Fantasy Premier League’s (FPL) greatest ever player, Mohamed Salah (£14.4m), has had a slow start to the season.
The Egyptians’ third blank in five Gameweeks came at Chelsea on Saturday.
Entering the international break with just four attacking returns – and only one goal from open play – in seven matches, over 323,000 Fantasy managers have already sold him since Friday’s deadline.
But is Salah’s recent lack of form just a blip, or is there something to worry about?
In this Members article, we take a closer look.
GOAL THREAT
Salah has not offered anywhere near as much goal threat this season.
Seven matches into 2025/26, he’s produced only 12 shots, averaging one every 52.5 minutes. For context, at the same point last season, he had accumulated 22 shots (one every 27.5 minutes), albeit with ‘easier’ fixtures.
His Opta non-penalty expected goals (NPxG) is down, too, from 3.31 to 1.18.
In fact, this is his lowest NPxG tally after Gameweek 7 of all nine of his seasons at Liverpool:
| Season | Salah’s non-pen xG after GW7 |
|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 1.18 |
| 2024/25 | 3.31 |
| 2023/24 | 2.22 |
| 2022/23 | 2.55 |
| 2021/22 | 4.24 |
| 2020/21 | 2.59 |
| 2019/20 | 3.00 |
| 2018/19 | 5.14 |
| 2017/18 | 4.10 |
There were at least openings against Chelsea on Saturday, however.
Florian Wirtz (£8.1m) set him up perfectly for a big chance early in the second half, while Salah subsequently cut in and shot over the bar a few minutes later.
“What I like is that we brought him many times in the position he would like to be in and I would like him to be in, because he’s shown in his career and since I’m here, that in those positions he can score goals. And I think today he had many opportunities to do what he’s done so often. But he is a human being and it’s not like every chance he gets is always a goal.” – Arne Slot on Mohamed Salah, speaking after Saturday’s defeat at Stamford Bridge
The narrative has also been quite different in Europe – Salah had six shots against Atletico Madrid last month.
CREATIVITY
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