for big chances (nine) and box shots (22). Wolves are midway for these.
TEAM DEFENDING STATISTICS – LAST SIX MATCHES
Ipswich’s bad defensive numbers boost Isak’s prospects. They have allowed more shots inside the box (88) than any other side over the last side matches, with non-penalty expected goals conceded (NPxGC, 14.18) also the worst. The Tractor Boys have shipped 39 attempts from set-pieces – that’s seven more than nearest-placed Leicester (32).
Wolves’ opponents are also second-worst for allowing box shots (78) and NPxGC (12.30), shipping the joint-most big chances (24).
Salah’s visitors, Spurs, haven’t kept a clean sheet throughout their last eight league matches. Ange Postecoglou’s men are in the bottom six for big chances allowed (17) and NPxGC (8.18).
Palmer could struggle against Everton, proving themselves to be a tough nut to crack under the stewardship of David Moyes. Conceding just six goals in as many matches, the Toffees have conceded the second-fewest big chances (seven).
Down at Southampton, they’ve actually improved of late, sitting midtable for NPxGC (7.33). However, they’ve also conceded 13 goals, 20 big chances and 65 shots in the box, all of which place inside the bottom four.
Finally, Brighton’s visitors, West Ham United, have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six league matches. Graham Potter’s side is seventh worst for NPxGC (8.12) as well.
RATE MY TEAM
Above: RMT’s leading captaincy selections for FPL Blank Gameweek 34
Salah tops the RMT ratings in Blank Gameweek 34, forecasted to record 7.98 points against Spurs.
Palmer and Isak are level pegging on 6.38.
PREMIER FANTASY TOOLS
Above: Leading captaincy candidates for FPL Blank Gameweek 34 according to Premier Fantasy Tools
Our friends at Premier Fantasy Tools offer a complete range of captaincy tools on their website, including the Captain Picker.
They also side with Salah, followed by Isak then Palmer, from the key names mentioned.
You can also use Premier Fantasy Tools’ Captain Analyser to assess your armband picks for the season – and see where they went right and wrong.
CONCLUSION
Above: FPL Blank Gameweek 34 teams to target from @robtfpl on X.
Once again, Mohamed Salah’s statistics remain consistently strong across the board, despite recently having a dry spell compared to his otherworldly season.
While Spurs’ defensive data doesn’t predict that Liverpool will run riot, the north London outfit’s shift in focus towards the Europa League could provide ideal conditions for the Egyptian.
Alexander Isak‘s numbers from our player tables need little introduction but also lack his earlier pomp. In the six matches since returning from injury, he is yet to play 80 minutes or more, which is reflected in his numbers.
Our team data suggests that Liverpool is the team to back, nudging Newcastle into second place among the key sides that play this week. This opinion is shared by the all-important market data, with Liverpool projected for more goals (2.90 v 2.85).
All things considered, Salah is my number one pick this week ahead of Isak. Chelsea’s Cole Palmer completes the top three ahead of Saturday’s early kick-off.
The England starlet hasn’t scored a league goal since Gameweek 21 – an incredible drought for the playmaker. Still, he’s backed to return to form, given his recent shot volumes.
